The Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves square off for the first of a four-game set tonight at Wrigley Field. These two teams already met once this season, with Atlanta getting the best of Chicago in 2 of 3. With that said, the Cubs (10-11) have somehow had better luck than the Braves (9-12), and could move back to .500 with a win tonight.
As we discussed earlier, I don’t love the matchup against Charlie Morton, whose array of mid-90s fastballs (four-seamer, cutter, sinker) seems like a recipe of disaster for the Cubs, but if we’re afraid of every mid-90s fastball the Cubs are going to see this season, we’re going to have a very bad time. Plus, hey, the offense has been better of late. To that end, note that Joc Pederson remains out, Javy Baez is out (hamstring), Nico Hoerner is leading off and playing short, and Kris Bryant is out in left field.
In any case, the bigger concern tonight is probably Zach Davies, who just hasn’t quite been, well, very good yet this season. The Cubs need him to bounce back soon if they want to make up some ground in the NL Central.
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (10-11) at Atlanta Braves (9-12) – Monday, April 26th at 6:10 CT on Marquee Sports Network, ESPN, 670 The Score
Starting Pitchers
Braves: Charlie Morton (R)
versus
Cubs: Zach Davies (R)
Chicago Cubs (Lineup Discussion):
1. Nico Hoerner, SS
2. Willson Contreras, C
3. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
4. Kris Bryant, LF
5. Ian Happ, CF
6. David Bote, 3B
7. Jason Heyward, RF
8. Eric Sogard, 2B
9. Zach Davies, P
Atlanta Braves:
1. Ronald Acuña Jr., RF
2. Freddie Freeman, 1B
3. Marcell Ozuna, LF
4. Ozzie Albies, 2B
5. Travis d’Arnaud, C
6. Dansby Swanson, SS
7. Austin Riley, 3B
8. Guillermo Heredia, CF
9. Charlie Morton, P