NEWSLETTER
CUBS LINEUP — The Cubs had their day of rest and reflection, they’re back at home, and they’re facing a team with significant injuries. Who care if they’re “the best team in baseball.” Let’s beat the Phillies. Huzzah!
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Nico Hoerner, 2B
- Michael Busch, 1B
- Cody Bellinger, RF
- Seiya Suzuki, DH
- Ian Happ, LF
- Christopher Morel, 3B
- Dansby Swanson, SS
- Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF
- Tomas Nido, C
No surprises to the Cubs lineup tonight, with your regular everyday guys across the diamond. The only moderate development of late is the reality that Seiya Suzuki is turning into more of a DH than a right fielder. That’s probably more about Cody Bellinger’s defense being a plus and the desire to start PCA more often than not, but still.
Philadelphia Phillies Lineup:
- Bryson Stott, 2B
- Trea Turner, SS
- Alec Bohm, 3B
- Brandon Marsh, LF
- Nick Castellanos, RF
- Kody Clemens, 2B
- David Dahl, DH
- Drew Stubbs, C
- Johan Rojas, CF
Pitching Matchup:
Chicago Cubs: Hayden Wesneski, RHP
Over his last 15.2 innings pitched, Hayden Wesneski has allowed a ridiculous eight (8!) home runs to fly over his head and out of the park. It’s a problem of his we’ve seen before. And the Phillies are not an easy matchup for a guy with that particular issue going on, even without Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper (both out injured). Indeed, the Phillies are starting five lefties against Wesneski tonight, knowing that, too, has been a problem of his. The wind is blowing out to left field tonight, as of now.
Philadelphia Phillies: Michael Mercado, RHP
Michael Mercado was a fairly big prospect many years ago, but after Tommy John surgery and a long journey back, he’s more of a back-end top-30 organizational prospect for the Phillies now. But tonight, he’s scheduled to make the first big league start of his career. He began his season pitching out of the Triple-A bullpen, but made ten straight starts at Triple-A before his promotion: 1.98 ERA over 41.0 IP. The walk rate was high, but the strikeout rate was solid-ish, as was the .198 AVG against. He’s got a mid-90s fastball (could be higher depending on if he’s pitching in relief or not), an upper-80s cutter, and a good curveball as his primary pitches, but he will occasionally mix in a changeup, as well.
Broadcast Info:
Chicago Cubs (39-46) vs Philadelphia Phillies (55-29) at 7:05 pm CT – Marquee Sports Network, TBS, 670 The Score
