Chicago Cubs Lineup: Rea Earns Birthday Nod, Conforto Starting at DH

CUBS LINEUP — In case you missed last night’s win, the Cubs hit FIVE home runs en route to a 9-7 victory over the San Diego Padres. They’re 14-4 in their last 18 games, scoring 6.5 runs per game during that stretch. Despite having a beat-up pitching staff, the Cubs’ offense is keeping this team afloat, and then some. They find themselves 5.5 games behind the Brewers for first place in the NL Central, which is truly not horrible, all things considered.

The Cubs haven’t lost a series since June 10, which is saying something because before that, they went a month without winning a series. This team truly is the definition of a roller coaster, except you have no idea what’s coming next. What we do know is that the Cubs will go for the sweep against the Padres today at Wrigley Field, with the North Siders looking to start July on a positive note.

Chicago Cubs Lineup:

1. Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF
2. Alex Bregman, 3B
3. Michael Busch, 1B
4. Seiya Suzuki, RF
5. Ian Happ, LF
6. Nico Hoerner, 2B
7. Michael Conforto, DH
8. Miguel Amaya, C
9. Dansby Swanson, SS

This lineup had yet another fantastic performance last night, so there’s no real reason to shake things up.

The only two changes from last night are Miguel Amaya over Carson Kelly and Michael Conforto instead of Kevin Alcántara, both of which are self-explanatory. Kelly gets the day off after a busy last week, and Conforto gets the nod against a right-handed starter.

San Diego Padres Lineup:

1. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
2. Gavin Sheets, LF
3. Manny Machado, DH
4. Ty France, 1B
5. Jackson Merrill, CF
6. Xander Bogaerts, SS
7. Jake Cronenworth, 2B
8. Rodolfo Durán, C
9. Sung-Mun Song, 3B

Pitching Matchup:

Chicago Cubs: Colin Rea, RHP

The birthday boy, Colin Rea, takes the mound in today’s series finale, looking to continue the momentum from his last two starts, in which he’s allowed just one run across 10.1 innings. In those two outings, he’s faced the Blue Jays and Brewers, by no means weak opponents.

It’s been a pretty up-and-down season for Rea, who has a 4.80 ERA in 17 games. It’s obvious that the Cubs need any innings they can get right now, but they also need Rea to perform better. Clearly, the last two starts have been outliers when looking at the entire season, but here’s to hoping that trend can continue today against the Padres.

Rea has pitched on his birthday once before, which came in 2016 while he was with the Padres. Facing the Yankees, he threw six innings, allowing just one run en route to a 7-6 victory. Let’s keep those good birthday vibes going!

San Diego Padres: Walker Buehler, RHP

Walker Buehler gets the ball for the Padres today, looking to avoid the sweep at the Friendly Confines. Buehler has faced the Cubs once this year, but this is his first start at Wrigley Field since 2022.

Earlier this season in San Diego, Buehler threw 4.2 innings against the Cubs, allowing two runs in a game the Cubs would win 8-3. After that, he had a pretty rough month of May, posting a 4.39 ERA with just 19 strikeouts in 26.2 innings.

However, he completely flipped the script in June, with a 1.71 ERA in 26.1 innings. He started five games, allowing just one run in each of them. Needless to say, he’s on a roll right now. His xERA of 4.34 this year does hint at some luck going his way, but he’s getting results nonetheless.

His pitch mix is fascinating, with the 31-year-old featuring seven different pitches in his arsenal. He throws his cutter, four-seam fastball, and sinker most often, but also varies those usages based on the handedness of the batter.

Broadcast Info:

Cubs vs Padres – Key Injuries:

Cubs vs Padres – Wrigley Field Weather Report

Location: Chicago, IL
Temperature: 91 degrees
Wind: Howling out, again … (14 MPH with gusts up to 23 MPH)