The opener in San Francisco

The+opener+in+San+Francisco
LineupsLineups Chicago Cubs: 1. Nico Hoerner (2B) 2. Seiya Suzuki (RF) 3. Cody Bellinger (DH) 4. Chris Morel (3B) 5. Ian Happ (LF) 6. Dansby Swanson (SS) 7. Michael Busch (1B) 8. Tomas Nido (C) 9. Pete Crow-Armstrong (CF) San Francisco Giants: 1. Austin Slater (RF) 2. Heliot Ramos (CF) 3. Wilmer Flores (1B) 4. Jorge Soler (DH) 5. Matt Chapman (3B) 6. Thairo Estrada (2B) 7. Luis Matos (LF) 8. Kort Casali (C) 9. Nick Ahmed (SS) Pitching Matchup: Chicago Cubs: Justin Steele (LHP) San Francisco Giants: Erik Miller (LHP, opener); Spencer Howard (RHP) Broadcast Information: * Chicago Cubs (37-41) vs. San Francisco Giants (36-42) * Marquee Sports Network, 670 The Score * Game time: 8:45 PM CT Key Injuries: Chicago Cubs: * Mike Tauchman (OF) * Yency Almonte (R.P) * Ben Brown (R.P) * Jordan Wicks (S.P) * Mark Leiter Jr. (RP) San Francisco Giants: * LaMonte Wade Jr. (OF) * Mike Yastrzemski (OF) * Blake Snell (SP) * Kyle Harrison (S.P) * Keaton Winn (S.P) * Robbie Ray (SP) * Austin Warren (R.P) * Alex Cobb (SP) * Tristan Beck (SP) * Ethan Klein (R.P) * Tom Murphy (C) * Jung Hoo Lee (OR)

CUBS LINEUP — The Cubs begin a four-game road trip up the West Coast tonight at Oracle Park. Justin Steele is on the mound for the Cubs, who are running out of time to turn this ship around before the trade deadline looms. Here’s a look at the Cubs lineup for Game 1 in San Fran.

Chicago Cubs lineup:

Nico Hoerner, 2B
Seiya Suzuki, RF
Cody Bellinger, DH
Chris Morel, 3B
Ian Happ, L.F
Dansby Swanson, SS
Michael Busch, 1B
Tomas Nido, C
Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF

Tomas Nido will be behind the plate again tonight and will make his second start in a Cubs uniform. He bats eighth, just ahead of PCA. Michael Busch starts at the bottom of the rankings, partly, I suspect, because of the Giants’ left-handed “opener” tonight. I’m not sure I agree with the tradeoff of avoiding one unwanted match early in the game at the expense of an extra Michael Busch at-bat later (he’s like the only one batting at the moment), but that’s what Craig Counsell did here.

There is some logic to it, but I just don’t think this is the way I would have gone. I’m sure Busch will homer in the second inning, now that I’ve said this.

San Francisco Giants Lineup:

Austin Slater, R.F
Heliot Ramos, CF
Wilmer Flores, 1B
Jorge Soler, DH
Matt Chapman, 3B
Thairo Estrada, 2B
Luis Matos, L.F
Kort Casali, C
Nick Ahmed, SS

Pitching Matchup:

Chicago cubs: Justin Steele, LHP

Justin Steele is on a pretty incredible run right now, with five consecutive excellent performances against the Brewers, Reds, Reds, Rays and Giants: 31.2 IP, 4ER, 33Ks. And despite some outbursts after coming off the IL (much of which weren’t even entirely his fault), Steele’s full-season ERA is down to 3.16. He is good. That said, the Giants (118 wRC+, 6th highest in MLB) have been very good against left-handed pitching this season. So keep that in mind tonight.

San Francisco Giants: Erik Miller, LHP (opener)

Erik Miller starts today, marking his third straight appearance against the Cubs. But he’s only an opener, so those other two appearances look like this:

@CHC: 1.1 IP, 2H, 3ER, 1BB, 0K (embossed)
@CHC: 1.0 IP, 0H, 0ER, 1BB, 2K (opener)

He is followed by righty Spencer Howard, who will try to be the biggest man tonight. Howard, 27, also just faced the Cubs in relief, going just 1.0 IP and getting relatively shocked (4H, 3R, 2ER, 1BB, 3K).