The Cubs have been able to avoid the sweep five times this year (as in, if they lost the finale, they’d have been swept), so they need to win today to preserve the streak. Unfortunately, they’ll have to do it without Kris Bryant or Anthony Rizzo once again.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
1. Willson Contreras, C
2. Patrick Wisdom, 1B
3. Joc Pederson, LF
4. Javy Baez, SS
5. Jake Marisnick, CF
6. Ian Happ, RF
7. Eric Sogard, 3B
8. Sergio Alcantara, 2B
9. Jake Arrieta, P
The Cubs luck isn’t all bad, though: they were supposed to face Corbin Burnes today. Instead, they’ll get somebody named Aaron Ashby.
Ashby is a 23-year-old left-hander (and top-10 prospect in the Brewers system) making his big league debut. Over six starts (and six more appearances in relief) at Triple-A this season, Ashby has struck out a ton of batters (33.3 K%), but paid for it with free passes (14.3 BB%). He’ll be greeted today with Willson Contreras and Patrick Wisdom atop the lineup, followed by Joc Pederson and Javy Baez.
Jake Marisnick draws the start in center, pushing Ian Happ to right, where he starts instead of Heyward. Eric Sogard covers third for Bryant and Alcantara remains at second.
As usual, we’ll have your full Pre-Gamin’ post closer to game time (1:10 CT).