Chicago Cubs Lineup (4/25/26): Hoerner Leads Off, Amaya Catching, Rea Starting

Well, the Cubs have guaranteed that they won’t go winless on this West Coast swing. Not long after Michael Conforto received his World Series ring from his time with the Dodgers, his new team beat his old one in comeback fashion. Craig Counsell‘s squad is looking more and more like the one the franchise will be celebrating all season as they show us time and again that they’re never out of it.

Far from some monolithic steamroller, the Cubs continue to do so many little things right in all facets. Whether it’s pitching, offense, or glovework, they are simply outlasting and outplaying their opponents each night. The funny thing is that they still aren’t playing at full strength or full potential, so things could get really fun if everyone is clicking.

One of the players who has really stepped up is Colin Rea, whose signing has been a tremendous boon for the Cubs. He took over last year when Justin Steele was lost to an elbow injury, and now he’s doing the same for Cade Horton. Through two starts and five total appearances, the righty from Cascade, Iowa is 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA. He’s gone deeper in each successive start and could give the Cubs seven innings if he’s sharp tonight.

We’ve seen several times already that the starter really just needs to keep the game from getting out of hand, as the lineup has been able to play catch-up on a nightly basis. Nico Hoerner is the engine that makes the team go, and he’s in his familiar spot today after making two incredible plays to set up the comeback last night. Michael Busch is at first, Alex Bregman is at third, Ian Happ cleans up in left, and Seiya Suzuki is in right. Moisés Ballesteros is the DH, Dansby Swanson brings his power stroke to short, Pete Crow-Armstrong is in center, and Miguel Amaya is the catcher.

They’re up against 24-year-old righty Roki Sasaki, who has had a rough go of it since coming over from Japan last season. A shoulder impingement limited him to just 10 appearances last year, the last two of which came in relief after he spent more than four months on the IL. Prior to the injury, his strikeout and walk numbers were well out of line with what was expected.

That has continued this season, with Sasaki striking out 17 and walking 12en route to a 6.11 ERA over 17.2 innings. Bad luck doesn’t appear to be much of a factor, as evidenced by his 6.36 FIP, so it’s mainly a matter of leaving his fastball right in the heart of the zone when he manages to land it. Sasaki’s suspect command creates too many plus counts for hitters, forcing him to come back with hittable pitches.

Though his 97 mph heater plays up due to his elite extension — he releases the ball 7.1 feet from the rubber — he sprays it all over the place. His 85 mph splitter, which was supposed to have been a weapon for him, likewise has trouble finding the zone. It gets tremendous depth, but has been moving two inches more to the arm side than last year. That, and perhaps coming from that over-the-top slot, has rendered it largely uncompetitive because hitters can pick it up and spit on it easily.

Sasaki’s 89.4 mph slider, a tight bullet with more depth than most, is the only pitch that has been at all effective for him so far. Because he’s been so inefficient, the young righty has failed to go beyond five innings yet. He’s walked at least two each time out, and long plate appearances have run his pitch counts up early. The Cubs (44.1%) are among the lowest in baseball when it comes to total swings, so they are probably not Sasaki’s preferred opponent.

Then again, they also rank near the bottom when it comes to swinging at strikes. Sasaki might be able to turn his fortunes around if he can manage to tighten up his control in this one. If not, the Cubs are exactly the kind of team that can exploit his notable weaknesses.

First pitch is at a mercifully early 6:15pm CT on FOX and The Score.

Can we get a “Go Cubs Go” in the replies? pic.twitter.com/DXGS8wD5ED

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 25, 2026