Chicago Cubs Lineup (4/6/26): Hoerner Leads Off, Amaya DH, Taillon Tossing

The Trop is open for business once again, with the Rays hosting their first game in a big league stadium since the roof was blown off by Hurricane Milton in October of 2024. After around $50 million worth of renovations that were only recently completed, hence the Rays playing three road series to start the season, the Cubs get to experience their third home opener of 2026. The timing bodes well for the visitors, who have yet to win or lose two games in a row so far.

A loss in the second half of Sunday’s doubleheader means the Cubs are guaranteed to win this afternoon, right? They’ve got Jameson Taillon going for the second time, and his first outing was much better than many had expected in light of a bumpy spring. Taillon went 4.2 scoreless innings with just two hits allowed, though he did walk four. The Rays have a little thunder, and there’s no chance of wind blowing in to keep them in the yard.

That’s also true for the Cubs, who kinda-sorta broke out offensively with a trio of home runs in yesterday’s loss. Even if the end result wasn’t favorable, the power surge was a welcome surprise. Now they just need to put together a few complete performances, starting with Nico Hoerner at second and Alex Bregman at third. Ian Happ made up for an awful start to the double-header with a homer and an RBI single late in the loss, and he’s batting third.

Carson Kelly cleans up behind the plate, Michael Busch gets yet another start against a lefty, Dansby Swanson is at short, and Matt Shaw is in right. Those latter two both homered yesterday as well. Pete Crow-Armstrong is in center and Miguel Amaya, who drove in the Cubs’ only run in their win on Sunday, is the DH.

They could have their hands full with former ace Shane McClanahan, who just made his first start since 2023 after rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and a subsequent nerve issue. The lefty is just about three weeks shy of his 29th birthday and still has plenty of time to recapture the promise he showed when he first came up in 2021. It may take him some time to round back into form, however, as his velocity is down noticeably from two-plus seasons ago.

The fastball that once sat just shy of 97 mph is now a little above 95, and both breaking balls are down around two ticks. McClanahan’s curve had been more effective than his slider; both had very little glove-side movement, but the hook was slower with more depth. That’s still the case for the most part, though the slider has more vertical break than in the past. We’re only talking about one start, so that could all change.

McClanahan had previously racked up serious strikeout numbers with low walks, but the rust and reduced velocity have conspired to change both of those in the early going this season. Even if he doesn’t get back to where he was before the injuries, his outstanding changeup should allow him to be very effective. It’s been his most valuable pitch by far since his first full season in ’22, and he’ll throw it over a quarter of the time.

I find it particularly noteworthy that he threw the change seven times to left-handed hitters in his first start of the season, just one less than he’d thrown it to them over each of his two previous seasons combined. The pitch appears to be getting a lot more depth than before, though that could just be a matter of conditions. Still, going from an average vertical drop of 25.4 inches in 2022 and 29.8 inches in ’23 to 36.5 inches last week seems significant.

He appears to be using the same split-circle grip, but he’s getting less spin and throwing from a lower arm angle than when we last saw him (38 degrees vs 43 in his last season). Getting a different shape and throwing it more to lefties might allow McClanahan to get better results against them. Historically a fairly split-neutral pitcher, he’s given up a much higher average and OBP to lefty batters over parts of four seasons. That has been magnified at home, where lefties slash .295/.372/.386 against him.

The only Cubs who’ve ever faced him all bat right-handed, at least against southpaws, and the results have not been good. Across only 22 at-bats, they’re hitting .136 with a .527 OPS and just one homer from Hoerner. That’s going to have to change in a big way if they want to get back to .500 on the road trip and the season.

First pitch is at 3:10pm CT on Marquee and 104.3 The Score.

A new series starts today.

Watch the game live on @WatchMarquee. pic.twitter.com/neGehRmQbM

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 6, 2026