Chicago Cubs Lineup (9/1/26): Boyd Bump Day, Murray Makes Debut as Bats Look to Bloat Gasser
The Cubs showed last night that they are the most explosive offense in baseball, with a 17-run outburst that featured nine home runs. That set a franchise record for homers in a single game, while also pushing the Cubs to a new NL record with 62 homers in a month (20 more than any other team this August). They overtook the Nationals (192) for the MLB lead with 196 dingers on the season, and their 742 runs scored also stand above all other teams. The Cubs walk more than anyone else, strike out less than most, and their aggregate 117 wRC+ is eight points better than the Dodgers.
As with any explosion, however, there can also be periods of quiet as the fuse burns. So long as they can maintain a short wick and limit outbursts by their opponents, everything will be fine. That was the case for Clay Holmes last night as he twirled his third scoreless outing in four starts, and now it’s up to Matthew Boyd to keep the train moving.
Boyd got back on track in Arizona last week, though he wore the loss in spite of giving up just one run on three hits over six innings of work. It was his best start in a month, and it was much needed after several less-than-great outings. Having Boyd pitching at his best makes this team much more formidable.
Pete Crow-Armstrong is in center, Seiya Suzuki is in right, Alex Bregman is at third, and Tyrone Taylor gets to clean up again after going yard last night. Nico Hoerner is at short, Michael Busch plays first, and Carson Kelly does the catching. B.J. Murray makes his MLB debut at DH and Matt Shaw is at second.
On the mound for the visitors is lefty Robert Gasser, a 27-year-old who has been limited by injuries since his debut in 2024. The 71st overall pick by the Padres in 2021 out of Houston, by way of New Mexico and San Joaquin Delta College, Gasser was acquired in the trade that sent Josh Hader to San Diego. The southpaw moved relatively quickly through the minors to make his MLB debut on May 10, 2024.
He made five starts with a 2.57 ERA and 16 strikeouts to just one walk before going to the IL with a left flexor strain that was eventually revealed to be a torn UCL. Elbow reconstruction kept him out of the big leagues until August 30 of last year, and he only made two starts for the Brewers. He’s been optioned and recalled four times this year due to spotty results, and his last appearance was as a bulk man six days ago.
Gasser works from a fairly low slot and likes to throw east-west, with his 80 mph sweeper leading the way at about 26% of his repertoire. A 93 mph fastball (24%), 92-93 mph sinker (23%), and 88 mph cutter (19%) make for a balanced mix, while an 88 mph changeup (9%) offers a wrinkle against right-handed hitters. The cutter and sinker have been pretty good, but nothing else has really worked to this point.
Because he tends to leave everything up in the zone, Gasser is prone to surrendering a lot of contact in the air. He’s also a strike-thrower, which works against him because he doesn’t get many whiffs. The sweeper doesn’t bear in on righties enough to be as effective as it should be, and the fastball doesn’t have enough zip for him to get away with leaving it below the very top of the zone.
As such, right-handed hitters are slashing .291/.346/.486 against Gasser this year. Those numbers are all a little higher when he’s pitching on the road, and the wind will once again be blowing out to center tonight. The Cubs have had a great deal of success against him in limited exposure, and it feels like they should be able to keep that up tonight.
First pitch is at 6:40pm CT on Marquee and The Score, with TBS carrying the national broadcast.
