Well, the Cubs were supposed to face the lefty Derek Holland tonight, which would’ve been fun with Kris Bryant, Steven Souza Jr., Jose Martinez, and Cameron Maybin all aboard, but the Pirates pulled the old switcheroo. Instead, the Cubs will face righty Joe Musgrove, who’s returning from the IL. … Not that it seems to have changed the planned lineup.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:Â
1. Ian Happ, CF
2. Willson Contreras, C
3. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
4. Javy Baez, SS
5. Steven Souza Jr., LF
6. Jose Martinez, DH
7. Cameron Maybin, RF
8. David Bote, 3B
9. Nico Hoerner, 2B
Very strange lineup with plenty of questions. But before we get into that, let’s talk about Musgrove.
Joe Musgrove, 27, had a rough go of it through his 3 starts before the injury, allowing 11 earned runs on 11 walks and 15 hits in 14.2 IP against the Cardinals and Twins (x2). Those are tough teams, no doubt, but still … not great. He hasn’t pitched since August 4th, so you’d think the Cubs should have the advantage.
With that said, he has done well against a few key Cubs contributors throughout his career:
Baez: 2-16, 2B, 2Ks
Rizzo: 0-14, 2BB, 2Ks
Schwarber: 1-13, 8Ks
A combined 3-43 with 12 strikeouts from the that group is something.
But let’s set that aside now, because this lineup is all kinds of strange. For one, Kris Bryant isn’t in the starting lineup, which you hope is just about resting him and/or easing him back in after the trip to the IL, not some broader concern about his injury. For another, lefties Jason Heyward, Jason Kipnis, and Kyle Schwarber are all not in the lineup. Musgrove does have reverse splits this season, but the opposite is true for his career. I’m just not sure what the Cubs know that I don’t. Or maybe this really is just the lineup they planned to roll with before the Pirates switched starters. Or maybe the Cubs are just trying to rest guys after last night’s extra-innings affair. Or maybe Brett is right:
Musgrove is coming back from missing almost a month, so it's *possible* Cubs are anticipating that Musgrove is gonna be like an opener. https://t.co/M25OLwyHnr
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) September 2, 2020
Perhaps it’s a combination of all of the above, but we’re getting a righty-heavy lineup tonight with Hoerner, Bote, Maybin, Souza, and Martinez all starting. Anthony Rizzo is the only true lefty and Ian Happ is a switch-hitter.
At least sitting Schwarber makes sense, given his history. Beyond that … I really don’t know.
As usual, we’ll have your full Pre-Gamin’ post closer to game time (6:05 CT).