Chicago Cubs Lineup (6/26/26): PCA Leads Off, Shaw in RF, Rea Facing Miz
The Cubs just swept the Mets over four games in three days and have somehow won 10 of their last 13 games to regain their footing. Trouble is, the Brewers have also won four straight and have their top three starters lined up against a Chicago rotation that will feature Coline Rea and two unknowns. David Peterson will be one of those, but it’s never a good thing when you’re scrambling to figure out who to pitch against your division-leading rivals.
Rea looked really good his last time out against the Blue Jays, and the Cubs may need to get at least that same effort from him tonight in Milwaukee. He hasn’t faced his old team this season, but he’s not fared well against the members of their roster. In 57 total at-bats, Rea has surrendered a .316 average with an .839 OPS and seven strikeouts to eight walks. Only one home run, though.
Despite being out-homered by the Mets in the last two games of the series, the Cubs prevailed by being opportunistic. It helped that their opponents bungled just about every ball in play, something that won’t happen this weekend. Grit and luck might be their best friends tonight.
Pete Crow-Armstrong is a master at creating his own luck, and he’s leading off in center as usual. Alex Bregman bats second at third, Michael Busch is at first, and Seiya Suzuki cleans up as the DH. Ian Happ is in left, Nico Hoerner is at second, Carson Kelly is the catcher, and Matt Shaw is in right. Dansby Swanson bats ninth at short.
They’re up against Jacob Misiorowski, who is the best pitcher on the planet right now by a pretty wide margin. He’s the hardest-throwing starter of all time and he’s sporting a 1.45 ERA that includes seven scoreless outings out of his last nine. Six of his 15 starts have featured double-digit strikeouts, and his 39.1% K rate leads all qualified pitchers by almost nine points.
His Baseball Savant sliders are the most blood-red you’ll find, with only his 44.3% groundball rate marring the crimson tide. Misiorowski has one of the most balanced attacks among his brethren as well, which he can do because his stuff is elite even among elite pitchers. He will bully hitters with his 100+ mph fastball, 96 mph cutter, 93 mph slider, and 88 mph curve.
As much as it sucks to think about him possibly (likely) dominating the Cubs, the kid is just so damn fun to watch. It’s like prime Bob Gibson or Nolan Ryan, though I’m sure some folks will complain that the Miz doesn’t go nine innings every night. Whatever, this will be fun to watch from a baseball perspective. If, that is, you can watch it at all.
Tonight’s game will be at 6:45pm CT on Apple TV with The Score carrying the radio feed.
