Rich Hill might make Jon Lester look like a teenager, but he’s starting against Kyle Hendricks and the Cubs tonight for a very good Twins team still looking to win their division. Here’s how David Ross will line up the Cubs, also looking to lock up their division and for their 5th win a row.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
1. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
2. Kris Bryant, 3B
3. Willson Contreras, C
4. Kyle Schwarber, LF
5. Javy Baez, SS
6. Jason Heyward, RF
7. Cameron Maybin, CF
8. Jason Kipnis, DH
9. Nico Hoerner, 2B
Here’s a weird stat: Rich Hill, a lefty, has faced just 4 left-handed batters this year. It’s been only 26.0 innings overall, but that is still pretty surprising, especially because he isn’t a traditional lefty, who’s especially tough on other lefties. In fact, for his career, lefties have hit Hill just a smidge better than righties (really, they’re effectively split neutral), though there have been seasons where lefties have done even better than righties. And for the most part that’s because he’s basically a two-pitch pitcher: fastball and curveball. It can be extremely frustrating to watch him carve up your favorite lineup with just two pitches, but it does happen (… I may have some lingering issues from some postseason series against the Dodgers).
In any case, he’ll more than double that total versus left-handed hitters tonight, with Anthony Rizzo, the greatest leadoff hitter of all-time, leading off (as Ian Happ takes a break) plus Kyle Schwarber, Jason Heyward, and Jason Kipnis all in the lineup.
Speaking of which, I have to wonder if David Bote is hurt, because I’d otherwise expect him to DH instead of Jason Kipnis against a lefty, even one without significant splits. And while we’re at it, the Kris Bryant leadoff experiment is clearly FULLY over, seeing as he did not return when there was an opportunity. Not surprising, but noteworthy.
As usual, we’ll have your full Pre-Gamin’ post closer to game time (7:15 CT).