Cubs Lineup — Another day, another opportunity for the Chicago Cubs to win a series! Kyle Hendricks is on the mound for the Cubs, and he’ll take on the lefty David Peterson. And we even have a new-look Cubs lineup to dissect!
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Chris Morel, DH
- Nico Hoerner, 2B
- Ian Happ, LF
- Cody Bellinger, CF
- Dansby Swanson, SS
- Seiya Suzuki, RF
- Jeimer Candelario, 3B
- Patrick Wisdom, 1B
- Miguel Amaya, C
Finally, David Ross gives me something to talk about in this space. I love lineup consistency as much as the next guy, but I need a LITTLE something to discuss.
Let’s start at the top, where Christopher Morel is surprisingly leading off this game. In the past, Nico Hoerner has been Ross’ preferred leadoff man against lefties, but he’s got him in the two-hole tonight. The choice to go with Morel is an … interesting one, seeing as he’s struggling against lefties this year (82 wRC+), with just a .258 OBP over 66 PAs. And those numbers track with his career marks, too.
Meanwhile, although Peterson is struggling against pretty much every type of batter this season, he’s actually split-neutral for his career and tougher on righties (by a wide margin) than lefties this season: .404 wOBA vs. .351 wOBA. Come on, Rossy. On the day I gave you credit!?
The next notable bit in today’s lineup is the infield corners. Jeimer Candelario shifts over to third base, covering for Nick Madrigal, while Patrick Wisdom plays first. I like it. Give Wisdom a chance to run into one (especially because Madrigal is actually struggling against lefties this season: 76 wRC+).
And last, but not least: Seiya Suzuki is back in the Cubs lineup tonight. He’s been getting a lot of days off in favor of the red-hot Mike Tauchman, even against reverse-split righties, and that’s been great. But it’s worth seeing if Suzuki can at least contribute with the platoon advantage. He has hit lefties better than righties for his career.
New York Mets Lineup:
- Brandon Nimmo, CF
- Francisco Alvarez, C
- Francisco Lindor, SS
- Pete Alonso, 1B
- Jeff McNeil, RF
- Abraham Almonte, DH
- Mark Vientos, 3B
- Jonathan Arauz, 2B
- Rafael Ortega, LF
Pitching Matchup:
Chicago Cubs: Kyle Hendricks, RHP
Kyle Hendricks ran into some trouble in his last outing, surrendering 7ER over just 4.0 IP, thanks primary to a ton of hard contact (7 hard hit balls, 3 barrels) and elevation (15.8 degree launch angle, 52.9 FB%). But I’ll give him a break because he was facing the Atlanta Braves, and their offense is potent. The Mets (104 wRC+ vsRHP) are still a potent offense against righties this season, but the Braves (120 wRC+) are the best in baseball.
New York Mets: David Peterson, LHP
David Peterson had been pitching out of the Mets bullpen from the All-Star break until his last start against the Orioles, and although that’s worked well enough for him, his starts were a disaster most of the year:
As starter: 6.12 ERA
As reliever: 2.25 ERA
I’d like to see that continue tonight, please and thanks.
Broadcast Info:
Chicago Cubs (59-55) vs New York Mets (51-62) at 6:10 pm CT on MARQ, MLBN, 670 The Score
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