Well, yesterday sure stunk. Let’s hope the Cubs have better luck today against right-hander Dakota Hudson and the rest of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
1. Ian Happ, CF
2. Kris Bryant, DH
3. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
4. Javy Baez, SS
5. Kyle Schwarber, LF
6. Willson Contreras, C
7. Jason Heyward, RF
8. David Bote, 3B
9. Jason Kipnis, 2B
Dakota Hudson is starting for the Cardinals today, and, not unlike Adam Wainwright, his results this season (2.77 ERA) have been a lot better than his underlying numbers (3.79 FIP). With that said, his 58.8% ground ball rate is pretty elite and his 88.9 MPH average exit velocity is strong. Weirdly, righties have crushed Hudson this year, relative to lefties, though it’s such a small sample and the opposite is true for his career.
The Cubs don’t have a ton of experience against Hudson, but there are a few notable matchups, good and bad, to point out. First, Willson Contreras is 0-4 with 3Ks, which … not great. But by contrast, Kyle Schwarber is 2-3 with 2 doubles and three walks. Both guys are in the lineup today.
Other than that, Kris Bryant is at designated hitter, with David Bote playing third, but there weren’t really any changes to the lineup itself – at least, not the ones Brett wanted to see. At least at DH, Bryant can focus on hitting? I don’t know.
As usual, we’ll have your full Pre-Gamin’ post closer to game time (6:08 CT).