Chicago Cubs Lineup (9/26/25): Tucker Returns as DH, Rea Starting
The Cubs enter the final weekend losers of six out of seven and clinging to the top Wild Card spot with a magic number of two to secure home-field advantage against the Padres. That matchup is locked in, so it’s just a matter of determining where they play. The Cardinals have nothing to play for and the Cubs are getting what should be an offensive boost, so maybe they can actually control their own destiny.
They’re also hoping another strong effort from Colin Rea can wash away the stank from last night’s start. Rea has been very good of late and is coming off the best start of his career, an 11-strikeout gem against the Reds that still saw him saddled with a loss. Though he technically had a slightly better game score (83 to 82) for the Brewers against the Guardians on August 18 last year, I don’t think anyone would argue that it was better than his last start.
It’ll help if the bats stay hot after scoring 22 runs against the Mets in a variety of ways. Michael Busch will lead off at first, then it’s Nico Hoerner at second and Ian Happ in right. Kyle Tucker will DH and clean up in his first action since September 2, Seiya Suzuki is in right, and Pete Crow-Armstrong is in center. Dansby Swanson handles short, Reese McGuire is the catcher, and Matt Shaw plays third.
They’re up against Miles Mikolas, who has made enough starts against the Cubs over the years that you hardly need a scouting report on him. This could be his last start for the Cardinals, and maybe for his career, as he just turned 37 and has seen sharply diminishing results over the last few seasons. The only aspect of the righty’s performance that stands out in a positive way is his 5.5% walk rate, but that also means he’s throwing a ton of hittable strikes.
Living in the zone used to serve Mikolas well, as he could get batters to swing at pitches where he wanted them. Now that his stuff has lost a lot of zip, he’s leaving everything right over the middle of the plate. The Lizard King is below the 10th percentile in pitching run value, breaking ball value, expected ERA, expected batting average, whiff rate, strikeout rate, and barrel rate. The latter three categories see him in the fourth percentile or lower, so the Cubs should make plenty of contact.
Seriously, dude’s given up 165 hits over 151.1 innings and has only 96 strikeouts to offset the knocks. Ah, but he’s still a wily veteran who’s closing his season out quite well. Mikolas has allowed no more than two runs in any of his last five starts, and all three homers he gave up were solo shots. It would be really great if the Cubs could send him off into the sunset with a swift kick in the rear to aid his journey.
First pitch is at 1:20pm CT on Marquee and 670 The Score.
Blues Friday at @ofcwrigleyfield.
Watch the game live on the Marquee Sports Network App. pic.twitter.com/0QZbMVIW2P
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 26, 2025
