Chicago Cubs Lineup (7/5/25): Busch Gets to Face Southpaw, Pomeranz Opening

The Cubs destroyed the Cardinals at Wrigley yesterday, setting or tying several club home run records in the process. Now they have a chance to secure a series victory, which would be a nice change from roaring back to split the series in St. Louis a little over a week ago. They’re going to have to do it in an unconventional fashion, though, as Jameson Taillon was initially slated to start this one.

Drew Pomeranz will put his immaculate ERA on the line as the opener in what Craig Counsell said will be a bullpen game. This is his third Cubs start of the season after opening for Ben Brown and Colin Rea in consecutive outings a month ago. Jordan Wicks was activated yesterday to take Taillon’s place and figures to serve as the bulk man since he last started at Iowa on June 29.

Wicks used a month on the IL to clean up his mechanics, and we should get a good look at what he and the Cubs are hoping is much improved performance from earlier in the season. Maybe the offense can just repeat yesterday’s fireworks to take all the pressure off him.

They’re up against lefty Matthew Liberatore, who held them to just two runs in seven innings in the series opener at Busch. The 25-year-old is having his best season by a wide margin, and shut out the Guardians after that Cubs game. This is his first campaign as a full-time starter after making 67 of his first 81 career appearances out of the bullpen. An elite strike-thrower who rarely walks batters, Liberatore gets a lot of chase with a six-pitch mix highlighted by an excellent changeup.

Despite making up just 13% of his repertoire, the changeup has generated seven runs of value so far. That’s far more than the rest of his pitches combined, especially with his fastball at -3 runs. Even though the changeup is thrown to right-handed batters, Liberatore still has massive traditional splits. That’s because his sinker and slider have been plus pitches that allow him to keep the ball in the yard.

Simply put, the Cubs have to do a much better job in this one. They collected six hits, but only drew one walk as the offense sputtered. We’ll find out whether they can keep up their momentum when this one gets underway at 1:20pm CT on Marquee and 670 The Score.