NEWSLETTER
After the off-day yesterday, the Chicago Cubs are in Pittsburgh this afternoon for a little lefty-on-lefty action. From here, the Cubs will play 13 games in 13 days, just the way the lord intended.
Also today? Drew Smyly is getting his first big league start in a Cubs uniform … 4.5 years after the first time he signed with the Cubs. Smyly will use his four-seamer, curveball, and cutter to work through the Pirates hitters this afternoon. But with two switch hitters scheduled to start, the Pirates will have just one lefty in their entire group against Smyly today. And that could present a challenge, given that righties slashed .263/.330/.459 off him last season.
As for the Pirates, Jose Quintana is on the mound, pitching against his former team for the first time since he was a White Sox starter. He’ll also face a bevy of right-handed hitters, with not a single lefty in sight.
Today also marks Quintana’s 2022 debut, following a brutal 2021 season with the Giants and Angels (6.43 ERA, 11.8% walk rate), which he began in the rotation, but finished as a reliever. He did strike out a surprising number of batters last season (28.6%), but he was crushed by homers and just hard contact in general. He was especially bad as a starter. The Cubs really need to win games with starters like this on the mound.
Go Cubs.
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (2-1) at Pittsburgh Pirates (1-2) – Tuesday, April 12 at 3:12 CT on Marquee, 670 The Score
Bet of the Day:
Frank Schwindel has gotten off to a slow start (not surprising, given the Brewers pitching), but he’s got a juicy left-hander on the mound today. So I took Schwindel to go deep at DraftKings at +450. You can also have Seiya Suzuki to homer at +600.
Starting Pitchers
Pirates: Jose Quintana (L)
versus
Cubs: Drew Smyly (L)
Chicago Cubs (Lineup Discussion):
1. Clint Frazier, DH
2. Willson Contreras, C
3. Patrick Wisdom, 3B
4. Frank Schwindel, 1B
5. Seiya Suzuki, RF
6. Nick Madrigal, 2B
7. Michael Hermosillo, CF
8. Ian Happ, LF
9. Nico Hoerner, SS
Pittsburgh Pirates:
1. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B
2. Bryant Reynolds, CF
3. Michael Chavis, DH
4. Yoshi Tsutsugo, 1B
5. Diego Castillo, 2B
6. Kevin Newman, SS
7. Jake Marisnick, LF
8. Roberto Perez, C
9. Cole Tucker, RF
