Chicago Cubs Lineup (9/20/22) – McKinstry Leads Off at SS, Quiroz at 2B, Sampson Pitching

After sweeping the Mets in New York, the Cubs have proceeded to lose three of four to a combination of the Rockies and Marlins. That’s about as Cubbish as you can get, but maybe they’ll bounce back with a win in Miami tonight.

Adrian Sampson managed to get a win over Jacob deGrom his last time out, so it should be no problem to repeat the feat against Pablo López. Sampson keeps making a case to be a part of the future in some form or fashion and a get-right game from the offense tonight would help him add even more evidence.

Zach McKinstry is leading off at short in this one, followed by Esteban Quiroz at second and David Bote at third. Ian Happ is in left, Alfonso Rivas is at first, P.J. Higgins is catching, and Jared Young is the DH. Nelson Velázquez is in right and Michael Hermosillo rounds things out in center.

López has been solid for the Marlins over 29 starts and just over 160 innings, pitching to a 3.99 ERA and a career-best 2.3 fWAR. He hasn’t been dominant by any stretch and his 93.4 mph fastball is down just slightly from the previous two seasons, but the changeup has been his best pitch. His cutter has not been a good pitch, however, and may be keeping him from really stepping up in a big way.

The splits are pretty stark at home, with López limiting right-handed hitters to a .188 average and .246 wOBA so far. On the other hand, literally, lefties are hitting .300 with a .387 wOBA. After struggling to score runs over the last several games, it’d be nice to see the Cubs wake up tonight.

First pitch is at 5:40pm CT on Marquee Sports Network and 670 The Score.

Here is tonight's starting lineup for Game 2 in Miami. pic.twitter.com/rcwiJIiNnT

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 20, 2022