NEWSLETTER
CUBS LINEUP — Okay, well, that was a bad one. But what team could have possibly been expected to hit perennial Cy Young candidate, Jose Quintana? Let’s just hope the Cubs lineup has more luck today with an absolute STUD like … Tylor Megill?
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Nico Hoerner, 2B
- Michael Busch, 2B
- Cody Bellinger, RF
- Seiya Suzuki, DH
- Ian Happ, LF
- Chris Morel, 3B
- Dansby Swanson, SS
- Pete-Crow Armstrong, CF
- Tomas Nido, C
There’s a lot of notable stuff in today’s Cubs lineup. First and foremost, Christopher Morel is finally moving down in the batting order. He still strikes me as a guy with a very bright future offensively, but he has OBVIOUSLY been struggling too hard for too long to stay in the cleanup spot any longer. And with a righty like Megill on the mound with these splits …
vLHH: .287/.362/.482 (.365 wOBA)
vRHH: .240/.303/.380 (.299 wOBA)
… today made as much sense as any. So Michael Busch (who really needs to be starting everyday anyway at this point) moves up to the two-hole and Seiya Suzuki takes over cleanup for Morel. The only thing left is probably for Ian Happ to reclaim his leadoff duties. But you also don’t want to mess with him too badly right now, seeing as things have turned around for Happ lately. Plus, Hoerner is going to leadoff against a lefty tomorrow, anyway, so you might as well keep him there through the weekend for a little consistency.
Okay, the next notable thing: Tomas Nido is getting his first start in a Cubs uniform and against his former team. Nido is NOT going to be an offensive weapon for the Cubs, but his defense should be a significant step up from both Gomes and Amaya, plus even his not-great offensive production is actually far stronger than what Gomes had been providing. So not a savior, but probably a good step up.
And lastly, it’s good to see Dansby Swanson back in the Cubs lineup after leaving yesterday’s game early.
New York Mets Lineup:
- Francisco Lindor, SS
- Brandon Nimmo, CF
- J.D. Martinez, DH
- Pete Alonso, 1B
- DJ Stewart, LF
- Starling Marte, RF
- Francisco Alvarez, C
- Jeff McNeil, 2B
- Jose Iglesias, 3B
Pitching Matchup:
Chicago Cubs: Jameson Taillon, RHP
Jameson Taillon has posted back-to-back quality starts though I actually thought he looked better against the Cardinals (7H, 2ER, 2BB, 3K) than he did in his scoreless effort against the Rays (4H, 0ER, 1BB, 5K). Weird now that I look back at the stats, but that’s just how I remember it. I think he got away with some meatballs against the Rays that should’ve been punished, but otherwise “earned” his performance against St. Louis. Either way, he’s been a perfectly fine mid-back rotation starter for almost a full year now. Just keep doing that.
New York Mets: Tylor Megill, RHP
Tylor Megill has made six starts this season, tallying 37 strikeouts in his 30.2 innings of work. That’s quite good. With that said, he has allowed 9 earned runs over his last three starts (14.2 IP), which is only good for a 5.52 ERA. And those results come alongside a 10.1% walk rate, a .279 AVG against, and a TON of hard-contact. Point being, the Cubs lineup absolutely can score against him.
Broadcast Info:
Chicago Cubs (36-40) vs New York Mets (36-38) at 1:20 pm CT – Marquee Sports Network, FS1, 670 The Score
