chicago cubs lineup

Chicago Cubs Lineup: Rizzo Leads Off, Heyward Cleans Up, Hamels Facing Scherzer

Photo of Evan Altman Evan AltmanAugust 12, 2018

Anthony Rizzo will lead off tonight, followed by Javy Baez batting second and playing third. Ben Zobrist bats third and plays second, Jason Heyward cleans up, and Albert Almora Jr. is batting fifth.

I can’t imagine what Joe Maddon must be thinking to have Almora in the heart of the order against a tough righty, but we’ll see what happens.

Kyle Schwarber is sixth, Willson Contreras is seventh, and Addison Russell bats last.

Cole Hamels has been even better than advertised in two starts since joining the Cubs. His stuff is working well and he’s avoided the home run problems that had plagued him in Texas, but he’s up against a sterner test tonight than he faced in Kansas City. Hamels is a gamer, though, and you have to figure he’ll get up for his Cubs home debut.

When it comes to gamers, no one is better than Max Scherzer. I’m not even going to bother with the whole scouting report on him since everyone pretty much knows who he is by now. The Cubs can absolutely get the better of him and they’ve done it in recent memory, but doing so will require a hell of a lot more effort than they’ve put out lately.

First pitch is at 7:05pm CT on ESPN.

Photo of Evan Altman Evan AltmanAugust 12, 2018
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