CUBS LINEUP — The Cubs have another late-night game tonight (I really hate the start of this season), but at least it’s against the Athletics and not the Dodgers or Diamondbacks. The A’s aren’t going to be an awful team this year, but this is pretty much the only “easy-ish” opponent the Cubs have until the end of April. So let’s not let this opportunity slip, eh?
Here’s the Cubs lineup for the opener in Sacramento.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Ian Happ, LF
- Kyle Tucker, RF
- Seiya Suzuki, DH
- Michael Busch, 1B
- Dansby Swanson, SS
- Nico Hoerner, 2B
- Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF
- Matt Shaw, 3B
- Carson Kelly, C
After a few days of changes to the Cubs lineup for one reason (rest for Nico Hoerner) or another (righties for the D-backs lefty starter), things are about back to normal tonight. That means Kyle Tucker is back in the two-hole, with Seiya Suzuki behind him at DH. It also means Michael Busch is back at first, with Justin Turner headed back to the bench.
The only real variance tonight is Carson Kelly behind the plate, instead of Miguel Amaya.
That is all well and good, as Kelly is the superior defender/receiver, and they’re going to share time no matter what. But I have to say … I’m becoming attached to the offensive upside Amaya offers over Kelly on a nightly basis.
Although he hasn’t walked yet (which, whatever, it’s the third series of the year), Amaya has gotten off to a nice little start offensively with five hits (FOUR doubles) in his first 16 ABs. And that is, of course, especially encouraging after his mid-season mechanical swing change last year (ditching the leg kick, among other tweaks) which led to dramatically improved results.
Because of his pretty brutal start last season (… on both sides of the ball), it’s a little too easy to forget that Amaya was a pretty legit prospect without much professional experience to his name. With a little time and development – and after that swing change – a relative breakout season isn’t at all out of the question.
But I guess I’m going off on a tangent here, because it’s Kelly tonight. And you just know he’s gonna have a huge night now that I’ve talked up Amaya. Not that I’ll complain.
Okay, I think I’m just rambling now. The new baby fog is fully settled in, as my mother-in-law informed me I put a diet coke can in the dishwasher this morning. Go Cubs.
Athletics Lineup:
- Lawrence Butler, RF
- Brent Rooker, DH
- JJ Bleday, CF
- Shea Langeliers, C
- Tyler Soderstrom, 1B
- Miguel Andujar, LF
- Gio Urshela, 3B
- Max Muncy, 2B
- Jacob Wilson, SS
(not a half-bad lineup, now that I look at it…)
Pitching Matchup:
Chicago Cubs: Ben Brown, RHP
Tonight will be Ben Brown’s first start of the season since making the Cubs rotation out of spring training, but it’ll actually be his second appearance of the year. Brown first popped up in Tokyo, following Shota Imanaga against the Dodgers. And although his overall box score didn’t look great in that one (2.2 IP, 4H, 2ER, 3BB, 5K), it was really just a bad first inning which also featured an error. After that, he went 1.2 IP, 3K, 2BB, 0ER.
I remain optimistic about Ben Brown’s immediate future as a starter, so let’s hope he gets off to a great start in his sophomore season tonight.
Athletics: Joey Estes, RHP
Joey Estes, 23, is making his first start of the season tonight in what will be the second full big league season of his career. Last year, he made 24 starts (and one relief appearance), tossing 127.2 IP as a 22-year-old, which is pretty impressive. Less impressive, however, were the results: 5.01 ERA (16.9% strikeout rate, 24.6% groundball rate). Simply put: he’s a flyball pitcher, who gives up more than his fair share of homers (1.62 HR/9IP, 15th in MLB), so hopefully the Cubs can launch a few into the stands tonight.
Last season, righties were a lot better against Estes than lefties, so my money is on Seiya Suzuki going deep.
Broadcast Info:
Chicago Cubs (2-4) vs Athletics (2-2) at 9:05 pm CT – Marquee Sports Network, 670 The Score, WRTO 1200
Cubs vs Athletics – Key Injuries:
- Javier Assad, RHP
- Tyson Miller, RP
- Vidal Brujan, UT
- Ryan Brasier, RP
- Brett Harris, 3B
- Zack Gelof, 2B
- Brady Basso, SP
- Michel Otañez, RP
- Ken Waldichuk, SP
- Luis Medina, SP
Cubs vs Athletics – Chase Field Weather Report
Location: Sacramento, California
Temperature: 49 degrees
Wind: 8 MPH SW, with gusts up to 19 MPH
