Chicago Cubs Lineup (3/30/25): Happ Leads Off, Turner at 1B, Boyd Starting

Saturday saw a few firsts for the Cubs, including homers from both Kyle Tucker and Matt Shaw, as they moved ahead in the series and put themself in position to get to .500 before heading to Sacramento. Shota Imanaga gave them seven innings of one-run ball, notching four strikeouts and stretching to 91 pitches. The offense was more aggressive as well, striking out nine times with only one walk while also collecting eight hits.

Now it’ll be up to lefty Matt Boyd to keep his team in the finale. This is his first official start after getting some piggyback work during one of the exhibition games in Japan. He’ll have to be much better than what we’ve seen this spring, with 10 earned runs allowed over his last three starts. Boyd has been missing bats, but he’s also run up his pitch counts and ended up having to come back over the plate too often.

We’ve seen how this Diamondbacks lineup can bang, especially Eugenio Suárez, so there probably won’t be room for too many mistakes. That’s why the bats really need to step up as well, since four runs probably won’t be enough to get it done this afternoon.

Craig Counsell is going with more or less a normal lineup in this one, so no worries about leftover meatloaf. Ian Happ leads off in left, Seiya Suzuki is the DH, and Tucker is in right. This would be a good time for Suzuki to figure out what he’s going at the plate, because he has looked lost up there lately. Justin Turner slots in for Michael Busch at first and in the cleanup spot, Dansby Swanson is at short, and Nico Hoerner is back at second.

Pete Crow-Armstrong brings his increased bat speed to center, Shaw gets the start at third, and Miguel Amaya is behind the dish. That bottom third can be really dangerous even if the guys at the top aren’t doing so hot.

They’re up against Eduardo Rodriguez, a veteran lefty playing his second season in Arizona after several years in Boston and Detroit. Last season did not go well for him as he was limited to just 10 starts due to a shoulder strain suffered in spring training. His 92 mph fastball doesn’t blow hitters away, nor does it possess any special qualities that make it deceptive. The breaking and offspeed stuff is only slightly better, but we’re still talking about 42nd-percentile performance.

That could all change, however, if Rodriguez pitches like he did in 2023. That season saw him in the 80th percentile or better with all of his general pitch types, which is a product of being healthy and building a bigger sample. His stuff was a little sharper too, and it appears he got a little more cut and ride on his fastball with more depth on the change.

Traditionally a somewhat split-neutral pitcher with mild reverse platoon results, Rodriguez has been much tougher against like-handed hitters over the past two seasons. He was also much better on the road last year, which could indicate the dry air in Phoenix negatively impacted his movement even with the humidor in use. Rodriguez got up to 76 pitches in his last Cactus League game, so he can go deep today if the Cubs let him. If it’s all the same to the rest of you, I’d just as soon they jump on him and knock him out early.

First pitch from Chase Field is at 3:10pm CT on Marquee and 670 The Score.

Last one in AZ.

Watch the game live on the Marquee Sports Network App. pic.twitter.com/1pwbGBNgsG

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) March 30, 2025