Chicago Cubs Lineup (6/24/26, Game 2): Shaw Bats Second in LF, Ramírez DH, Imanaga Starting
Holy cow, what’s gotten into the Cubs? Despite striking out 14 times, they put up 10 runs on nine hits to beat the Mets for the second game in a row. Most of the damage came from Dansby Swanson, who followed a three-run homer with a grand slam to give him 11 runs batted in so far this series. They roared back after falling behind 0-3, but it still would have been nice if Javier Assad had been able to go a little deeper.
Now it’s up to Shōta Imanaga to shoulder the load in the nightcap, which will be easy enough if he pitches like he has in his last two starts. There’s not been much in between with Imanaga this season: He’s either very good or very bad. Let’s stay with very good, huh?
Pete Crow-Armstrong is leading off in center, Matt Shaw is in left, Seiya Suzuki returns to right, and Alex Bregman mans third while batting in the perfect position for someone who’s had trouble driving in runs. Michael Busch is at first, Nico Hoerner plays second, Carson Kelly is the catcher, and Pedro Ramírez serves as the DH. Swanson brings up the rear at short.
Hoosier native Sean Manaea is on the bump for the home as he works through another season in which his ERA is significantly higher than expected. Last year’s 5.64 mark was more than a full run above his 4.39 FIP despite superb strikeout and walk numbers, and his 4.64 ERA this season is well above his 3.75 FIP. Manaea’s bugaboo last year was homers, and some of the incongruous performance stemmed from pitching only 60.2 innings over 15 appearances.
He’s worked mainly out of the bullpen this season, with this being just his third start in 17 total outings. He was a bulk man in most of those, so he’s built up enough to go at least five innings and maybe over six. Manaea is a throwback southpaw with his low velocity and increased reliance on junk, with a cutter re-emerging after very sporadic usage in the past.
Manaea’s fastball and sinker barely top 90 mph and his sweeper is right around 75, but he gets serious extension from his 6-foot-5 frame and creates difficult angles from a low arm slot. Mostly an east-west pitcher, he does get good depth on the changeup he throws occasionally to right-handed hitters. Maybe that’s why it’s been his best pitch per 100.
His sinker has also been good as a way to neutralize left-handed batters after his splits skewed reverse over the last two seasons. They’re back to being more traditional now, along with being more inflated than in the past. He’s done a good job against these Cubs hitters in the past, limiting them to a .681 OPS with six homers — three from Bregman — in 119 at-bats, but a lot of that came from earlier in his career when his stuff was sharper.
Based on the way the Cubs have been hitting in Queens so far, this one could be really fun. First pitch is set for 6:10pm CT on Marquee and The Score.
