CUBS LINEUP — This afternoon at Petco Park, the Chicago Cubs have a chance to win a series against a tough Padres team on the road while dealing with a TON of injuries. You can’t ask for much more than that.
That said, with Jameson Taillon squaring up against Matt Waldron, this one has the potential to be a pretty high-scoring affair. So let’s just hope the following Cubs lineup can win a shootout.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Nico Hoerner, SS
- Moises Ballesteros, DH
- Alex Bregman, 3B
- Ian Happ, LF
- Michael Busch, 1B
- Michael Conforto, RF
- Matt Shaw, 2B
- Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF
- Miguel Amaya, C
For his career, Matt Waldron has carried very significant lefty/righty splits, with lefties slashing a particularly impressive .276/.350/.485 (.360 wOBA) off him.
With that in mind, Moises Ballesteros stays up in the Cubs lineup, and Michael Conforto comes in to play right (while giving Seiya Suzuki a day off).
I’m pretty happy about that day off, by the way, because it was supposed to happen for Suzuki more often than it has been ANYWAY. Don’t forget, Suzuki started the year injured and tends to have at least one moderately significant injury a season. With fewer opportunities at DH, he probably should get the occasional day off to stay healthy and fresh. And when there’s a big split pitcher like this that makes sense for Conforto, in particular, to come in, all the better.
Now, go win this series, Cubs.
UPDATE: I almost didn’t comment upon it because I had been expecting this, but yeah, Dansby Swanson is not in the Cubs lineup today after suffering a glute cramp last night.
That leaves Nico Hoerner in to cover short and Matt Shaw at second base, with Alex Bregman back in there at third after a half-night off.
San Diego Padres Lineup:
- Jackson Merrill, CF
- Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
- Manny Machado, DH
- Xander Bogaerts, SS
- Ty France, 1B
- Miguel Andujar, 3B
- Jake Cronenworth, 2B
- Nick Castellanos, LF
- Luis Campusano, C
Pitching Matchup:
Chicago Cubs: Jameson Taillon, RHP
Jameson Taillon is having the most Jameson Taillon season ever. He’s got a couple of quality starts, one short, but scoreless outing, and then a couple of games with a lot of runs scored … which he still managed to pitch through it and preserve the bullpen. One time, he even kept the Cubs in the game long enough for the hitters to swing it back to walk off the Pirates.
At a time when more Opening Day members of the pitching staff are hurt than healthy, Taillon’s availability and ability to stick it out even when things go sideways early are much appreciated.
San Diego Padres: Matt Waldron, RHP
Matt Waldron was part of the Padres’ big-league rotation in 2024, earning a 4.91 ERA over 146.2 IP. But last year, injuries and ineffectiveness held him to just one big-league start (plus 21 more in the Minors with a 6.48 ERA).
In any case, he’s back in the Padres rotation this year (for now), and so far, it has not gone well … at all:
- @LAA: 3.2 IP, 8H, 6ER, 1BB, 4K
- @COL: 5.0 IP, 8H, 6ER, 3BB, 3K
That is two bad teams knocking eight hits and scoring six earned runs with fewer than 5Ks in short outings. He’s still a big league pitcher, but the Cubs lineup really needs to tee off this guy today.
Broadcast Info:
Chicago Cubs (18-12) vs San Diego Padres (19-10) at 3:10 CT – Marquee Sports Network, 104.3 The Score
Cubs vs Padres – Key Injuries:
Chicago Cubs:
- Hunter Harvey, RP
- Riley Martin, RP
- Phil Maton, RP
- Daniel Palencia, RP
- Ethan Roberts, RP
- Caleb Thielbar, RP
- Jordan Wicks, SP
- Tyler Austin, IF/OF (60-Day IL)
- Porter Hodge, RP (60-Day IL)
- Cade Horton, SP (60-Day IL)
- Shelby Miller, RP (60-Day IL)
- Justin Steele, SP (60-Day IL)
San Diego Padres:
- Will Wagner, IF
- Joe Musgrove, SP
- Griffin Canning, SP
- Yuki Matsui, RP
- Jeremiah Estrada, RP
- Nick Pivetta, SP
- Jhony Brito, RP
- Bryan Hoeing, RP
Cubs vs Padres – Petco Park Weather Report
Location: San Diego, California
Temperature: 67 degrees
Wind: Blowing left to right, moderate (13 MPH)
