NEWSLETTER
Tonight, the Cubs are kicking off a three-game set against the Angels at Angel Stadium. Here’s a look at the Cubs lineup against the left-hander Tyler Anderson.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Nico Hoerner, 2B
- Dansby Swanson, SS
- Ian Happ, LF
- Seiya Suzuki, RF
- Yan Gomes, C
- Miguel Amaya, DH
- Mike Tauchman, CF
- Patrick Wisdom, 3B
- Matt Mervis, 1B
Given the recent barrage of left-handed starters, Mervis, who’s been struggling MIGHTILY against both righties and lefties, has been riding the bench quite a bit. Not tonight, though. He’s in there, batting ninth in the Cubs lineup. Might as well try it, I guess. I wouldn’t have much more confidence in Trey Mancini, and the rest of the bench is left-handed (Tucker Barnhart, Miles Mastrobuoni, Edwin Rios) or a reverse-split righty who’s struggling (Chris Morel).
Meanwhile, Ross has flip-flopped his catcher and DH, going with Yan Gomes behind the plate and Miguel Amaya as the bat-first guy. I love Amaya, and I actually think this is the right call … but it’s also kind of crazy that the best the Cubs can do at DH is a 24-year-old rookie catcher who’s barely played the last few years. Again, not a shot at Amaya, whom I believe in very much. It just shouldn’t have ever come to this.
Also of note: Mike Tauchman, a lefty, is in there instead of Chris Morel. And Patrick Wisdom, who’s been slumping, even against lefties, is down to the eighth spot.
It’s another stupid late-night game. See you at Midnight, when this one wraps up.
Los Angeles Angels Lineup:
- TBA
Pitching Matchup:
Chicago Cubs: Hayden Wesneski, RHP
Hayden Wesneski is on the mound for the Cubs tonight, following his return to the majors, which was SUPPOSED to see him ball out in the bullpen. Unfortunately, when Justin Steele was removed from his last start with forearm tightness and subsequently put on the Injured List, Wesneski had to step in. That said, he did well! Wesneski held the mighty Rays offense to just one earned run on one hit, two walks, and four strikeouts over 3.2 innings. It’s a bummer to lose Steele, of course, but it is nice to have a sixth starter like Wesneski, who might not just be passable, but still has a bright future as a Cubs starter.
Los Angeles Angels: Tyler Anderson, LHP
Another lefty with terrible results for the season … will the Cubs lineup take advantage this time? I hope so! Since his first (solid) start of the year, which came against the A’s … Anderson has been lit up by most of the teams he’s faced: 6.17 ERA over nine starts (46.2 IP). He did have a nice run in terms of results from the end of April to the end of May (3.14 ERA), but even that came with a 14.8% strikeout rate and 11.7 walk rate. Now, with that said, Anderson has generally been good at limiting hard contact, but I mean … this is a guy the Cubs lineup simply has to get to tonight. No excuses.
Broadcast Info:
Chicago Cubs (26-33) vs Los Angeles Angels (31-30) at 8:38 pm CT on MARQ, MLBN, 670 The Score
