Chicago Cubs Lineup (6/14/26): PCA Leads Off, Suzuki DH, Ramírez at 2B, Rolison Opening (Updated)
It’s no coincidence that the Cubs have started playing much better baseball since I — and many of you — opted to devote a little less attention to them. Okay, it’s actually a complete coincidence. But I will say that taking a bit of a step back has probably granted all of us a little better perspective. In my case, watching some truly terrible play from our 17U team over the last several games has reframed my Cubs viewing.
Of course, it helps that the Cubs are more closely resembling the team that looked like world-beaters earlier in the season. They’re driving the ball all over the field, advancing and scoring runners, and generally being far more consistent. Now, however, they’re getting back out over their skis a little from a pitching standpoint. That reminds me of our travel team, which doesn’t have the pitching depth to really compete beyond pool play.
That means going with Ryan Rolison as the opener for the series finale in San Francisco, a move that is meant to give Colin Rea a softer landing after his worst outing of the year a few days ago in Colorado. Rea allowed seven earned runs on nine hits, two of which went for homers. Rolison is a southpaw who routinely gets more than three outs and has gone as many as three innings this season, so he can turn the game over to the bulk man at some point in the bottom half or third of the lineup.
Pete Crow-Armstrong leads off in center following another standout performance last night, Alex Bregman is next at third, and Michael Busch plays first. Ian Happ cleans up in left, Seiya Suzuki is the DH after banging his knee and leaving early on Saturday, and Michael Conforto handles right. Pedro Ramírez plays second for the slumping Nico Hoerner, Carson Kelly is the catcher, and Dansby Swanson plays short.
Suzuki has been scratched, so Moisés Ballesteros will bat eighth as the DH and the three batters ahead of him move up a spot.
I’m not saying Craig Counsell is punting on this game, but it’s easy to see it that way when they’re up against Giants ace Logan Webb. Through Craiggers isn’t quite as beholden to his white-flag meatloaf lineups as his predecessor, we’ve seen more than once before that he may take his foot off the gas on getaway days. Even though Webb isn’t putting up his typical numbers, he’s been outstanding since recovering from a bout of right knee bursitis that cost him most of May.
In three starts since being activated from the IL, Webb has allowed two total runs on nine hits over 19.1 innings. He also struck out 16 with four walks in that span, and he continues to keep the ball in the yard by getting grounders as well as anyone. Interestingly enough, the only pitch that hasn’t worked well for him of late is the changeup that has been his calling card.
That 86 mph offspeed pitch gets a great deal of depth, pairing with his 92 mph bowling-ball sinker to generate all those grounders. All that downward movement coming from a low slot allows him to work both north-south and east-west, which has generally led to pretty even splits. However, those problems with the change have led to a more pronounced disparity in those numbers, with lefties performing markedly better than their counterparts who hit from the other side of the plate.
The Cubs have more experience against Webb than any of the pitchers they’ve faced recently, and they’ve actually done quite well against him in the past. Their aggregate .245/.274/.500 line is pretty impressive, and their seven home runs are spread among six players. Happ has been the best of the bunch with a 1.114 OPS over 14 at-bats, and Swanson has two homers in 21 ABs.
I don’t expect this to be an easy one, but I can see Webb coming back to earth a little after his last three starts. We’ll find out at 2:10pm CT on ABC and The Score.
