NEWSLETTER
Well, there have been two Cubs lineups since Miguel Amaya was called up in a pinch to replace the possibly concussed Yan Gomes, but still no start for him. Maybe he’ll be in there tomorrow against a lefty. Anyway, I think you’ll have some other dissapointed reactions on this Cubs lineup.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Nico Hoerner, 2B
- Dansby Swanson, SS
- Ian Happ, LF
- Cody Bellinger, CF
- Seiya Suzuki, RF
- Trey Mancini, 1B
- Eric Hosmer, DH
- Patrick Wisdom, 3B
- Tucker Barnhart, C
Patrick Wisdom is batting eighth in the Cubs lineup this evening, behind Eric Hosmer, and ahead of Tucker Barnhart. And while I get the value in splitting up the lefties, something about it just feels so wrong. Maybe it’s because he’s hitting a whopping .242/.318/.636 (150 wRC+) with a tied-for-the-league-leading ELEVEN home runs.
To be fair, Trey Mancini has been hitting the ball very well lately and you’re not going to find many good arguments to put Wisdom in that top-5, but still. With no Matt Mervis, no Chris Morel, no Nelson Velázquez (are we sure he’s not hurt?), and Hosmer hitting ahead of him … it’s an easy lineup to critique. Hopefully, he still does his damage and Marcus Stroman makes the entire conversation moot.
Washington Nationals Lineup:
- Alex Call, LF
- Luis Garcia, 2B
- Keibert Ruiz, C
- Joey Meneses, DH
- Jeimer Candelario, 3B
- Dom Smith, 1B
- Lane Thomas, RF
- CJ Abrams, SS
- Victor Robles, CF
Pitching Matchup:
Chicago Cubs: Marcus Stroman, RHP
Two outings ago, Marcus Stroman had his first and only rough start of the year, allowing a few Dodgers homers to ruin what had been a four-game quality start streak to begin the season. He has since bounced back with a nice effort against the Marlins (6.1 IP, 6H, 2ER, 2BB, 3K) and has really just been excellent since last July: 22 starts, 2.49 ERA. This season, he’s been particularly brutal on right-handed hitters, who are slashing just .167/.214/.258 (.213 wOBA) against Stroman over 19.2 innings, which should bode well against the Nationals tonight. With that said, a few Nats hitters have tagged Stroman in the past.
Washington Nationals: Jake Irvin, RHP
Former Cubs Cory Abbott was, at one point, the probable starter for tonight’s game, but he pitched on Monday and has since been sent back down to the minors. So tonight, the Chicago Cubs lineup will square up against 26-year-old rookie Jake Irvin, who’s making his Major League debut. Irvin missed the 2021 season because of Tommy John surgery, before making 9 starts High-A (1.50 ERA) and 15 starts at Double-A (4.79 ERA) in 2022. This season, he’s gotten off to a slow start over his first five starts (5.64 ERA), though one REALLY bad game is mucking up the line a bit.
Here’s his scouting report, via Baseball America: “Irvin has a three-pitch mix led by a fastball that sits around 94 mph and gets up to 97-98 at peak, with mediocre life. His go-to secondary is a low-80s curveball that is described as a power slurve by some scouts. He has good feel for his breaking ball, but a firm, upper-80s changeup remains a work in progress. Irvin has feel to throw all three pitches for strikes and posted a strong 6.6% walk rate.”
Broadcast Info:
Chicago Cubs (15-14) vs Washington Nationals (11-18) at 6:05 pm CT on Marquee Sports Network, 670 The Score
