Chicago Cubs Lineup (9/2/25): Hoerner Leads Off, Turner at 1B, Alcántara in CF, Imanaga Starting

The Cubs had rattled off 13 consecutive wins in which they’d scored four or more runs before losing to the Rockies 5-6 to close their recent road trip. They were in danger of making it two in a row when their comeback got them into a tie with the Braves on Monday afternoon, but getting their seventh walk-off win of the season started a new streak. It was an improbable win that featured MLB’s first two-strike bunt hit of the season and Aaron Civale‘s first-ever regular-season relief appearance.

At the risk of applying more importance than one game should have, it felt like a real vibe-shifter. Meanwhile, the Brewers blew a big lead at home to the Phillies to close the division gap just a little bit. And when you add in the fact that the Cubs had to fight back in that Rockies loss as well, you don’t even have to squint to see signs of that scrappier version of the team we saw earlier in the season.

We’ll need to see more over the next few weeks, but the seedlings of a trend are definitely there. Getting a strong effort from Shōta Imanaga, who turned 32 yesterday, will certainly help. He’s completed seven innings in each of his last three starts, though he’s 0-1 in that stretch because the offense didn’t really help him out. The Braves are 18th in MLB with a 94 wRC+ against lefties, so this sets up as a favorable matchup for Imanaga.

Nico Hoerner will try to spur the scoring from the top of the lineup, then it’s Kyle Tucker in right and Seiya Suzuki at DH. Carson Kelly does the catching, Justin Turner is at first, Ian Happ is in left, and Dansby Swanson plays short. Matt Shaw holds down the hot corner and Kevin Alcántara gets his first big league start of the season, giving bunt specialist Pete Crow-Armstrong a break in center.

They’re facing lefty Joey Wentz, who is making just his ninth start and 35th total appearance for his third team this season. The 27-year-old was DFA’d by both the Pirates and Twins, and he pitched against the Cubs with both of those teams. I don’t really know how to research this, but I have to guess he’ll become a member of a very exclusive club when he faces the Cubs as a member of three different teams in one season. Maybe he’s the charter member.

Ed. note: Marquee’s Chris Kamka let me know that David Weathers pitched against the Cubs with the Mets, Marlins, and Astros in 2004.

Wentz was actually drafted by the Braves with the 40th overall pick in 2016, but was traded to the Tigers for Shane Greene and made his debut in 2022. He was DFA’d on August 30, 2024, which began the odyssey that now has him back with his original organization.

After working as a long reliever for his first two employers, the Braves shifted Wentz to the rotation. His results there have been significantly better than when he had shorter outings, with his ERA dropping from 6.32 to 3.67 and his strikeout rate remaining the same while his walk rate dropped by 50% or so. Wentz doesn’t appear to have shifted his repertoire in any way, so it might just be a matter of being more comfortable.

It helps that he’s given up one or no runs in five of his eight starts, though he’s allowed a total of 14 earned runs in the other three. Wentz gives up a lot of hard contact and doesn’t miss many bats with a slightly over-the-top angle that produces a little cut with what is otherwise mainly north-south action. His slightly cutty 93-94 mph four-seam has a little ride to it, though he tends to leave it belt-high over the middle.

Wentz’s cutter has more depth than average, coming in at 86 mph at the knees to the glove side, and his 80 mph curve has good drop to the middle or a little arm-side. They’re all decent and they play up a little due to his extension, but he lacks a true put-away pitch and often has trouble commanding the zone. Wentz has walked at least two batters in each of his last four starts and he can give up hits in bunches as well.

He’s also capable of spinning a really good outing, which was the case just a few days ago in Miami. He also went nearly seven shutout innings with just one hit allowed against the Royals a little more than a month ago. Wentz has pitched to pretty even splits so far and doesn’t have much experience against this Cubs lineup, though he’s surrendered a 1.149 OPS in that limited action. Tucker and Turner both have homers against him from earlier, with Turner’s bomb scoring the Cubs’ only run in an 8-1 loss to the Twins on July 8.

As long as the Cubs keep the bats going, they should be just fine. First pitch is at 6:40pm CT on Marquee and 670 The Score.

Running it back with the Braves!

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— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 2, 2025