Chicago Cubs Lineup (5/21/25): Happ Leads Off, PCA Cleanup, Horton Pitching for Series W
The Cubs and Marlins have split the first two games in decidedly different fashion, with the home team walking off the opener and the road team embarrassing their hosts yesterday. Only the Cubs’ ability to score runs in bunches remained the same in each, but all that matters is a win on Wednesday. Not only would it be a downer to drop two games to a bad team, but the Reds are up next and they can be pretty pesky.
Cade Horton has a chance to secure his third win in three appearances, and he’ll do so against a weaker lineup than his first game and better conditions than his second. The rookie has been hampered by the longball, perhaps because he’s actually throwing too many strikes. While it’s great that he hasn’t walked a batter yet, giving up 11 hits in nine innings isn’t a great outcome.
His cutty fastball has sat just above 95 mph and can touch higher, but it’s his sweeper that needs to be better for his results to improve. Not having a howling wind carrying pop flies into the bleachers should help, too. As always, it would be best for his offense to spot him a few runs and let him attack.
Ian Happ is back in the leadoff spot and left field in his second game since being activated from the IL, then it’s Kyle Tucker again getting a slight break as the DH. Seiya Suzuki is in right, Pete Crow-Armstrong serves as the cleanup man, a concept that would have been unthinkable early in the season, and Michael Busch is at first base. Dansby Swanson is at short, Nico Hoerner is at second, Miguel Amaya is the catcher, and Matt Shaw looks for his third straight multi-hit game at third base.
They’re facing 26-year-old Max Meyer, a backwards righty who throws his slider 37% of the time. That’s been good for his strikeout numbers — 59 in 50.1 innings — but the breaking ball can’t completely cover for a 95 mph fastball that has been tagged repeatedly over nine starts. Meyer’s 89 mph changeup has been a very good pitch because it gets plenty of depth, leading to big reverse splits.
Meyer rarely throws the change to righties and almost never throws the sinker to lefties, but the former pitch has played well and the latter really hasn’t. Lefties will see a steady diet of sliders, four-seams, and changeups with a few sweepers thrown in; righties will see slider, sinker, sweeper, with a few fastballs for good measure.
It seems to me he’d be better off throwing more changeups in general, particularly to right-handed hitters, but who am I to question the Marlins? I actually do hold Miami pitching coach Daniel Moskos in high regard based on what I heard about him from his time with the Cubs. As such, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Meyer figures something out and starts shutting lineups down.
Just as long as that starts after today. First pitch is at 12:10pm CT on Marquee and 670 The Score.
