Chicago Cubs Lineup (7/19/25): Busch Leads Off, Bruján at 3B, Imanaga Starting
The Cubs have got the power and speed to be the best in the National League. That’s quite literally the case heading into Saturday’s action because the Brewers beat the Dodgers yet again, this time in LA, to give the Cubs the Senior Circuit’s best record. But since Milwaukee is still just a game behind, stacking wins remains as important as ever.
Good thing Shota Imanaga is on the bump for the 13th time this season. His strikeout numbers have been down all season, though he notched six punchies over seven innings in his last start against the Yankees. That was his best game of the season as he continues a strong run since returning from the IL, but the Red Sox are among the best teams in the league when it comes to producing against lefties.
Guess that just means the offense will have to give him plenty of support. A hot start yesterday was followed by very little over the rest of the game, so a more balanced attack would be nice. Michael Busch has shown some pop atop the lineup and he’s back hitting leadoff and playing first base, followed by Kyle Tucker in right and Seiya Suzuki at DH. Pete Crow-Armstrong bats cleanup in center with Ian Happ manning left.
Dansby Swanson bats sixth at short, Nico Hoerner is at second, Reese McGuire is the catcher, and Vidal Bruján gets the start at the revolving door that is third base.
They’re up against Brayan Bello, the second Brayan they’ve faced this month after Rocchio of the Guardians. Of course, that was a shortstop and tonight’s opponent is a righty starter. Bello, no relation to Maria, is a 26-year-old with something of a backwards approach that helps him get outs via contact. His chase, whiff, and strikeout rates are all in the lowest quartile among his peers, but his nearly 52% grounder rate is in the 87th percentile.
Bello throws a 95 mph true sinker more often than any other pitch, about 38% of the time, which accounts for much of his success. The pitch drops more than most of its kind and has good run to boot, hence the heavy usage. His sweeper has been much less effective, but it gets a lot of depth and can get its share of weak contact as long as he’s not hanging it. Both pitches are thrown more often to right-handed batters, though he’s very comfortable using them against lefties as well.
The four-seam and changeup are far more prevalent with lefty batters in the box, and both have been okay-ish on the whole. Bello’s splits are very similar, other than lefties putting up a .343 OBP vs. a .301 from their righty counterparts due to a walk rate that is almost double. Other than the sweeper, most of his stuff tends to work arm-side. That could give lefties a big advantage in terms of spitting on spin. Speaking of which, I didn’t mention the cutter and slider he throws infrequently.
That cutter plays more like a death ball curve, sitting right in the middle of the movement profile chart due to its serious depth. While none of his pitches stand out as being particularly exceptional, Bello’s varied repertoire and ability to erase mistakes with grounders can make him dangerous. The wind is currently blowing out to center at around 8 mph, but it’s expected to shift and go from left to right by the time this one gets started.
First pitch is at 6:15pm CT on FOX and 670 The Score.
happy saturday cubs fans! pic.twitter.com/mg7UQkwDdJ
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 19, 2025
