Chicago Cubs Lineup (6/23/26): Finally Some Decent Weather, Cabrera Starting

Today is the 42nd anniversary of the Sandberg Game, so it sure would be nice if the Cubs actually get a chance to play baseball after having two games in a row postponed by rain. The weather doesn’t appear to be problematic tonight, nor should the final three games of the series be in jeopardy. That’s almost too bad, because playing four games in three days with this pitching staff isn’t a great way to lead up to a weekend set in Milwaukee.

At least having two days off means the bullpen is fully rested, whatever good that may do. The delays did cause a change in the rotation, with Shōta Imanaga being pushed back to one of Wednesday’s doubleheader contests after being the listed starter for both rainouts. Instead, it’ll be Edward Cabrera taking the bump on Tuesday night in Queens.

Cabrera’s first season with the Cubs has been inconsistent to say the least, with mechanical issues preceding a blister that sent him to the IL for over two weeks. He had lowered his arm slot earlier in the season, leading to a decrease in velocity and also the spin efficiency of his breaking balls, but even making some corrections earlier in the month hasn’t paid off. The righty has given up 15 earned runs on 16 hits with 14 strikeouts and five walks across 13.1 innings since being activated.

The Cubs need more from him tonight.

Pete Crow-Armstrong is leading off in center, followed by Alex Bregman at third, Michael Busch at first, and Seiya Suzuki at DH. Ian Happ is in left, Matt Shaw is in right, Nico Hoerner is at second, and Carson Kelly does the catching. Dansby Swanson bats ninth at short.

They’re facing 33-year-old righty Kodai Senga, who has a 9.00 ERA over six starts. He missed all of May and the first half of June with lumbar spine inflammation, so this will be just his second outing since being activated earlier in the month. Senga’s strikeout numbers are fine and his fastball velo is up, but he’s walked 17 batters in 24 innings and has allowed seven homers.

It’s unlikely that he’s stretched out enough to go much more than five innings, if that, so this could just be a matter of outlasting him to get to the bullpen. Or rather, just treading water for a while at the very least. That shouldn’t be an issue, given that Senga’s chase (24.8%), walk (14.9%), barrel (11.8%), and groundball (27.9%) are all in single-digit percentiles.

Just in case you’re not putting that puzzle together, it means that he walks a lot of batters and gives up a lot of hard contact in the air. His command has been very spotty on every pitch, creating location heat maps that look like ink blot tests. Despite a very strong whiff rate, it’s hard to call him effectively wild. Senga’s 96 mph fastball is often left over the heart of the plate and his 90 mph cutter gets sprayed all over the place.

That was his best pitch by far when he debuted in 2023, but it’s been mediocre at best since. The one weapon that’s remained somewhat effective is the Ghost Fork he was best known for when coming over from Japan. However, it’s been getting a little too much arm-side movement and has been decidedly meh so far as a result. Historically a split-neutral pitcher who maintains a pretty balanced repertoire regardless of the batter, Senga is being crushed by left-handed hitters this season.

The numbers should balance out for him a little as he builds up innings, but this should be a good matchup for a team that has been scoring more runs over the last few games. First pitch is at 6:10pm CT on Marquee and The Score.

Got Tuesday night plans.

Watch the game live on @WatchMarquee. pic.twitter.com/fzNqSHRVBa

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 23, 2026