Update: The game will start at 7:45pm CT.
Well, crap. The Cubs were supposed to have Jameson Taillon on the mound tonight against the Dodgers, but he was scratched and IL-ed with a groin strain. In his place, they had to call up Javier Assad in an emergency. That’s never ideal. Hopefully, the Cubs lineup can provide him with plenty of run support. It can’t be fun to have a surprise start against the Dodgers.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Nico Hoerner, 2B
- Dansby Swanson, SS
- Ian Happ, LF
- Seiya Suzuki, RF
- Cody Bellinger, CF
- Patrick Wisdom, 3B
- Eric Hosmer, DH
- Trey Mancini, 1B
- Tucker Barnhart, C
Today’s Cubs lineup looks identical to the group the Cubs used against Michael Grove last weekend, with one exception: Trey Mancini and Patrick Wisdom flipped spots in the batting order. That’s it. Otherwise, it’s the same. And although the Cubs won that game, they weren’t really able to do much against Grove. Hopefully, they learned something about him last week they can apply tonight. Facing the same starter twice in short order usually does favor the batters.
Los Angeles Dodgers Lineup:
- James Outman, RF
- Freddie Freeman, 1B
- J.D. Martinez, DH
- Max Muncy, 3B
- Trayce Thompson, CF
- David Peralta, LF
- Miguel Vargas, 2B
- Luke Williams, SS
- Austin Barnes, C
Pitching Matchup:
Los Angeles Dodgers: Michael Grove, RHP
Michael Grove’s best start of the season – by far – was his last start … against the Chicago Cubs: 5.2 IP, 2H, 1ER, 2BB, 6K. Before that, he had allowed 12(!) earned runs over his previous 7.1 IP. Hopefully, the Cubs have figured him out a bit, because they’re probably going to need some serious run support tonight.
Notable Matchups: Patrick Wisdom (1-2, HR)
Chicago Cubs: Javier Assad, RHP
Javier Assad began the season as the third of three contenders for the final spot in the rotation. But after Hayden Wesneski won the gig, and Adrian Sampson headed to Triple-A Iowa, Assad took a job in the Cubs bullpen. Unfortunately, Assad wasn’t able to continue his WBC dominance out of the Cubs pen (6ER in 4.1 IP) and he was sent out to Iowa to stretch back out into a starter (and to make room for Nelson Velรกzquez). He’s made one start for Iowa since going down, and it was a short, ineffective one. Though I suspect the results were less of a concern than the process of stretching back out. Unfortunately, just six days later and he’s being thrown into the lion’s den out of necessity. Best of luck. The Cubs lineup is going to have to step up for him tonight.
Notable Matchups: n/a
Broadcast Info:
Chicago Cubs (11-6) vs Los Angeles Dodgers (9-10) at 6:40 pm CT on Marquee Sports Network, MLBN, 670 The Score