CUBS LINEUP — Game 2 against the Oakland A’s. Let’s go.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Ian Happ, LF
- Dansby Swanson, SS
- Seiya Suzuki, DH
- Cody Bellinger, RF
- Isaac Paredes, 3B
- Michael Busch, 1B
- Nico Hoerner, 2B
- Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF
- Christian Bethancourt, C
I think I could pre-write all the remaining Cubs lineup posts today, nothing ever changes.
There has been not one single thing to dissect, discuss, or consider in WEEKS. Doesn’t matter what park they’re scheduled to play in, which pitcher they’re facing, or anything else. It’s not like I’m dying to see Mike Tauchman or whomever, but this is getting boring!
I suppose this is where I mention that Christian Bethancourt is filtering in behind the plate, though that was expected with the day game tomorrow following the night game tonight.
Oakland A’s Lineup:
- Lawrence Butler, LF
- Brent Rooker, DH
- Shea Langeliers, C
- JJ Bleday, CF
- Zack Gelof, 2B
- Jacob Wilson, SS
- Tyler Nevin, 1B
- Daz Cameron, LF
- Max Schuemann, 3B
Pitching Matchup:
Chicago Cubs: Jordan Wicks, LHP
Jordan Wicks had two nice starts following his stint on the Injured List, combining for 4 ER over 10.0 IP against the Nationals and Yankees. There was some wonkiness with four walks and just four strikeouts combined over those 10 innings, but he was shaking off some rust and was generally just fine, at least in terms of results … and then the Dodgers blew him up.
In his most recent outing, the Dodgers scored seven times on eight hits off Wicks, including a franchise record-setting FOUR homers in the first inning. Wicks also walked four batters for the second consecutive game, striking out only two. On the bright side, Wicks’ fastball velocity started to tick back up, which is nice to see. Fortunately, the A’s (104 wRC+) are not nearly as good against left-handed pitching as the Dodgers have been this season (118 wRC+, t-2nd best in MLB).
Oakland A’s: Mitch Spence, RHP
Mitch Spence has two primary skill sets: First, he doesn’t walk many batters (7.0 BB% for his career). And second, he generates a fair amount of groundballs (~50 GB% for his career). That’s partly why his 3.90 xERA is much higher than his actual results: 4.33 ERA. If the Cubs can find a way to elevate a bit more tonight, they should be able to do plenty of damage. That said, Spence is coming off a 7.0 IP, 2ER outing against the Astros and has had more than couple of good appearances this year. He’s a perfectly fine, but totally beatable pitcher.
Broadcast Info:
Chicago Cubs (77-73) vs Oakland Athletics (65-88) at 6:40 pm CT – Marquee Sports Network, 670 The Score
- Hayden Wesneski, SP
- Julian Merryweather, RP
- Justin Steele, SP
- Jorge Lopez, RP
- Nick Madrigal, IF
- Ben Brown, RP
- Colten Brewer, RP
- Yency Almonte, RP
- Luke Little, RP
- Adbert Alzolay, RP
- Brennen Davis, OF
- Austin Adams, RP
- Osvaldo Bido, SP
- Ross Stripling, RP
- Trevor Gott, RP
- Ken Waldichuk, SP
- Esteury Ruiz, OF
- Alex Wood, SP
- Luis Medina, SP
- Miguel Andujar, OF