Although you’d normally be happy to leave San Diego with a split (which they have already guaranteed with wins on Friday and Sunday), the Cubs need to play better than normal circumstances if they hope to avoid a sell-off come July. That means winning tonight. Fortunately, the Cubs lineup tends to fare better against left-handed pitching, and that’s what they’ll get tonight with Blake Snell on the mound for the finale in San Diego.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Nico Hoerner, 2B
- Dansby Swanson, SS
- Ian Happ, LF
- Seiya Suzuki, RF
- Patrick Wisdom, 4B
- Yan Gomes, DH
- Trey Mancini, 1B
- Miguel Amaya, C
- Chris Morel, CF
Ah, the Cubs lineup vs lefties … it just goes down easier.
Tonight, David Ross is setting Miguel Amaya up behind the plate, but keeping Yan Gomes’ bat in the lineup by way of DH. That leaves center field as the only place for Chris Morel’s bat, as Mike Tauchman grabs some bench.
Meanwhile, as expected, Matt Mervis continues to ride the bench against all lefties (and even against some righties). In other words, the starts have begun drying up as his struggles persist. Chris Morel was even seen getting some pre-game work at first base, though I’m not sure how prophetic that’ll prove to be.
Win this game, win the series. A tough series. Against a good team, on the road. Let’s get it.
San Diego Padres Lineup:
- Rougned Odor, 2B
- Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
- Juan Soto, LF
- Manny Machado, 3B
- Jake Cronenworth, 1B
- Gary Sanchez, C
- Matt Carpenter, DH
- Ha-Seong Kim, SS
- Trent Grisham, CF
Pitching Matchup:
Chicago Cubs: Kyle Hendricks, RHP
Kyle Hendricks has made two starts for the Chicago Cubs since coming off a very lengthy stint on the injured list (dating back to last season). And so far, he’s actually looked pretty good. He only got the desired results in his most recent outing (against the Rays, no less), but he looked pretty similar against the Mets. I don’t think he’s ever going to be the guy he was again, but his location was sharp, his velocity was in a good place, and nobody knows how to make his way through a lineup like Hendricks. If you’re looking for some optimism, the Padres lineup (90 wRC+, 22nd in MLB) is not particularly effective against right-handed pitching this season. Though they have been pretty good against the changeup, in general.
San Diego Padres: Blake Snell, LHP
Other good news? The Cubs lineup performs far better against left-handed pitching than right handed pitching, and Blake Snell is a lefty. He’s also struggling overall this season, with a 4.50 ERA over his first 11 starts. That said, he held the Cubs lineup to just two runs over 5.0 innings when he faced them earlier this year, even though they walked FIVE times. I would say patience is the way to go again, however, as Snell is walking 13.7% of batters faced this year. You just have to come through with a hit once those guys are on base … and that’s been a bit of an issue for the Cubs all year. To put it mildly.
Broadcast Info:
Chicago Cubs (26-32) vs San Diego Padres (27-32) at 8:10 pm CT on MARQ, MLBN, 670 The Score