NEWSLETTER
The Chicago Cubs need to win tonight’s game to keep their series loss-less streak alive (it goes all the way back to April 7th!), but they’ve drawn a pretty tough pitcher, Luis Castillo, in the process. Here’s the lineup they’ve chosen against the tough righty.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:Â
- Kyle Schwarber, LF
- Kris Bryant, 3B
- Daniel Descalso, 2B
- Javy Baez, SS
- Willson Contreras, C
- Victor Caratini, 1B
- Jason Heyward, RF
- Albert Almora Jr., CF
- Jose Quintana, P
It remains a shame that both Anthony Rizzo and Ben Zobrist are not available right now, because once again the Cubs are facing a righty with extremely favorable splits for left-handed batters:
Luis Castillo Splits for his Career:
Lefties: .248/.325/.443 (.329 wOBA)
Righties:Â .195/.256/.319 (.253 wOBA)
And although he’s been better across the board this year (against both lefties and righties), the gap is even larger:
Luis Castillo Splits for 2019:
Lefties: .207/.336/.261 (.281 wOBA)
Righties:Â .33/.206/.204 (.253 wOBA)
Alas, the Cubs will have to make due with what they’ve got. But what they’ve got is a recently reinstated Victor Caratini to slide in at first base in Rizzo’s absence! Welcome back, man! Now start swinging!
And with Caratini at first, Kris Bryant can move back over to third base, with a more familiar infield of Javy Baez and short and Daniel Descalso at second.
Kyle Schwarber is out in left field today, which, with his left-handed bat makes sense, but he’s also leading off instead of Jason Heyward, who had taken the honors a lot lately. Instead, Heyward slides down in the lineup and bats in front of Albert Almora Jr., playing center field. This is a pretty different lineup than we’re used to seeing lately, but roster circumstances are what they are.
As usual, we’ll have your full Pre-Gamin’ post closer to game time (5:40 CT).
