Chicago Cubs Lineup (9/17/24): Going for 3 Straight with Wicks Starting
The Cubs’ protracted death scene continues as they keep doing just enough to prevent their official demise. After overwhelming the A’s on Monday, the North Siders have two more winnable games in this series and then host the Nationals for four more. You’ll be forgiven whether you still have hope or you long since given up because this team has been quite a dichotomy all season.
They’ll need a much better effort from Jordan Wicks if they want to run their streak to three wins. The lefty won his first game back off the IL despite his failure to strike out a single Washington batter, then he walked four in a loss to the Yankees. That was followed by a performance in which he gave up four homers to the Dodgers in the 1st inning. Wicks managed to complete three frames, but he walked four in that game as well.
Another outing like that would make it tough for the offense to overcome even if everyone hits like they did last night. The lineup is the same one you’re used to by now, just with Christian Bethancourt catching.
They’re up against rookie righty Mitch Spence, who’s pitching fairly well as a starter after beginning the season as a long reliever. Spence is an unusual pitcher in that he leads with his cutter and slider and doesn’t throw a four-seam at all. Those first two pitches account for nearly 73% of his total mix, with a sinker (15%), curve (12%), and very seldom-used changeup making up the rest.
There’s a decent velo spread, with the sinker at 92 and curve at 80, and Spence works the edges well enough to get a lot of chases and weak contact for ground balls. However, he also misses in the zone frequently enough to give up lots of hard contact. His platoon splits are pretty even overall, but left-handed batters have really gotten to him on the road.
That bodes well for the Cubs, who have been getting big contributions from their lefty hitters lately. I expect more of the same tonight. First pitch is at 6:40pm CT on Marquee and 670 The Score.
Game 2 vs. Oakland!
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— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 17, 2024