Cubs Lineup — Well, there are only three regular season games left and the Cubs are technically still in the race. It’ll take near-perfect circumstances to get the Cubs a game beyond October 1, so buckle up. At BEST, it’ll be an extremely bumpy ride. But, hey, it’s never a bad day when Kyle Hendricks takes the mound as a Cub on a Friday against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Mike Tauchman, CF
- Nico Hoerner, 2B
- Ian Happ, LF
- Cody Bellinger, 1B
- Seiya Suzuki, RF
- Dansby Swanson, SS
- Jeimer Candelario, 3B
- Chris Morel, DH
- Yan Gomes, C
You can’t sit him, I get that, but Yan Gomes is playing way too much for a 36-year-old catcher. Makes me pretty nervous about what we’ll get out of him next year (though I suppose that’s when you start transitioning Miguel Amaya into a full-time role anyway).
Other than that, I don’t have many special notes from this group. It’s pretty standard from top-to-bottom, with the exception that Chris Morel comes in as the DH, effectively pushing Miles Mastrobuoni to the bench (Morel from bench to DH, Tauchman from DH to CF, Bellinger from CF to 1B, Candelario from 1B to 3B, Mastrobuoni from 3B to bench).
Gotta win. Have to win. Truly, must win.
Milwaukee Brewers Lineup:
- Christian Yelich, LF
- William Contreras, DH
- Carlos Santana, 2B
- Sal Frelick, RF
- Willy Adames, SS
- Josh Donaldson, 4B
- Garrett Mitchell, CF
- Victor Caratini, C
- Brice Turang, 2B
Pitching Matchup:
Chicago Cubs: Kyle Hendricks, RHP
Kyle Hendricks will be making his last start of the regular season tonight, and boy … did he have just no business being as good as he was this year: 3.66 ERA over 23 starts (132.2 IP). That’s just way WAY better than anyone was counting on coming into the season, and I don’t want that to get lost with whatever happens tonight. I suspect Hendricks will be back with the Cubs again next year (though there’s some contractual red tape to get through). So this isn’t goodbye or anything. But, yeah, he was a stud this year and it has been an absolute pleasure.
Milwaukee Brewers: Colin Rea, RHP
Each of Colin Rea’s last three appearances have come out of the bullpen, though the two of them were 4.2 IP, so they were more like starts. In fact, most of his starts don’t last much longer than that anyway, so don’t take too much away from that. I’d like to be encouraged by the fact that he has a 5.32 ERA (5.75 FIP) over his last 44.0 IP, including a staggering 12 homers (almost more homers than walks!). But I’m dead inside and am no longer capable/willing to get excited until and unless the Cubs do something magical this weekend.
Broadcast Info:
Chicago Cubs (82-77) vs Milwaukee Brewers (90-69) at 7:10 pm CT on MARQ, MLBN, 670 The Score
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