Cubs vs Marlins: Lineups, Pitching Matchups, Broadcast Info, Game Thread

April 29, 2023, by Michael Cerami Chicago Cubs

Dang. That was a winnable game last night. Now, the Cubs will have to take two straight on the road to avoid a series loss to a mediocre Marlins team. And it’s not like Caleb Kilian gives the Cubs their best odds at the moment. The Cubs lineup will probably have to step up for him in this one. Here’s a look at David Ross’ group for Game 2.

Chicago Cubs Lineup:

Nico Hoerner, 2B
Dansby Swanson, SS
Ian Happ, LF
Seiya Suzuki, RF
Cody Bellinger, CF
Trey Mancini, 1B
Eric Hosmer, DH
Patrick Wisdom, 3B
Tucker Barnhart, C

I have more notes on Marlins starter Edward Cabrera below, but two quick things to keep in mind today: (1) he’s wild, very wild and (2) righties have hit him FAR better than lefties throughout his career:

vs LHH: .194/.306/.330 (.288 wOBA)
vs RHH: .213/.364/.436 (.355 wOBA) – 15.6 BB%

But Cubs hitters have their own splits too, I guess. So David Ross is rolling with Tucker Barnhart behind the plate (earlier game after a night game, I guess). And Eric Hosmer at DH instead of Nelson Velázquez. Shrug. I think we’re just going to see Eric Hosmer in there against every single non-lefty until the day Matt Mervis comes up. That’s just how it’s going to be.

Miami Marlins Lineup:

Jazz Chisholm Jr., CF
Jorge Soler, DH
Yuli Gurriel, 1B
Luis Arraez, 2B
Bryan De La Cruz, LF
Jesus Sanchez, RF
Jean Segura, 3B
Jacob Stallings, C
Garrett Hampson, SS

Pitching Matchup:

Chicago Cubs: Caleb Kilian, RHP

Caleb Kilian is coming up for his second taste of the big leagues in a spot start for the injured Jameson Taillon. Kilian’s story is an up-and-down one that basically goes from being the top pitching prospect in the Cubs system (last year), who built a reputation for pristine command, to debuting to awful results, to losing his command entirely. Those no real evidence that his command issues are “fixed,” but he is available, on the roster, and pretty much the most obvious next-man up at the moment.

Miami Marlins: Edward Cabrera, RHP

This afternoon, the Cubs lineup will square up against 25-year-old righty Edward Cabrera, who’s coming off a rough start against Atlanta: 4.1 IP, 4H (2HR), 4ER, 4BB, 6K. Cabrera throws hard (89th percentile fastball), has a high-spin curveball, and generates a ton of whiffs … but he’s also pretty wild. In fact, if he had enough innings to qualify, he’d have – BY FAR – the highest walk rate in MLB (19.2%). So it’s going to be all about patience for the Cubs lineup today. Take those walks, get on base, grind him down.