Chicago Cubs Lineup (4/1/26): Hoerner Leads Off, Amaya DH, Boyd Bump Day
After dropping two of three to the Nationals, the Cubs need to win today to avoid looking like April fools by falling to the same fate against the Angels. They were shut out last night, which tied their number of home goose eggs for all of last year, raising questions about the fitness of the offense. While it’s still far too early to freak out about anything, the lack of consistency needs to be worked out soon.
This team’s calling card was supposed to be a smoother overall performance that saw both the highs and lows flattened out a bit. Instead, we’re seeing the same old hot-cold results as last season. And even though any reasonable observer knows it’s unwise to draw conclusions just yet, Tuesday’s game is exactly the kind of contest the Cubs should be winning. They’re supposed to be able to get ’em on, get ’em over, and get ’em in. Instead, they just got got.
The lack of power can be attributed somewhat to the weather, with Ian Happ losing 113 feet on a would-be homer last week and howling winds keeping everything in the park last night. But when you’re not doing a very good job of putting the ball in play at all, well, it doesn’t matter what the wind is doing. This could all turn around in short order, so maybe we can all laugh about the spotty results by this time next week.
When it comes to authoring better performances, Matthew Boyd needs a little editorial assistance to clean up his rough draft. The lefty’s Opening Day start was a disaster that saw him give up six earned runs on as many hits over just 3.2 innings. He did strike out seven with one walk, so the stuff was great…when it was working. Boyd made too many mistakes that resulted in a lot of hard-hit balls.
Boyd gave up six batted balls of at least 100.3 mph, all but one of which went for hits. He will have help from the wind, which is blowing in from center at nearly 20 mph, but it won’t matter if his team doesn’t provide enough support. Craig Counsell is going with his southpaw lineup, bumping Nico Hoerner into the leadoff role. Alex Bregman is at third, Ian Happ is in left, and Carson Kelly is the catcher and cleanup hitter. Michael Busch gets a chance to prove he should be part of a platoon, Dansby Swanson is at short, Matt Shaw is in right, Pete Crow-Armstrong drops to eighth, and Miguel Amaya is the DH.
Going for the Angels is 34-year-old lefty Yusei Kikuchi, who has been better over the last three-plus seasons than he was through his first four. He’s maintained his mid-90s velo quite well the whole time, but he’s mixed in more curveballs and changeups to keep hitters off the fastball that has largely gotten poor results. Kikuchi is throwing a cutter this year as well, which gives him a different look from his slider because it’s thrown harder with much less depth.
He could get a real boost from the wind blowing in because home runs have long been his bugaboo. Take the threat of the longball out of the equation and he could have himself quite the afternoon, especially against righties. Kikuchi has pitched to marked traditional splits throughout his career, but those could be nullified by the conditions.
My hope for this afternoon is that the Cubs remain patient at the plate and aggressive on the bases, as they may need to make some of their own luck in this one. First pitch is scheduled for 1:20pm CT on Marquee and The Score. As a side note, I believe this is the first time in MLB history that lefties born less than five months apart and who both wear No. 16 are opposing each other as starting pitchers.
