The Cubs have won six straight games and have already secured this series victory over the Cardinals. But I won’t complain if they’d like to take today’s game, too.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Ben Zobrist, LF
- Kris Bryant, 3B
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Javy Baez, SS
- Willson Contreras, C
- Jason Heyward, RF
- David Bote, 2B
- Albert Almora, Jr., CF
- Jose Quintana, P
Adam Wainwright has been WAY outperforming his peripherals this season (3.73 ERA, 4.92 FIP), and it sure would be nice if the Cubs could help the regression get process get started in earnest. Unfortunately, I’m not sure if this is exactly the right lineup for that to happen, considering Wainwright’s 2019 splits:
Versus Righties: .206/.289/.338 (.278 wOBA)
Versus Lefties: .320/.397/.660 (.424 wOBA)
The gap is obviously much narrower for his career (.282 versus righties, .314 versus lefties), but clearly left-handed hitters are the way to attack Wainwright.
And yet, for reasons unknown, Kyle Schwarber is not in today’s lineup. I get that Daniel Descalso’s ankle tweak might’ve prevented him from starting today, but I’d be pretty shocked if Joe Maddon decided to play Albert Almora’s glove over Schwarber’s bat against Wainwright. Perhaps Schwarber is dealing with something, too, but it’s nothing about which we’ve heard yet.
At least Wainwright will still have to face Ben Zobrist, Anthony Rizzo, and Jason Heyward (not to mention sluggers like Kris Bryant, Javy Baez, and Willson Contreras), but on a good day, with everyone healthy (including Victor Caratini), the Cubs could put six lefties in the lineup, not including the pitcher. Oh, well. This is still a solid group and more than enough offensive potential to get the job done.
As usual, we’ll have your full Pre-Gamin’ post closer to game time (6:05 CT).