Chicago Cubs Lineup (7/10/26): Imanaga Starting, Bat Try to Make Reds Turn Greene
I’m currently in Nashville for a baseball tournament, and the only good thing about the extended weekend has been learning that former Cubs pitching prospect Max Bain just became a father for the first time. Max is a truly exceptional human being who’s found his calling as a pitching development guru, and I’m very happy for him and his growing family. Meanwhile, we’re dodging thunderstorms and sweltering weather to get our asses handed to us by younger teams.
There’s nothing more frustrating than seeing your team beat itself, and that’s exactly what happened twice yesterday. Then our scheduled game for 9am got banged due to rain, so we’re just spending what now looks like a beautiful day sitting around. The Cubs don’t have those same concerns, as the weather in Cincinnati appears to be close to perfect and they don’t have to worry about massaging schedules for dozens of other teams.
As long as Shöta Imanaga doesn’t serve up a hailstorm of homers, the offense should be able to make things happen in a ballpark that has provided the backdrop for more than a few high-scoring affairs. Pete Crow-Armstrong continues his assault on the league in center, then it’s Alex Bregman at third, Michael Busch at first, and Seiya Suzuki in right. Ian Happ is in left, Nico Hoerner is at second, Michael Conforto is the DH, and Carson Kelly is the catcher. Dansby Swanson bats ninth at short.
Going for the Reds is fireballing would-be ace Hunter Greene, who is making just his second start of the season after having some loose bodies removed from his right elbow back in March. Is “loose bodies” just a politically correct term for promiscuous folks, or “hores,” as my eldest niece’s husband might try to play if the Scattergories die came up on H? Ah, I’m learning that they’re just bone chips. That’s not nearly as fun.
Greene’s first outing didn’t go terribly well, as he was lambasted by the Orioles for eight earned runs on seven hits over just 3.1 innings. He did manage to strike out seven batters, but he walked four more and served up a homer. That’s kind of been his MO for the past few seasons, along with the health issues, though he managed to limit the walks last season.
The league’s premier power pitcher prior to Jacob Misiorowski‘s emergence, Greene leads with a 99 mph fastball that he throws a little over half the time. He has typically had even usage to both right- and left-handed hitters, though he skewed heavier to lefties in that first brief outing. His 90 mph slider makes up 35-40% of the remaining pitches, with an occasional 87 mph splitter and even a new 99 mph sinker entering the mix.
It’s hard to base anything on his first start, but we know enough from the past to expect that Greene will continue to be a stuff monster who bullies hitters when he’s landing his pitches. That’s what he’s done to these Cubs hitters for the most part, though Suzuki is 8-for-18 with two homers and three doubles against Greene. The rest of the roster is 10-for-87 with four doubles and three homers.
First pitch is set for 6:10pm CT on Marquee and The Score.
