Chicago Cubs Lineup (6/29/26): Offense Will Try to Jar Canning, Imanaga Starting
The Cubs just finished up a 6-1 road trip to New York and Milwaukee to get them to 12 wins in their last 16 games, but it doesn’t really feel like they’re one of the hottest teams in baseball. That will change if they can take care of business against the Padres and Cardinals before heading back on the road to finish up the first half. Wait, that means it’s almost July. I guess that’s how it works when you type “6/29/26” in the title.
Not that I should be surprised given the heat that has rolled across the Midwest. That is generally a good thing for offense, especially on a night like tonight when the wind is going to be blowing out hard to center with gusts up to 22 mph. Shota Imanaga is going to have to avoid hanging mistakes in the zone, as even a team as anemic in the power department as the Padres can hit pop-ups that carry out.
The Pads are 23rd in MLB with just 84 homers, and their .365 slugging percentage is only one point better than the Guardians for the lowest in baseball. Only 14 of those dingers have come against lefties, which is likewise one away from the bottom. Imanaga should have a little more room for error in this one, but the bats should make sure that doesn’t matter.
Pete Crow-Armstrong leads off in center, followed by the domed-up Alex Bregman at third base and Michael Busch at first. Seiya Suzuk is the DH, Ian Happ is in left, Nico Hoerner is at second, and Michael Conforto is in right. Miguel Amaya is the catcher and Dansby Swanson plays short.
They’re up against 30-year-old Griffin Canning, who is having the worst season of his career after joining San Diego on a one-year, $2.5 millin deal over the winter. Drafted and developed by the Angels, Canning spent parts of five seasons in Anaheim before being traded to the Braves for former Cubs great Jorge Soler on Halloween Day in 2024. He elected free agency less than a month later and signed with the Mets, for whom he made 16 starts before rupturing his left Achilles.
That injury kept him out until May of this season, and he’s had a very difficult time finding his stuff over eight starts. The righty is 1-5 with a 7.38 ERA that has been inflated by 26 walks and eight homers over just 42.2 innings. He retired only two of the eight Braves batters he faced six days ago, both on strikeouts, and was only named as the starter a few hours before first pitch.
The outing in question was a relief appearance, as was his bulk effort six days before that, so this will be his first official start since June 12. If his performance follows suit with the rest of the season, the Cubs should be able to tag him for a few early runs. Canning’s 94 mph fastball is actually a little above his career average, but he’s throwing it less than ever. At just 25.7%, it’s become secondary to his 87 mph slider (30.7%).
The slider is his only pitch with positive value, but it’s not nearly good enough to make up for the 90 mph changeup that has been his worst pitch by far. He throws the change about 23% of the time overall and 30% to left-handed hitters, which explains why they’re slashing .317/.403/.604 with all eight of the homers he’s allowed so far. Those numbers spike to .410/.457/.769 when Canning is on the road, so he’s got to be hating the forecast.
This should have Cubs hitters salivating after facing Milwaukee’s top three starters over the weekend, so let’s just hope the trends hold. First pitch is at 7:05pm CT on Marquee and The Score.
