Chicago Cubs Lineup (5/19/25): PCA Leads Off, Shaw at 3B, Brown on Bump
Fresh off their first sweep since taking the A’s down in Sacramento, the Cubs now have a chance to redeem themselves for blowing the final game against the Marlins last week. That series would have looked decidedly different were it not for a late rally in the middle game, and this set has potential pitfalls as well. Rather than looking ahead, we’ll just focus on what they need to do tonight.
Ben Brown struggled with walks earlier in the season, issuing 13 in his first five appearances, but he’s only thrown three in his last four starts. Even better, he’s struck out 27 in that time. That’s a function of getting the curveball dialed in a little better, which helps his fastball to play up. I still need to see that changeup come around, and I’ve made it my personal mission to manifest that third pitch.
Brown started that Tuesday game against the Marlins and got a no-decision due to lackluster run support, so getting a little help would put him in a much better spot. Pete Crow-Armstrong leads off in center with Kyle Tucker in right and Seiya Suzuki in left. Michael Busch cleans up at first, Dansby Swanson is at short, Nico Hoerner is at second, and Moises Ballesteros is the DH. Miguel Amaya does the catching and Matt Shaw returns to third base.
They’re up against Edward Cabrera, who didn’t pitch in the earlier series and hasn’t started in nine days. He’s pitched pretty well outside of two starts in which he gave up five earned runs apiece, but he’s allowed 32 hits in 29.1 innings so far. He’s also allowed five homers, one each in all but one of his starts. The 27-year-old righty is getting fewer strikeouts and walks than ever, which is interesting given the changes to his pitch mix.
He still throws the hard stuff at 96+ mph, but he’s swapped his four-seam and sinker usage to make the latter his primary fastball. His 93 mph changeup is used more than either, coming in at around 27% of his pitches. That seems like a failure on at least one level, as the change has been his worst pitch this season. The sinker is his best, but it’s still generated negative value this year.
Cabrera gets some arm-side run on both of his primary pitches, but he doesn’t get them in enough on righties. That explains the mild reverse splits and general lack of chase and whiffs. The slider that has worked well for him at points in the past also seems to be backing up on him too often, and throwing it mainly to righties exacerbates those splits. It’s odd that he’s nearly doubled its usage from the last two seasons despite poor results, though maybe the Marlins see something that hasn’t shown up in the results.
This dude gives up a lot of hard contact and isn’t missing many bats, so the Cubs should be able to take advantage early and often. That said, there’s always a chance that Cabrera just clicks and figures things out. He’s got the stuff to pitch really well, he just hasn’t done so with any sort of consistency.
First pitch is at 5:40pm CT on Marquee and 670 The Score.
Night one in the 305.
Watch the game live on the Marquee Sports Network app. pic.twitter.com/q9sgLwt7Ni
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 19, 2025
