NEWSLETTER
CUBS LINEUP — The Cubs won again last night, which means they’ve already won the season-series against the still-struggling Astros. Justin Verlander will be on the bump for today’s finale, but he’ll have to go up against the mighty Javier Assad. Here’s a look at the Cubs lineup for Game 3 at Wrigley Field.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Nico Hoerner, 2B
- Mike Tauchman, RF
- Ian Happ, DH
- Michael Busch, 1B
- Dansby Swanson, SS
- Nick Madrigal, 3B
- Miguel Amaya, C
- Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF
- Alexander Canario, LF
The top of the Cubs lineup remains the same, and I think it’ll look like this for a while. But there are some notable changes throughout. For example, Christopher Morel is getting the day off, which opens up third base for Nick Madrigal and DH for Ian Happ, who’s probably still nursing a sore hamstring (or at least playing it safe with his recovery).
With Happ at DH and Cody Bellinger and Seiya Suzuki out injured, left field is open for Alexander Canario and center field is open for Pete Crow-Armstrong’s first start of the year. He’ll probably impact the game in all the ways we know he already can – defense, base running – but here’s hoping he can add a little spark of offense, too. It hadn’t bee going to well for him in Triple-A though. So I’ll keep my expectations low and be pleasantly surprised, if anything.
Houston Astros Lineup:
- Jose Altuve, 2B
- Alex Bregman, 3B
- Yordan Alvarez, DH
- Kyle Tucker, RF
- Yainer DIaz, C
- Jeremy Peña, SS
- Jon Singleton, 1B
- Chas McCormick, LF
- Mauricio Dubon, CF
Pitching Matchup:
Chicago Cubs: Javier Assad, RHP
Javier Assad has made four really solid starts so far this season, as evidence by his 2.11 ERA (3.67 FIP). He has intermittently been a tiny bit wild (3 walks last game and 3 walks three games ago), but you can’t argue with the results. The Astros will be a tough matchup for him, and this isn’t exactly the strongest Cubs lineup going up against Justin Verlander.
Houston Astros: Justin Verlander, RHP
Justin Verlander started the year on the injured list as he build up from a shoulder injury that delayed his Spring. But his first start back was a good one: 6.0 IP, 4H, 2ER, 0BB, 4K. And while the Washington Nationals aren’t a particularly formiddable opponent overall, they have hit righties fine so far this season (107 wRC+, 9th in MLB). So Verlander is probably feeling pretty good about that start.
Broadcast Info:
Chicago Cubs (15-9) at Houston Astros (7-18) at 1:20 pm CT – Marquee Sports Network, 670 The Score
