Chicago Cubs Lineup

Chicago Cubs Lineup (9/8/24): Offense Looking for First Run, Taillon Pitching

Photo of Evan Altman Evan AltmanSeptember 8, 2024

The Cubs have been blanked in the first two games of this series, giving them three shutouts in their last four games. The only contest in which they’ve scored in that span was their 12-0 combined no-hitter over the Pirates. This is a situation in which run differential doesn’t tell the whole story. With the NFL in full swing and the Cubs’ postseason chances dwindling to nothing, I’m not going to bother with much explication here.

Jameson Taillon has been pretty good this season and he’s coming off a start in which he held the Pirates scoreless for seven innings, but his overall performance over the last month and change has been rough. Out of his last seven starts, he’s allowed four or more earned runs five times. He’s struck out four or fewer in five games as well, plus he’s given up eight homers.

Not a great recipe when facing a lineup that relies so heavily on the longball. Speaking of which, how is it that the Yankees have managed to completely stifle the Cubs with the wind blowing in as hard as it has? The Cubs aren’t nearly as reliant on the homer and shouldn’t suffer as significant an impact from the lake breeze. Yet here we are watching them flail away helplessly.

With full understanding that anything can happen, this doesn’t feel like a lineup built to do damage. Ian Happ leads off in left, Dansby Swanson is at short, and Seiya Suzuki gets another chance to handle right field. Cody Bellinger is at first, Mike Tauchman is in right, Isaac Paredes is at third, and Pete Crow-Armstrong is in center. Miguel Amaya handles the catching duties and Miles Mastrobuoni gets a rare start at second.

After being unable to do anything against two guys most Cubs fans had probably never heard of, it doesn’t get easier with Gerrit Cole on the mound. This battle of former Pirates heavily favors the Yankees, but maybe this is when the Cubs extricate their heads from their asses. The ace was shut down for most of the first half due to elbow inflammation and has been dealing with calf issues, so his numbers aren’t what we’re used to seeing.

That said, he’s still got 78 strikeouts in 69 innings. Cole has given up 11 homers in 13 starts, more than usual for him, though it won’t matter if conditions remain the same as we’ve seen all series. His 96 mph fastball works up and to the arm side, setting up a knuckle curve that is one of the best in the game. Cole likes to keep that pitch in on righties as well, then he has a cutter that busts lefties on the hands. That pitch hasn’t been very effective this season because he tends to catch too much of the zone with it.

His slider also lands in the zone quite a bit and hasn’t been as sharp as in the past, but it’s still a good pitch that gets whiffs. Historically a split-neutral pitcher, Cole has mild reverse stats this season as righties have barreled up him up for a much higher slugging percentage. That doesn’t help the Cubs much on paper, but, again, maybe they can run into a few this afternoon.

First pitch from Wrigley is at 1:20pm CT on Marquee and 670 The Score, but I’m going to be watching the Bears. If you do happen to watch the Cubs, which I will probably end up doing for a short while at some point, at least you’ve got the Cubs Hall of Fame inductions of Kerry Wood and Aramis Ramírez to look forward to.

Photo of Evan Altman Evan AltmanSeptember 8, 2024
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