Cubs vs Mariners – Lineups, Pitching Matchup, How to Watch, Game Thread

April 11, 2023, by Michael Cerami Chicago Cubs

The last time the Chicago Cubs were two games above .500 was April 18, 2022. That’s the most games above .500 they were all last season. Tonight, the Cubs will take their third shot at going two games over .500 this year behind the rookie Hayden Wesneski. Here’s a look at the Chicago Cubs lineup for Game 2 of 3 against the Mariners.

Chicago Cubs Lineup:

Nico Hoerner, 2B
Dansby Swanson, SS
Ian Happ, LF
Trey Mancini, 1B
Cody Bellinger, CF
Patrick Wisdom, 3B
Eric Hosmer, DH
Yan Gomes, C
Nelson Velázquez, RF

Pretty straight forward Cubs lineup for David Ross this afternoon, with Yan Gomes back behind the plate again and Patrick Wisdom at third (tough person to sit right now, even though he had a cold day yesterday).

HOWEVA, we are getting our first Nelson Velázquez right field start of the year. Velázquez, who was just promoted yesterday, may not have too much time to show off before Seiya Suzuki returns, but he’s a heckuva lot more exciting to watch than Mastrobuoni (or Nick Madrigal, by way of third). And he’s a better right fielder than Mastrobuoni, Wisdom, or Mancini. Well, that’s mostly because none of those guys actually ARE right fielders by trade. That’s kind of the point. Anyway, Velázquez, 24, arrives after hitting .364/.432/.697 (188 wRC+) in 8 games and 37 plate appearances in Iowa.

Seattle Mariners Lineup:

Julio Rodriguez, CF
Ty France, 1B
Eugenio Suarez, 3B
Cal Raleigh, C
Teoscar Hernandez, RF
Jared Kelenic, LF
Kolten Wong, 2B
Tommy La Stella, 3B
Jamal Crawford, SS

Pitching Matchup:

Seattle Mariners: Chris Flexen, RHP

Mariners righty Chris Flexen is making his third start of the season tonight, coming off a couple of fine but short outings against the Guardians and the Angels (combined): 9.0 IP, 6H, 3ER, 5BB, 5K. Obviously, he limited the damage well enough, but he was a little wild, especially in that first game against Cleveland, when he lived in the zone just 37.9% of the time. Notably, the Cubs have been offering at more than their fair share of pitches out of the zone so far this season, so maybe that’s something to keep an eye on tonight. Flexen hasn’t had a lot of experience with anybody in the Cubs lineup tonight, but here’s the history he does have.

Notable Matchups:

Mancini: 2-6, 2 2Bs
Hosmer: 2-5, K
Swanson: 2-4, 2B, 2K
Barnhart: 0-4, K

Chicago Cubs: Hayden Wesneski, RHP

Hayden Wesneski is making just his second start of the season. And the first one didn’t quite go as well as we were hoping: 4.2 IP, 6H (2HR), 3ER 2BB, 4K. The groundball rate was down, he wasn’t getting into a rhythm and the Reds were just generally squaring him up (5 hard hit balls, 2 barrels, 91.7 MPH average exit velocity). Hopefully, he can follow in Drew Smyly’s footsteps, and put that one behind him against the Mariners tonight. He hasn’t faced any of the batters in the Mariners lineup before, so no notable matchups to discuss.

Notable Matchups: N/A