We’ll have your Series Preview out shortly, but with an early-game this afternoon, the Cubs lineup against the Reds in Game 1 has been announced.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:Â
- Kyle Schwarber, LF
- Kris Bryant, 3B
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Javy Baez, SS
- Jason Heyward, RF
- Victor Caratini, C
- Daniel Descalso, 2B
- Albert Almora Jr., CF
- Kyle Hendricks, P
Victor Caratini is getting the start behind the plate this afternoon, which was a little confusing initially, but now I think I love it. By starting Caratini today, the Cubs get the advantage of his left-handed bat against Anthony DeSclafani who has struggled a lot against left-handers. Boom. Obvious, easy decision. But that’s only part of it.
By starting Victor Caratini again tomorrow, you get the double-benefit of pairing Yu Darvish with a catcher he’s had more success with than Willson Contreras *and* you get Contreras back-to-back days off when it’s not really a disadvantage (one day, Caratini’s start helps the offense, the next day it helps the starter). Everyone knows more rest for Contreras is a good thing – especially given how HUGE he’s been this year and how heavily he’s been leaned upon. Plus, Caratini missed a lot of time with his injury, so more starts can help him more quickly get back into the rhythm of things.
Clearly, I’m digging this decision. I just love all the positives and think it’s a really good medium-term plan for a lot of players and a lot of reasons. We’ll obviously have to wait to see if Contreras doesn’t start tomorrow, but that does seem to make sense. As usual, we’ll have your full Pre-Gamin’ closer to game time (1:20 CT).