The Cubs won their opener against the Reds last night despite the bullpen, which will make no lead feel safe in Cincinnati. Hopefully, Alec Mills can go at least 4-5 innings in his 2020 debut, because who knows what these relievers have in them at the moment. More importantly, I hope Mills shows that he could conceivably be a big part of the rotation over the net 4-5 years. I’m legitimately rooting for him and genuinely believe he has what it takes to be a serviceable back-end of the rotation starter for very cheap. That has a lot of value in general, but particularly to a team like the Cubs, who have so many rotation holes to fill in the future. This is a big season for Mills (or … 12 starts, whatever). He can begin his career in earnest with a great start tonight.
In case you missed it, Kris Bryant is out tonight with a sore elbow, and Anthony Rizzo (lead off)/David Bote (third base) have taken his place. The righty, Tyler Mahle, is on the mound for the Reds and he’s got fairly significant lefty/righty splits. Kyle Schwarber, in particular, has done some damage off him in the past, so I’m keeping an eye on him tonight. It feels like the perfect time for his second 2020 home run.
Let’s go, Cubs.
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (3-1) at Cincinnati Reds (1-3) – Tuesday, July 28th at 5:40 CT on MARQ, 670 The Score
Starting Pitchers
Reds: Tyler Mahle (R)
versus
Cubs: Alec Mills (R)
Chicago Cubs:
1. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
2. Victor Caratini, C
3. Javy Baez, SS
4. Kyle Schwarber, LF
5. Ian Happ, CF
6. Jason Heyward, RF
7. David Bote, 3B
8. Jason Kipnis, DH
9. Nico Hoerner, 2B
Cincinnati Reds:
1. Shogo Akiyama, CF
2. Joey Votto, 1B
3. Eugenio Suarez, 3B
4. Jesse Winker, DH
5. Nick Castellanos, RF
6. Josh VanMeter, 2B
7. Aristides Aquino, LF
8. Freddy Galvis, SS
9. Curt Casali, C