Chicago Cubs Lineup (6/11/25): Swanson Batting Cleanup, Bruján in CF, Brown Starting
The Cubs evened their series in Philly last night by hitting a bunch of home runs and then manufacturing a few scores. It’s endlessly hilarious to me when people get upset about them hitting solo home runs, like that’s a bad thing. Alas, a win is a win is a win. It was good to see Ian Happ hit a pair of dingers after collecting one in the series opener, plus we got more strong defense from Matt Shaw.
More of that combined with another strong outing from Ben Brown should get them another win this afternoon. Brown bounced back from a pair of rough starts by following opener Drew Pomeranz and blanking the Reds over six innings a little less than two weeks ago. He then went blow-for-blow with Tarik Skubal in Detroit, holding the Tigers to two runs over seven innings.
That was Brown’s longest appearance of the season and he also threw his changeup more than in any previous start. Even Katie Bueller was surprised to see he went to it nine times. While I was aware of it back in early May, we now know for certain that Brown is throwing a kick-change. Expect him to continue upping the usage of that offering moving forward. He’ll need to show the Phillies something different after allowing six earned runs to them back on April 26.
Craig Counsell is showing something different in his lineup, which will do nothing to discourage those who feel like he punts on finales. Happ is leading off in left, Kyle Tucker is in right, Seiya Suzuki is the DH, and Dansby Swanson is at short. Carson Kelly does the catching, Justin Turner is at first, Nico Hoerner is at second, Shaw is at third, and Vidal Bruján gets a rare start in center to give Pete Crow-Armstrong a day off.
They’re facing Jesús Luzardo again after losing to him in that same game Brown started. The lefty went six innings and gave up two unearned runs with just three hits allowed. That was indicative of his performance over the first two months or so, during which he had a 1.95 ERA with 67 strikeouts and 18 walks in 60 innings over 10 starts. Since then, however, Luzardo has surrendered 23 earned runs over 12.2 innings spanning three starts.
The first start of that stretch saw him strike out 10 A’s batters over seven innings of three-run ball, so you can guess how poorly his last two starts have gone. His velocity numbers have been right in line with season averages, and any fluctuation in pitch usage could just be a matter of the matchups, so I’m not sure what is going on. Nothing seems to have worked well for Luzardo in those last two starts.
It sure would be nice if that continues this afternoon, especially since Luzardo has been worse at home to this point. His pronounced splits greatly favor right-handed hitters, who have posted a .323/.376/.465 line against him at Citizens Bank Park so far. He went heavier than usual with the four-seam during that first start, almost abandoning the sinker he throws to batters on either side of the plate. He also went with fewer sliders than usual, so we may see more of those in addition to a healthy diet of sweepers.
Luzardo has done a very good job of limiting homers, but he has surrendered 81 hits in 72.2 innings and is very susceptible to trouble if those knocks are strung together. That .375 BABIP against is evidence that he may be experiencing some bad luck, but he’s also prone to hard contact in the air. Another warm, sunny day in Philly should produce the right conditions for the Cubs to make more noise as they attempt to take the rubber match.
First pitch is at 12:05pm CT on Marquee and 670 The Score.
Last one in Philly.
Watch today’s game on the Marquee Sports Network App. pic.twitter.com/99wGRAcw6k
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 11, 2025
