Desperate to snap a losing skid, Craig Counsell stacks lefties and turns to hungry rookies to spark a stagnant offense before the North Siders face a potential sweep.
Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell is shaking up the lineup once again.
The Cubs have won just five of their last 23 games. They haven’t won a series since sweeping the Cincinnati Reds on May 7 and are looking to avoid being swept by the Athletics on Thursday night.
Here’s how the Cubs will line up for Thursday's series finale:
- Pete Crow Armstrong, CF
- Michael Conforto, RF
- Michael Busch, 1B
- Alex Bregman, 3B
- Ian Happ, LF
- Nico Hoerner, 2B
- Moisés Ballesteros, C
- Pedro Ramírez, DH
- Dansby Swanson, SS
There are some significant changes to this lineup compared to the lineup Counsell has rolled out recently.
Conforto replaces a struggling Seiya Suzuki in right field. Although Suzuki hit his eighth home run of the season in Wednesday’s loss, the Japanese slugger is batting just .165 with one home run, two doubles, four RBI, and 29 strikeouts over his last 22 games.
Conforto will draw his second start since May 25 and will bat in the No. 2 hole for just the fourth time this season. The 33-year-old has a solid .266/.372/.352 slash line with four home runs and 13 RBI on the year.
The Cubs are stacking the left-handed batters early in the lineup against an Athletics pitcher who is tougher on righties than lefties. Righties have a .165 batting average, .509 OPS, five extra-base hits, and eight walks, while lefties have a .227 batting average, .703 OPS, nine extra-base hits, and 18 walks.
Pete Crow-Armstrong, Conforto, and Michael Busch will look to do damage early against Athletics starter J.T. Ginn.
Hoerner deservingly drops down in the order. He will hit lower than fifth in the order for the first time this season and has hit lower than second just once since early April. His .212 batting average with seven RBI since May 1 has something to do with that.
Both Ballesteros and Ramirez find their way into the starting lineup as well. Neither rookie has seen consistent opportunities at the plate in recent weeks, but Counsell is seeing if the youngsters can provide an offensive spark.
Ballesteros hasn’t started a game since May 30, and Ramirez has started just four games since being called up on May 22. While both have struggled recently, it’s worth giving them more opportunities because the current Cubs starters aren’t getting the job done.
The Cubs are looking to avoid being swept for the third time since mid-May. They lost the first two games of this series against the Athletics by a score of 2-1 (Monday) and 5-4 (Tuesday), and have now lost eight straight home games.
Hopefully, this slight lineup adjustment can help the North Siders score some runs because things have not looked promising lately.
