Chicago Cubs Lineup (5/26/26): PCA Leads Off, Happ Bats Fifth, Wicks Starting
The Cubs have lost nine games in a row and 13 of their last 15, and the way they’re losing makes it that much worse. They may have the worst offense in baseball during that stretch, so it doesn’t even matter that they’ve also got a bottom-five pitching staff. Nothing is going right for this team, but the bright side is that things have to get better soon.
Maybe lefty Jordan Wicks will be a central figure in the turnaround as he makes his first MLB start since 2024 in place of the blister-ridden Edward Cabrera. Wicks has looked good since a pair of rough starts as he was ramping up in Triple-A, and we should get a look at the curveball he redesigned over the winter with help from Tread Athletics. The former No. 21 overall pick has looked like a stereotypical AAAA player over 95 big league innings, but he’s not yet 27 years old and has time to course-correct.
Pete Crow-Armstrong has been hitting the ball very hard with little to show for it, and he’ll try to get things going in center. Nico Hoerner bats and plays second, Michael Busch is at first, Alex Bregman cleans up at third, and Ian Happ is in left. Seiya Suzuki patrols right field, Moisés Ballesteros is the DH, Carson Kelly is catching, and Dansby Swanson plays short.
They’re facing righty Braxton Ashcraft for the second time this season after he dominated them at Wrigley back on April 11. Ashcraft is one of a number of hard-throwing Pittsburgh starters, running his fastball up there at around 97 mph. He also has an excellent curveball that he throws at 85 mph with less glove-side break than last year. Perhaps the biggest difference from his rookie campaign is the 96-97 mph sinker that has more depth and run.
Using the curve more against left-handed hitters and the sinker more to righties has allowed him to keep his splits fairly balanced. The big difference is that lefties are slugging 70 points better with four of the six homers he’s allowed. He’s been able to limit the damage with a 6.5% walk rate, and he also gets grounders at a 48.1% clip.
The Cubs have a total of 49 at-bats against Ashcraft, and they’ve struck out 16 with one walk and a Busch homer. One of the hallmarks of their recent struggles has been an inability to score early in games, so finding a way to break through in this one would be huge. That’s easier said than done against tonight’s opponent.
First pitch is at 5:40pm CT on Marquee and The Score.
Game 2 in Pittsburgh.
Tune in live on @WatchMarquee. pic.twitter.com/FaD1THfsuD
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 26, 2026
