Chicago Cubs Lineup (2/27/19): Bote Returns After HBP Scare, Hamels Pitching

David Bote is back in the lineup just three days after taking a Madison Bumgarner pitch to the back of the helmet in Sunday’s win over the Giants. A concussion was ruled out and the Cubs wanted to get him back in there as quickly as they felt was appropriate. He’ll be batting second and playing third, with Ian Happ leading off in center.

Willson Contreras is catching, Cristhian Adames is at first, Mark Zagunis is the DH, Johnny Field is in left, Phillip Evans is at second, Jacob Hannemann is in right, and Zack Short is at his surname.

Cole Hamels is on the mound for his first start of the spring, so it’ll be nice to get a look at his early stuff. As with any initial outing, it’s more about how comfortable he is on the mound and perhaps what the radar gun says. Not that velo is of the utmost importance, but it’s of interest after seeing how Hamels’ numbers jumped following his trade to the Cubs.

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First pitch from Surprise Stadium is set for 1:05pm local time and can be heard on MLB.com.