The Chicago Cubs are back in Pittsburgh tonight, for the first of three straight against the Pirates. Jake Arrieta is on the mound for the Cubs, while the Pirates will throw right-hander Cody Ponce. Here’s David Ross’ lineup for Game 1.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
1. Joc Pederson, LF
2. Kris Bryant, RF
3. Javy Baez, SS
4. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
5. Ian Happ, CF
6. Nico Hoerner, 2B
7. David Bote, 3B
8. P.J. Higgins, C
9. Jake Arrieta, P
Ponce, 27, will be making his 2021 debut tonight, in what will be just the fourth big league start of his career. Meanwhile, Cubs catcher P.J. Higgins will be making the second start of his big league career, catching Jake Arrieta for the first time. And with that, Willson Contreras is getting the night off, after taking a mean 99 MPH fastball off his wrist at the end of the Cardinals game on Sunday night. There’s no IL news as of this moment, but I wouldn’t be surprised. He stayed in the game on Sunday and had the day off yesterday, but that thing must be the size of a balloon right now. I just hope he’s okay (Update: No broken bones! But he is sore).
Besides that it’s mostly business as usual. With Matt Duffy (just hit the IL) and Jason Heyward still dealing with various injuries, David Bote (3B) and Kris Bryant (RF) continue to cover elsewhere. Joc Pederson is still leading off, and Javy Baez is batting third.
As usual, we’ll have your full Pre-Gamin’ post closer to game time (5:35 CT).
Oh, and by the way, if you use the code “CeramiShop” in the Bleacher Nation store at Obvious Shirts right now, you can get $5 off a bunch of Jake Arrieta shirts – but only until the first pitch!
🚨🚨 From now until first pitch tonight, you can get $5 OFF a bunch of Jake Arrieta shirts in the @BleacherNation section of @obvious_shirts 🚨🚨
That's about six hours until the sale vanishes. Enjoy.
$5 OFF CODE: CeramiShop
GO: https://t.co/8Y82OSNx06 pic.twitter.com/O6NOmGeH69— Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) May 25, 2021