Chicago Cubs Lineup (8/5/25): Happ Bats Second, Castro in RF, Imanaga Pitching

The Cubs dropped the series opener last night, and they also lost the only rotation reinforcement they acquired at the deadline as Michael Soroka went to the IL with right shoulder discomfort. Precautionary imaging on the shoulder prior to his last start apparently revealed nothing, but Soroka said after the game that “it grabbed me a little bit” and didn’t subside after he reached back for a little extra on his fastball.

Not a great sign under any circumstances, but it’s even worse when you consider how his fastball velocity had fallen off over the last few weeks. In fact, that’s why the Nats performed the MRI. This makes Jed Hoyer’s general inactivity all the more frustrating, as Soroka was not considered much more than depth in the first place. Not getting a top-of-the-rotation arm is understandable given the exorbitant cost, something Jeff Passan echoed in a recent column, it just puts that much more pressure on the current starters.

Some of that will be alleviated when Jameson Taillon and Javier Assad return from the IL, which should happen before long. Taillon’s first rehab start with Triple-A Iowa didn’t look good from a box score perspective, but those outings are often just about building up innings. Catcher Miguel Amaya is also expected back from the IL by next weekend or so, adding to the internal improvement.

In the meantime, Shōta Imanaga will have to pitch lights-out to give a break to an offense that has been playing pretty poorly for a little while now. He had a hiccup on the South Side, but has been very good otherwise and should at least keep his team in the game.

Michael Busch leads off at first, Ian Happ hits second in left, and Kyle Tucker is the DH for this one. Pete Crow-Armstrong hits cleanup, Willi Castro gets another start at another position to give Seiya Suzuki a night off in right. Nico Hoerner is at second, Dansby Swanson is at short, Reese McGuire is behind the plate, and Matt Shaw is at third.

They’re facing burly righty Zack Littell, who looks like he should have been part of the Brewers’ rotation a few years ago. Between his beard and build, he would have fit right in with Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Burnes. The 29-year-old is making his first Reds start after coming over in a trade with the Rays a day ahead of the deadline, so he’s now played for four teams in as many seasons.

Littell has been pretty steady as a full-time starter the past two seasons after coming up as a reliever with Minnesota. His transition to the rotation came in Tampa after the Rays picked him up from the Red Sox early in 2023. Never a big strikeout guy, he ranks very low in terms of whiffs and Ks despite a strong chase rate. He is among the very best in the league at limiting walks, though, so even an inflated barrel rate doesn’t kill him.

Littell pitches backwards, favoring his 87 mph slider and 84 mph splitter over his 91-92 mph fastball and sinker. He’s also got an 84 mph sweeper he throws sparingly. Unlike most pitchers, Littell doesn’t really split up his pitches based on batter handedness, going to only his riding sinker much more frequently against righties.

His splits are almost identical as a result, with no discernible platoon advantage this season. The bugaboo for Littell has been those 26 homers against him, most of which came prior to mid-June. After serving up 21 dingers through his first 14 starts, he’s given up only five over his last eight starts. With just 53 runs (none unearned) allowed all year, it’s clear he’s been able to keep runners from scoring when the ball stays in the yard.

That isn’t a good indicator for a Cubs team that seems to have dialed back the aggressiveness in the second half. After ranking third in MLB with 108 steals through 96 games prior to the All-Star break, they have just 13 stolen bases through 16 games since. While that isn’t a huge disparity, they’ve scored less than six runs in 12 of those contests. The Cubs really need to start manufacturing runs.

Maybe this will be the game that sparks a run. We’ll find out at 7:05pm CT on Marquee and 670 The Score.

Round two with the Reds.

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— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) August 5, 2025