Chicago Cubs Lineup (8/4/24): Happ Leads Off, Bellinger DH, Steele Starting for Series Win
As discussed at greater length in a previous piece, the Cubs have an uncanny ability to ruin any bit of momentum with terrible losses. Chalk Saturday night up as another such occurrence, with late defensive miscues turning what looked like a quiet win into a faceplant. They have a chance to recapture some positive vibes, but the door is open to something much worse.
It’s up to Justin Steele to slam that door on the Cardinals in his first start against them this season. He’ll have to be better than we’ve seen from him of late, as he’s allowed 12 earned runs in his last 15 innings over three starts. Racking up 17 strikeouts would be great if not for nine walks and a whopping 21 hits, so Steele needs to be sharper in this one.
Tonight’s lineup is pretty much the same as we’ve seen over the last week or so, with Ian Happ leading off in left and Michael Busch batting second at first. Seiya Suzuki is in right, Cody Bellinger is the DH, and Isaac Paredes tries to get something going at third. Nico Hoerner plays second, Dansby Swanson is at short, Pete Crow-Armstrong is in center, and Miguel Amaya is the catcher.
Update: Happ has been scratched due to left shoulder discomfort. Hoerner moves up to the leadoff spot and Mike Tauchman will bat sixth in left field.
They’re facing Miles Mikolas yet again, so I’m not going to bother with much of a scouting report here. This is already the fourth time the Cubs have seen the 35-year-old righty this season and Cubs hitters have a combined total of 190 at-bats against him for his career. The bad news is that they’ve got just a .666 OPS with five homers and 44 strikeouts to only five walks.
The good news is that the Cubs tagged Mikolas for six earned runs when they saw him last month at Wrigley. Of course, he held them to one run in St. Louis a month before that. I wouldn’t be surprised by a repeat of either outcome tonight.
First pitch is at 6:10pm CT on ESPN and 670 The Score.
Here is tonight’s #Cubs starting lineup for the series finale against the Cardinals. pic.twitter.com/ks3bNWEV8T
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) August 4, 2024