Chicago Cubs Lineup (4/23/25): Kelly Catching, Boyd Pitching for Season Series Win

After looking overmatched in Tokyo and being shut out in their first game against the Dodgers in LA earlier this month, the Cubs were painted as second-class contenders. Then they laid a 16-0 beatdown on the home team at Chavez Ravine before winning the series finale as well. A wild win last night evened the season series and has the Cubs at a +10 run differential against the greatest team money has ever bought. And though the win probably should have required a scrambling comeback, it counts the same as a blowout.

Tuesday night’s dramatic W pushed the Cubs to 15-10 on the season, a mark that would be pretty impressive even without factoring in the toughest schedule in MLB. The Cubs lead baseball in ESPN’s Relative Power Index, which uses winning percentage (25%), opponents’ winning percentage (50%), and opponents’ opponents’ winning percentage (25%) to show how strong teams are based on who and how they’ve played.

The Cubs (.627) are 54 points ahead of the Padres and 64 points ahead of the Dodgers by that measure, with the Diamondbacks in fourth and the Rangers in sixth. My unofficial count has the Cubs playing 22 of their 25 games against those teams, which explains why their .635 strength of schedule is 91 points higher than the second-place D-backs. So while your concerns about the bullpen and third base are warranted, the fact that the Cubs keep winning anyway is remarkable.

Now they have a chance to take the season series and head into yet another off-day with a good deal of momentum. They’ll go for that win behind Matt Boyd, who pitched five scoreless innings in LA a little less than two weeks ago. The only problem was that he had a hiccup in the 6th inning, not that it mattered since his offense scored precisely zero runs. Boyd gave up a three-run homer to Tommy Edman (who else?) that effectively ended the game.

Avoiding Eugenio Suarez Jr., who now has a homer in each of the three series these teams have played this season, would be a good start for Boyd. Funny to say given the rest of the huge names in the Dodgers’ lineup, but Edman is on a heater and isn’t to be trifled with. Keeping his team in the game is all that really matters, as we’ve seen this lineup win in a number of ways so far.

In the interest of time, I’ll just note that the lineup is the same as last night other than Carson Kelly starting behind the dish and Jon Berti playing third now that Gage Workman has been designated for assignment. Cubs catchers remain the best in baseball, rivaled only by the Cal Raleigh-paced Mariners. Neither Kelly nor Miguel Amaya is suffering ill effects from their timeshare, and it’s possible they’re better for it.

Update: Seiya Suzuki has been scratched and is considered day-to-day due to right wrist discomfort, so Justin Turner will DH and bat third. I don’t link this one bit, both due to how Turner has been hitting and the underlying issues with his very low bat speed.

The Cubs are facing righty Ben Casparius in what figures to be a bullpen game for the Dodgers. Casparius has faced the Cubs twice already and has gone as long as three innings and 47 pitches, so his start tonight will be a matter of efficiency and matchups. If all goes well, he’ll pitch exactly the same as he did on April 12, when the Cubs hung six on him as part of that aforementioned laugher.

Casparius has done a very good job overall, using his cutty 96 mph fastball to blow hitters away. His slider isn’t classified as a sweeper despite getting a lot more horizontal movement than average, and his curve gets a lot of depth. A strike-thrower who can fall into trouble when his stuff doesn’t get out of the zone, Casparius is as likely to give up a bunch of contact as he is to shut the Cubs down.

First pitch is at 6pm CT on Marquee, MLB Network, and 670 The Score.

Running it back against LA.

Watch the game live on the Marquee Sports Network App. pic.twitter.com/lV6HCPjWeW

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 23, 2025