Forget about the rest of the department for now; The Cubs are ONE game away from .500. That’s all that matters at the moment. And they have a chance to break even TODAY when Marcus Stroman plays on the mound against Cardinals left-hander Matthew Liberatore (Jack Flaherty was scratched). Here’s a look at the Cubs line-up for the finals in London.
Lineup of the Chicago Cubs:
Working backwards here: Tucker Barnhart is behind the record once again, and I’m increasingly sympathetic to that. He’s still a liability offensively (although he made a good play last time out!), but he’s clearly developing into Marcus Stroman’s personal catcher (e.g. he’s starting the hill for St. Louis despite being left-handed today). And that’s more important.
Marcus Stroman Catcher shares:
Barnhart: 9 games, 60.2 IP, 1.63 ERA
Gomes: 7 games, 38.0 IP, 3.32 ERA
Any meaning? I can’t say for sure, but Stroman clearly agrees. And that should be Barnhart’s greatest asset, so it’s not out of the question that he’ll finally befriend certain people.
Tucker Barnhart is masterful behind the court.
— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) June 21, 2023
Also, we have a very different looking Cubs lineup today. Nick Madrigal continues to start a tie in third place. But with a left-hander on the mound, both Cody Bellinger and Mike Tauchman have a day off. That opens up midfield for Chris Morel, who moves way up the lineup, and first base for Trey Mancini, who was basically 1B vs LHP or nothing. Hopefully he’s working to bolster that defense…
Ian Happ (as a right-hander) sits in fifth after a scorching stretch of three games, including two home runs yesterday, and Nico Hoerner is your leader.
One more win and the Cubs are back at .500. Let’s do it.
Lineup of the St. Louis Cardinals:
Pitching Matchup:
Chicago Cubs: Marcus Stroman RHP
Marcus Stroman has one career year behind him – period. He was one of the best pitchers in all of baseball, leading all in quality starts and the NL in earned run average (2.28 ERA, 3rd in MLB). A long start today saw him regain the lead in the pitched innings. Stroman has had a particularly good performance in his last seven games, with just seven earned runs over 48.2 IP (1.29 ERA). In many ways he carries this team
St Louis Cardinals: Matthew Liberatore, LHP
The Cubs lineup is packed with righties this afternoon as Matthew Liberatore has VERY significant left-right splits in his career. The big league sample isn’t huge, but right-handers hit .318/.396/.553 (.404 wOBA) ahead of Liberatore with 1.23 HR/9 and a K-Rate of 15.8%. You don’t want to sit down with Cody Bellinger and Mike Tauchman too much now, but today? It made sense.
Broadcast Info:
Chicago Cubs (37-38) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (31-45) at 9:10 PM CT on ESPN, 670 The Score