If things turn south, tonight’s game has the all the makings of a particularly depressing evening: a Sunday night game on ESPN (yuck) against the Cardinals and their best pitcher, Sonny Gray, at the tail end of a brutal stretch for the Cubs.
At least Javier Assad is on the mound. Aside from Shota Imanaga, he’s been the Cubs most dependable starter this season.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Mike Tauchman, DH
- Seiya Suzuki, RF
- Cody Bellinger, CF
- Chris Morel, 3B
- Nico Hoerner, 2B
- Ian Happ, LF
- Dansby Swanson, SS
- Patrick Wisdom, 1B
- Yan Gomes, C
Michael Busch hasn’t had a multi-hit game since May 7, and he has a 59 wRC+ in his last 107 PAs. Is that the only reason Craig Counsell is going with Patrick Wisdom tonight against a righty? Eh. It’s probably at least as much about Wisdom hitting well enough overall (and the Cubs hoping he runs into a homer on a night when runs might be tough to come by).
That said, Wisdom is 0-6 with 4Ks vs Gray. So. Oooook.
In any case, I remain wholly disappointed by the lack of progress Busch has shown lately. Much more of this and I wouldn’t be at all against Pete Crow-Armstrong starting everyday in center with Cody Bellinger taking most of Busch’s starts at first.
St. Louis Cardinals Lineup:
- Brendan Donovan, LF
- Lars Nootbaar, DH
- Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
- Nolan Arenado, 3B
- Alec Burleson, RF
- Nolan Gorman, 2B
- Ivan Herrera, C
- Maysn Winn, SS
- Michael Siani, CF
Pitching Matchup:
Chicago Cubs: Javier Assad, RHP
Javier Assad’s last start (his second in a row against the Braves), wasn’t his best of the season, but he grinded his way through against a very good team: 4.2 IP, 4H, 2ER. The walks were unusually high (5 BBs), but it’s hard to blame him for nibbling against that offense, especially when they had just seen him a game earlier. The Cardinals are not the Braves, but they’re still a solid team versus right-handed pitching. And Sonny Gray is going to be a tough matchup for the Cubs lineup.
St. Louis Cardinals: Sonny Gray, RHP
Sonny Gray is having a fantastic first season with the Cardinals after a delayed start. Through eight games (47.0 IP), Gray has struck out 59(!) batters against just 10(!) walks, earning his 2.87 ERA and then some. HOWEVER, he has been roughed up a couple times this season, with the Brewers and Angels scoring a combined 11 runs in 11 IP. He bounced back against the Orioles (5.2 IP, 3H, 1ER, 2BB, 6K). But he is human. We’ll just have to see if the Cubs lineup is ever going to wake up before the end of a game.
