Chicago Cubs Lineup (9/21/25): Hoerner Leads Off, Slamtana DH, Turner at 3B, Taillon Starting
It hasn’t been a great weekend for Illinois sports, with the Cubs dropping three straight to the Reds and the Illini going into IU as seven-point favorites and leaving with a 53-point ass-whipping. That was pretty fun to watch, unlike the Cubs in Cincy. As much as I try to avoid meatball takes, I can’t help thinking that the Reds just want these games more.
Winning three straight has the Reds just one game behind the sliding Mets, and the Cubs still have a four-game cushion over the Padres with seven left to play. As I’ve been saying for a while now, the problem with the Cubs isn’t necessarily how they’re playing right now; it’s that continuing to play like they are now will see them bounced quickly when postseason play begins. They have scored four or fewer runs in 13 of 18 games this month, and they’ve given up 24 homers.
The good news is that the Padres have given up 31 dingers and the Reds have surrendered 32, so maybe the Cubs can somehow slug their way to more wins. That hasn’t been the case through three games in this series, however, as the Cubs have seen eight balls fly over the walls of Great American Ball Park against them while they have hit just four. This is why Cade Horton has to start the first game of their Wild Card series.
In the meantime, it’s up to Jameson Taillon to right the ship. The righty has looked good in two starts since his latest IL stint, but his strikeout rate has fallen off a cliff. He’s at a career-low 18.3% this season after posting an 18.5% last year, and he hasn’t registered more than four Ks in any of his last seven starts. Hey, at least he’s not walking guys.
Potentially making his task more difficult is an aging lineup built to combat the Reds’ lefty starter. Nico Hoerner is leading off at second as he continues to chase the NL batting title, then it’s Ian Happ in left, Seiya Suzuki in right, and Carson Kelly behind the plate. The 39-year-old Carlos Santana still hasn’t collected a hit since donning a Cubs uniform, but he can still pick it at first base, so it makes a ton of sense that he’s the DH. Dansby Swanson is at short, Justin Turner is at third, Michael Busch is at first, and Kevin Alcántara is in center.
I’m not a big fan of this lineup, but several of the players above were able to get to Andrew Abbott at Wrigley about a month and a half ago. The All-Star southpaw gave up four earned runs on seven hits, with homers from Suzuki and Swanson setting the pace. Suzuki also singled, as did Hoerner, Turner, and Kelly. Turner actually added a double too, so I get why he’s in there. As for playing him at third, well, that could be interesting.
Abbott may have hit a wall around the time of that game, as his performance looks a little different before and after. He went in with a 2.15 ERA and 11 homers allowed over 19 starts; starting with that loss to the Cubs, he’s at a 4.53 ERA with seven homers surrendered in eight starts. He’s striking out more batters and walking fewer, plus he’s getting more grounders, so maybe it’s just a matter of bad luck or something. Whatever the reason, Abbott hasn’t looked nearly as dominant over the last month and change.
I’ll direct you back to that previous lineup post for information about his repertoire, but I do find it interesting that Counsell is going with eight right-handed batters today. While that makes sense against most lefty pitchers, Abbott has been victimized badly at home against left-handed hitters. We’re only talking about 75 of them this season, but that .304/.338/.449 slash really stands out.
And since it gets brought up once in a while when I point things like that out, no, Happ and Santana should absolutely not turn around to bat lefty in situations like this. First, splits go both ways. Second, neither of them has ever faced a lefty from the left side. Throwing away thousands of at-bats of experience would almost certainly negate any advantage from the splits. Interestingly enough, both switch-hitters have six right-on-right plate appearances in their careers.
The series finale was scheduled for 12:40pm CT but will be delayed. Broadcasts are on Marquee and 670 The Score.
Final game in Cincinnati.
Watch the game live on the Marquee Sports Network App. pic.twitter.com/oOLmTaoUj6
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 21, 2025
