CUBS LINEUP — The Chicago Cubs have not yet gotten above .500 this season, but they do have a chance to do it this afternoon at Wrigley Field.
Shota Imanaga is on the bump for the Cubs (wind is blowing in, thankfully), Seiya Suzuki is out in right field, and the Pirates are starting a good, but not utterly dominant, righty in Carmen Mlodzinski. So I’d say we’ve got a chance. Here’s a look at the Cubs lineup for the first of three games at Wrigley Field.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
Nico Hoerner, 2B Michael Busch, 1B Alex Bregman, 3B Ian Happ, LF Seiya Suzuki, RF Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF Carson Kelly, C Moisés Ballesteros, DH Dansby Swanson, SSAll right, now THAT’S a lineup!
First and most importantly, Seiya Suzuki is back with the Cubs, which means he’s back out in right field. For today, at least. Craig Counsell has already mentioned that he will not be playing every day as the Cubs ease him back into the action. That should provide some more room for Matt Shaw to keep starting. Shaw will also probably start every game against righties and can also rest Nico, Dansby, Bregman, Ballesteros, Happ, or Busch (one way or another). So I think he’ll get his playing time.
Second and also notable, Ian Happ is back in the Cubs lineup after missing a couple of games after taking a hard dive for a ball in Tampa.
But finally and most interestingly, it’s now officially official: Nico Hoerner is the new Cubs leadoff man.
I was reluctant to say that was the case when he led off against a righty the last two days, because both Happ and Suzuki were still out, which just necessarily makes things different. But they’re both back today, the Cubs are facing a righty, and there’s Nico Hoerner, the second most valuable player in baseball as of this morning, leading off for the Chicago Cubs. I love it.
In the past, Hoerner didn’t quite make as much sense as the everyday leadoff hitter, in part because while he had a high average, his OBP and slugging weren’t keeping pace. But both have been up since the All-Star break last year, and he’s also as clutch as anyone in the game. So, ensuring that he gets the most at-bats possible is probably the right decision.
With Hoerner leading off, Michael Busch moves down to second, which suits him better (when he’s hitting). Alex Bregman moves down to third, and Ian Happ cleans up.
The only thing I don’t like about this is how low Seiya Suzuki is. Because when he’s hot, he can be the best hitter on this team. But there’s really no reason to force it for now. And, hey, it’s not like having a lot of good hitters is a bad thing.
The best part about this new arrangement, I think, is how much pressure will now be off Pete Crow-Armstrong, who’s batting sixth, and Moises Ballesteros, who’s batting eighth. Those guys are tucked down low in a very solid group of hitters, with plenty of time and grace to reach the heights of which we all know they’re capable.
And lastly, it’s really hard not to love a Cubs lineup that has a league-average bat with 20 homer seasons batting NINTH.
Pittsburgh Pirates Lineup:
Nick Yorke, 3B Ryan O’Hearn, 1B Bryan Reynolds, LF Marcell Ozuna, DH Nick Gonzales, 2B Oneil Cruz, CF Konnor Griffin, SS Joey Bart, C Billy Cook, RFPitching Matchup:
Chicago Cubs: Shota Imanaga, LHP
Although Shota Imanaga gave up four earned runs in his first start of the season, including another homer, that one homer accounted for three of the runs and was definitely not on a bad pitch. Imanaga also struck out seven Nationals in that one and generally looked a lot better than he did at the end of last season.
More importantly, Imanaga followed up that start with a good one against the Guardians, during which he surrendered just one earned run (no homers) on three hits and one walk against four strikeouts.
Even better than all of that, Imanaga’s fastball velocity is up nearly two full clicks from his post-injury stretch last season, which is also more in line with his velo from his excellent 2024 campaign.
I don’t need to tell you this, but a healthy and productive Shota Imanaga this year can go a LONG way to backfilling the loss of Cade Horton.
Pittsburgh Pirates: Carmen Mlodzinski, RHP
Carmen Mlodzinski split the last two seasons between the bullpen and rotation, but seems to be focused on the rotation here in 2026. So far, he’s made two starts, against the Mets and Orioles, each short with a couple of runs, but a buttload of strikeouts (13Ks in 9.0 IP).
He’s also generating a ton of groundballs (52%), albeit with a lot of hard contact. But because most of that contact is beaten into the ground, he actually hasn’t surrendered a single barrel yet. Let’s see if the Cubs lineup can’t help with that.
For his career, Mlodzinski has been pretty split neutral (more like reverse, really), but so far this year, that’s not been the case. In other words, this season, lefties are hitting him better than righties. But the sample is so small.
Mlodzinski uses three distinct fastballs, each with relatively high usage, including a four-seamer around 96 MPH, a splitter around 85, and a sinker around 94.5. He also throws a curveball and a slider, but the usage on those pitches is very different this year than in the past, so I’m not quite sure what to expect.
Broadcast Info:
Chicago Cubs(6-6) vs Pittsburgh Pirates (7-5) at 1:20 CT – Marquee Sports Network, 104.3 The Score
Cubs vs Pirates – Key Injuries:
Chicago Cubs:
Jordan Wicks, SP Porter Hodge, RP Justin Steele, SP (60-Day IL) Shelby Miller, RP (60-Day IL) Tyler Austin, IF/OF (60-Day IL) Cade Horton, SP Matthew Boyd, SPPittsburgh Pirates:
Jared Triolo, INF Jared Jones, SPCubs vs Pirates – Wrigley Field Weather Report
Location: Wrigley FieldTemperature: 50 degreesWind: Blowing in from left, moderate
Today vs Pirates: 50° ?️ Wind blowing in from LF / CF at 8mph? Gusts up to 13mph #Cubs #Weather
— Wrigley Winds (@WrigleyWinds) April 10, 2026Hence then, the article about pre gamin cubs vs pirates 1 20 ct lineups broadcast info game thread was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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