After an off-day yesterday and no baseball today (man, that felt like forever), the Chicago Cubs are back at it tonight at Sloan Park against the San Diego Padres. And let me tell you, this looks a whole lot like their Opening Day/everyday lineup against right-handed pitching, including Kyle Hendricks batting for himself in the ninth spot:
Here is our #StPatricksDay lineup! pic.twitter.com/EmV7XtEb2l
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) March 17, 2021
The decision-points to note there are (1) Nico Hoerner at second base (though we’ve expected this for a while), (2) Javy Baez hitting relatively low in the order (I suspect that’ll be a “for the time being” sort of thing), (3) Willson Contreras in the two-hole (right where I like him), and Kris Bryant hitting back-to-back with Anthony Rizzo in the heart of the order (right where they belong).
We’ll see if David Ross elects to hit the pitcher 8th when the season actually starts, but otherwise, this is the group you should expect on Opening Day … which, by the way, is just TWO WEEKS from tomorrow. Go Cubs.
Game Info
San Diego Padres (7-9) at Chicago Cubs (7-5) – Wednesday, March 17th, at 8:05 CT on Marquee Sports Network
Starting Pitchers
Padres: Chris Paddack (R)
versus
Cubs: Kyle Hendricks (R)
Chicago Cubs:
1. Ian Happ, CF
2. Willson Contreras, C
3. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
4. Kris Bryant, 3B
5. Joc Pederson, LF
6. Javy Baez, SS
7. Jason Heyward, RF
8. Nico Hoerner, 2B
9. Kyle Hendricks, P
San Diego Padres:
1. Tommy Pham, LF
2. Jake Cronenworth, 1B
3. Manny Machado, 3B
4. Wil Myers, RF
5. Jurickson Profar, CF
6. Luis Campusano, C
7. Ha-Seong Kim, 2B
8. CH Abrams, SS
9. Chris Paddack, P