Chicago Cubs Lineup (8/25/21, Game 1): Hermosillo Leads Off, Romines Together, Davies Pitching

Michael Hermosillo will lead off and play right field with a lefty on the mound, followed by Frank Schwindel at first and Matt Duffy at third. Patrick Wisdom makes left field the new hot corner, David Bote is at second, Rafael Ortega bats sixth in center because he’s been awful against southpaws, and the tandem of Austin Romine behind the plate and Andrew Romine at short finishes the lineup.

Zach Davies gave up four solo homers in his last start and has given up at least one dinger in each of his last five games, but at least he’s dramatically turned around his strikeout-to-walk numbers. After struggling for several starts with almost identical totals, he has struck out 34 batters to 11 walks over his last six outings.

Former Cardinal Austin Gomber is having a decent enough season in his first full-time starting role, posting a 4.15 ERA that almost matches his 4.11 FIP. The big lefty doesn’t have much in the way of a fastball, but that 92 mph offering sets up three secondaries that have all been very good. He throws the slider almost a quarter of the time and it’s been outstanding, but both the curve and change are excellent and see about 15-20% usage.

Having success with those breaking and offspeed pitches means Gomber’s splits aren’t super pronounced, though righties have hit him a little better. Maybe Hermosillo can start things off with a bang, with Wisdom making some loud noises as well.

Because it’s the first of a split doubleheader, this one is only scheduled for seven innings and will start at 1:20pm CT with the later game set for 5:30pm.

Here is today's #Cubs Game 1 lineup.#LetsPlayTwo pic.twitter.com/nRuRVeWfsw

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) August 25, 2021