NEWSLETTER
CUBS LINEUP — Don’t shoot the messenger, but this Cubs game doesn’t start until 8:40pm CT … and it’s on AppleTV+. I don’t make the rules. In any case, it’s been a nice long break since the frustrating series in San Diego. Let’s see if the Cubs used their day off wisely and come out swinging tonight. Here’s a look at the Cubs lineup against Bryce Miller and the Seattle Mariners.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Ian Happ, LF
- Seiya Suzuki, RF
- Cody Bellinger, CF
- Chris Morel, 3B
- Dansby Swanson, SS
- Michael Busch, 1B
- Nico Hoerner, 2B
- Mike Tauchman, DH
- Yan Gomes, C
With over 275 batters faced (of each kind), Bryce Miller’s success against right-handed hitters is significantly more impressive than his book of work against lefties:
vRHH: .210/.242/.332 (.250 wOBA)
vLHH: .282/.340/.521 (.366 wOBA)
Drilling down into those splits: lefties strike out way less often, walk nearly twice as much, hit far more line drives, fewer grounders, and have a lot more hard contact. In other words, it’s pretty much better all the way across the board.
So on the one hand, I’m not surprised to see Mike Tauchman in the Cubs lineup tonight, by way of DH. But on the other hand, I’m moderately surprised Michael Busch didn’t stay higher up in the batting order, where he was on Wednesday against Dylan Cease (5th, swapping spots with Dansby Swanson). No qualms with it, Swanson is hitting just fine, just moderately surprised. Even if that move wasn’t permanent, it makes as much sense tonight as it did two days ago.
I’m less surprised to see no Miles Mastrobuoni in the Cubs lineup, but as the other left-handed hitter on the Cubs bench, it was at least a possibility!
Seattle Mariners Lineup:
- J.P. Crawford, SS
- Julio Rodriguez, CF
- Ty France, 1B
- Mitch Haniger, RF
- Jorge Polanco, 2B
- Mitch Garver, DH
- Cal Raleigh, C
- Dylan Moore, LF
- Luis Urias, 3B
Pitching Matchup:
Chicago Cubs: Jordan Wicks, LHP
Jordan Wicks is an absolute stud. If you only scout the stat-lines and ignore all context, you might be unimpressed by his first two starts and 4.15 ERA. But if you’ve actually watched his games, you know he’s been really impressive overall. Perhaps tonight is the night he finally puts it all together and delivers a good, lengthy outing. Lord knows the bullpen can use another day off, even with reinforcements coming and a scheduled day off on Thursday.
We gave Wicks a deeper look earlier this week, but the short version is that he’s throwing harder than ever, getting more whiffs than ever, throwing his fastball more often, and is seeing way more movement on his slider. His ability to mix and match between six different pitches and his overall preparation and execution is starting to make me re-think what he could be for the Cubs moving forward. Like I said on Monday, I don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves, because it’s so early and his ceiling isn’t as high as some other guys. But, yes. Wicks looks good.
Note, however, that the Mariners are a lot better against left-handed pitching than they are righties. Just tuck that in your back pocket and decide how to use it later.
Seattle Mariners: Bryce Miller, RHP
No team in MLB has faced higher fastball velocities this season than the Chicago Cubs (95.3 MPH), and that’s not going to change tonight. Bryce Miller’s four-seamer is clocking in at 95.6 MPH this season, and his sinker is 95.1 MPH. And the Mariners have a couple of guys in the ‘pen that can ramp it up to the upper-90s, too. That said, Bryce Miller, while good and young, is gettable.
He had middling numbers in his debut season last year, and was hit just fine by the Red Sox in his 2024 debut: 5.0 IP, 6H, 4ER, 2BB, 6K (2 HRs). He did, however, follow that up with a great start against the Brewers (7.0 scoreless with just 3H, 1BB, and 7Ks). But the Cubs have been battlers all season long, with plenty of runs scored against some good starting pitchers. I’m feeling okay about tonight.
Broadcast Info:
Chicago Cubs (7-5) vs Seattle Mariners (5-8) at 8:40 pm CT – AppleTV+, 670 The Score
