Chicago Cubs Lineup (4/8/25): Turner at 1B, Shaw at 3B, Taillon Tossing

The Cubs bounced back in a big way for the second consecutive Monday, trouncing the Rangers at a frigid Wrigley Field. They have now outscored their opponents 25-3 following Sunday bullpen implosions, which would be a great trend if it didn’t necessitate bad losses. Craig Counsell went with speed merchant Jon Berti at second base and leaned heavily into speed with the cold weather expected to neutralize any power.

Berti stole two of the Cubs’ five bases, making it the fourth time in Counsell’s short tenure that his team has swiped at least that many. As Marquee’s Christopher Kamka noted, the Cubs had four such games between David Ross, Joe Maddon, and Dale Sveum combined. Even considering how rules changes have revived the stolen base, it’s pretty pathetic how passive the run game was for a long time.

It helps that Justin Steele was nails, giving up just three hits with eight strikeouts and two walks over seven innings. Colin Rea tossed two scoreless innings against the equivalent of ice sculptures to help the touchdown stand up. Things won’t be much warmer tonight, so Jameson Taillon may have a better shot at a get-right game.

He wasn’t bad the last time out in Sacramento, giving up two runs over four innings and striking out seven, but this lineup is a bit more daunting. Taillon has sprayed the sweeper around a bit and you have to wonder whether the cold will impact his feel, but the fastball has also been rough. As long as he pitches like he did the last time out and keeps tightening things up, he and the Cubs should be fine.

Scoring a bunch of runs will help too, so it would be good for Ian Happ to get things started well as the left fielder. Seiya Suzuki is the DH, Kyle Tucker is in right, and Justin Turner is batting in what has apparently become the first base spot rather than cleanup. Dansby Swanson is at short, Nico Hoerner is at second, and Pete Crow-Armstrong is in center. Matt Shaw plays third and Silver Slugger frontrunner Carson Kelly is behind the dish.

They’re facing another 35-year-old tonight, as lefty Patrick Corbin makes his Rangers debut after not pitching a single game in spring training or the minors. Because he got a late start due to signing a $1.1 million deal on March 18 and then missing a little time due to the birth of his child, Corbin was supposed to go to the minors for a while to ramp up. But with Jack Leiter on the IL with a blister on his middle finger — maybe get a blister on his thumb — the plans have been changed.

It’s unlikely Corbin will be out there for very long, but the Rangers have a well-rested bullpen after relying on only Gerson Garabito to carry them through the final three-plus innings last night. Corbin has been around for a long time now and knows how to pitch, so it’s possible he’ll pull out a few tricks in this one. However, he’s been among the worst pitchers in MLB and his 92 mph sinker was good for a -29 run value last year.

That’s not good. Here are Corbin’s overall pitching run value percentile ranks in each of the last five seasons, starting from 2020: 10th, 4th, 1st, 2nd, 1st. The sinker and less-used four-seam are responsible for much of that, mainly because they’re thrown with right around league-average movement at low speeds. The sinker actually got a little more ride and cut last year, which isn’t a good thing based on the results.

Corbin’s slider was decent in 2024 due to the addition of a cutter he throws firmer with less depth, but his breaking balls have been nearly as bad as the fastball for the last few seasons otherwise. As you may have gathered from the information above, this guy has really struggled against right-handed hitters. Last year, they slashed .315/.357/.519 with 23 of the 25 homers he allowed.

The home/road splits were also significant, though it’s hard to apply much to that since he’s with a new team. This feels like a trap matchup because it should be very lopsided in the Cubs’ favor and they’ve always done well against Corbin, so now I’m thinking of all the ways things could go sideways. But when you see that members of the current roster have put up a .357/.422/.601 slash (1.023 OPS) with nine homers in 148 total ABs, it’s hard to imagine them not getting off to a hot start.

How about another King Tuck homer to kick off the scoring? First pitch is at 6:40pm CT on Marquee and 670 The Score.

Game 2 vs. TEX.

Watch it live on the Marquee Sports Network App. pic.twitter.com/P2aGzfKEvQ

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 8, 2025