CUBS LINEUP — Although the Cubs wound up scoring six runs last night, it took then 10 innings to get there, having scored just one run in regulation. They also struck out 14(!) times overall, so I don’t think they’re quite out of the woods just yet. Still, it was nice to see them put up a crooked number, and I hope they do it again tonight.
One more win and you guarantee yourself at least a series split in Milwaukee. That’s still not ideal, but it’s gotta be the baseline for anything close to a non-disaster this week. Here’s a look at the Cubs lineup with Shota Imanga on the mound.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Mike Tauchman, DH
- Seiya Suzuki, RF
- Cody Bellinger, CF
- Chris Morel, 3B
- Ian Happ, LF
- Nico Hoerner, 2B
- Michael Busch, 1B
- Dansby Swanson, SS
- Yan Gomes, C
Tonight’s Brewers starter, Bryse Wilson, has clearly defined lefty/righty splits for his career, significantly favoring left-handers:
vRHH: .250/.299/.421 (.309 wOBA)
vLHH: .284/.361/.515 (.373 wOBA)
And that’s even more dramatic this season, with lefties (.375) far out-pacing righties (.249 wOBA). Nonetheless, there were no meaningful changes to the Cubs lineup because of it. Not that there are any extra lefties hanging around the bench (Mastrobuoni and PCA are both in Iowa).
Milwaukee Brewers Lineup:
- Joey Ortiz, 3B
- William Contreras, C
- Christian Yelich, LF
- Willy Adames, SS
- Gary Sanchez, DH
- Jake Bauers, 1B
- Blake Perkins, CF
- Jackson Chourio, RF
- Brice Turang, 2B
Pitching Matchup:
Chicago Cubs: Shota Imanaga, LHP
Shota Imanaga’s overall ERA remains under 1.00, which is just incredible, and he’s coming off one of his best starts of the year against Pittsburgh: 7.0 IP, 4H, 0ER, 1BB, 7K. It’s actually the fourth time in his last five starts that Imanaga pitched into the seventh inning with seven strikeouts or more. So he’s on quite a roll. The Brewers (92 wRC+) are also much worse against lefties (92 wRC+) than they have been against righties this season (119 wRC+), so that should work in Imanaga’s favor
Milwaukee Brewers: Bryse Wilson, RHP
Bryse Wilson, 26, has bounced in and out of the Brewers rotation this season, with six starts and seven (multi-inning) relief appearances to his name. The results, so far, have been excellent overall (2.86 ERA), but the peripherals tell a much different story: 4.77 FIP, 4.44 xERA. And that’s largely because his 21.2% strikeout rate, 9.5% walk rate, and 45.9% hard-hit rate are all largely unimpressive. This is a guy the Cubs lineup certainly CAN hit.
Broadcast Info:
Chicago Cubs (28-27) vs Milwaukee Brewers (31-23) at 6:40 pm CT – Marquee Sports Network, 670 The Score