Cubs lineup vs. Cards, Baez and Contreras out |
Cubs baseball is back as we start the second half of the season.
Thursday night's batting lineup for the first game between the Cubs (55-38) and the Cardinals (48-46) at 6:05 p.m. CDT will be the following: 1. Anthony Rizzo 1B 2. Kris Bryant 3B 3. Jason Heyward RF 4. Ben Zobrist 2B 5. Ian Happ CF 6. Kyle Schwarber LF 7. Addison Russell SS 8. Victor Caratini C 9. Kyle Hendricks P It will be a pitching battle between the 'Professor' (6-8, 3.92 ERA) and righty Carlos Martinez (6-5, 3.08). Hendricks is 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA in his last three starts. Cubs All-Stars Javier Baez and Willson Contreras sit after playing at the 2018 All-Star game. Hopefully, Cubs manager Joe Maddon will give Baez a pinch-hit opportunity as he the NL's RBI leader at 72. Cubs slugger Anthony Rizzo is back in the leadoff spot which is the 19th time in his career. He is batting 7-for-16 with three doubles and a homer in the leadoff position this season. The Cubs game will be televised nationally on ESPN. Matt Carpenter (1B) Yadier Molina (C) Paul DeJong (SS) Marcell Ozuna (LF) Jedd Gyorko (3B) Kolten Wong (2B) Dexter Fowler (RF) Tommy Pham (CF) Carlos Martinez (RHP)
