Chicago Cubs Lineup (5/1/26): Hoerner Leads Off, Swanson Returns, Rea Facing (Almost Cub?) Gallen

The Cubs are back at Wrigley after six games in California, and I don’t think I’ve been more pleased to see three consecutive afternoon games. If asked to rank start times, I think I’d go: Friday/Saturday/Sunday at Wrigley, EST weekday evenings, home weekday evenings, PST afternoons, [huge gap] PST evenings. My opinion is colored heavily by my location and editorial duties, so mileage may vary when it comes to your preferences.

All I know is that today’s game should be over well ahead of the high school game I’ll be attending, which is our fourth in four days. Being busy can be a good thing, but life is better when I’m not second-screening the Cubs. And the best part about Friday afternoons at Wrigley is that the Cubs are the only game on the docket. The next start doesn’t come until four hours later, which is big when you’re scoreboard-watching.

The Reds are up a game in the standings, and they’re in Pittsburgh as the divisional matchups come up more regularly. The Cardinals, who are a game behind the Cubs, host the Dodgers, and the Brewers are in Washington. Rather than hoping their rivals’ opponents do all the work, it’d be for the best if the Cubs take care of business against their third straight NL West foe.

First up on the bump for the home team is Colin Rea, who was ambushed in LA last weekend for his worst outing of the season. He allowed six earned runs in just over three innings, giving up six hits and walking four. The Dodgers are a different animal, but he’s going to have to be a lot better this afternoon. I don’t just mean better than he was in LA, but better than he’s been against these particular hitters.

In 50 combined at-bats against Rea, these Diamondbacks are slashing .280/.308/.500, with Ketel Marte hitting both of their homers. Nolan Arenado has understandably faced Rea the most, and he’s just 2-for-15 with a double. Arizona is one of the worst teams in MLB at reaching base, with a .308 OBP that ranks 27th, and their 31 homers are tied for 18th. They’re not aggressive on the bases either, so Rea just needs to avoid giving them free runners.

The Cubs, on the other hand, are tops in baseball with a .353 team OBP. They’re also tied for fourth with 42 home runs, though an 8-12 mph wind blowing in from right could tamp the power down a bit today. More of their relentless attack should see them do well against a staff that has been less than great so far. Nico Hoerner leads things off at second base, followed by Moisés Ballesteros at DH and Alex Bregman at third.

Ian Happ puts his 22-game on-base streak on the line in left, Seiya Suzuki is in right, Michael Busch is at first, and Carson Kelly is the catcher. Pete Crow-Armstrong homered in both Cubs wins over the Padres, and he’s in center for this one. Dansby Swanson, who left Tuesday’s game with an ass cramp, is back in the lineup at short after resting his glute on Wednesday.

They are up against would-be Cub Zac Gallen, who was the subject of an erroneous Bob Nightengale report from back in December that said a deal had been reached. Though the two sides did have communication, no deal was ever close. The timing of the report could not have been much worse for Gallen, who was out of the country for his destination wedding.

“So I was sitting there at breakfast with my dad, and a family friend of ours came over and he’s like, ‘Oh, nice, you’re going to Chicago,'” Gallen recalled in a conversation with MLB Fits. “And I was like, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ So there was a hectic kind of 20 minutes or so there.

“I was getting calls from family and then from my now wife, who was like ‘We’re going to Chicago?’ I’m like, ‘No, I would let you know if we’re going to Chicago.'”

As if that wasn’t a rough enough start to his offseason, not to mention his marriage, the 30-year-old former Cy Young contender had to sit around waiting for offers to roll in. None did, at least none worth taking, so he returned to Arizona on a one-year, $22.05 million contract that matched the qualifying offer he had previously turned down. However, his current deal is actually lower because most of it is deferred over three installments of $4.675 million that will be paid out from 2032-34.

The lack of interest was due to his career-worst performance in 2025, so he’s perhaps even more motivated than he would have been otherwise to secure a bigger deal this coming winter.

“It’s like be healthy. Have a good year. And just stick it up everybody’s (expletive),” Gallen told USA Today.

The righty’s 3.14 ERA through six starts might have some thinking he’s doing just that, but some of the underlying data indicates a potential turn for the worse coming up. Even though his fastball velocity has remained remarkably consistent at 93.6 mph and his cut-ride four-seam has been effective, the breaking balls that account for nearly 45% of his repertoire have not been sharp.

Gallen’s 81st-percentile chase rate is wholly mitigated by his eighth-percentile whiff and 10th-percentile K rates. He has also allowed loads of hard contact to hitters on both sides of the plate. His road splits have been drastically worse, with a 5.14 ERA that sees left-handed batters slashing .387/.429/.516 against him. That spells good things for Busch, who is 4-for-9 with a homer against Gallen, and maybe PCA. Though the brash center fielder is 0-for-6, we saw the power stroke come through in San Diego.

Though the Cubs have routinely shown an uncanny ability to battle back in games, this strikes me as one that will be decided in the early going. Rea and Gallen can both run hot or cold, so we’ll know quickly which team has the advantage. If the Cubs can pounce, they’ll kick the weekend off in style.

First pitch is at 1:20pm CT on Marquee and The Score.