CUBS LINEUP — Well, the Cubs may have missed Paul Skenes, but the effect was the same yesterday, and they’ve got another tough challenge in Braxton Ashcraft today. The Pirates righty has thrown back-to-back quality starts with just 3 earned runs combined over 12.0 IP.
Then again, the Cubs are countering with their scoreless starter, Edward Cabrera. So maybe he can keep the good times rolling and get this train back on track.
Because, seriously, Cubs. Enough fartin’ around. Win these next two games against the Pirates at home and get your act above .500. Enough already.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
Nico Hoerner, 2B Michael Busch, 1B Alex Bregman, 3B Ian Happ, LF Moisés Ballesteros, DH Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF Miguel Amaya, C Michael Conforto, RF Dansby Swanson, SSAlthough it shouldn’t come as a surprise (Craig Counsell told us this was coming), I will note that Seiya Suzuki is out of the Cubs lineup just one day after he finally debuted. The plan is to ease him back into action following his knee injury, and that’s probably the wise move, even if it’s frustrating.
I’ll also add that he seemed to be rubbing his injured knee on a sliding play in right field yesterday. So I wouldn’t be surprised if he was feeling that, too.
In any case, with Suzuki out, Michael Conforto steps in to cover right field. That keeps DH open for Moises Ballesteros, who’s actually moving UP in the lineup, above even PCA.
Ballesteros hasn’t gotten the results yet, but he’s actually been SMOKING the ball early on: 91.4 MPH EV, 18.2 barrel% (!), 50 hard%. And so his .322 xwOBA is way above his actual mark (.268).
I think his hits will start falling soon.
Other than that, Miguel Amaya is the guy behind the plate, and Nico Hoerner continues to lead off.
Pittsburgh Pirates Lineup:
TBAPitching Matchup:
Chicago Cubs: Edward Cabrera, RHP
Edward Cabrera has yet to give up a run through two starts this season, and has actually allowed just two HITS combined in 11.2 innings of work. With that said, he’s also walked six batters, five in his last start alone, against just nine strikeouts.
But the walks have always been a part of his game. And while we hope the walk rate comes down eventually, it’s going to be higher right now, because he’s clearly gone back to using his four-seamer more often again. And as we’ve discussed, in isolation, that’s a good thing, because the four-seamer is a more different pitch for him relative to his changeup than his sinker (which he controls better).
In other words, the extra wildness is expected and something he might just have to work through as the Cubs aim to next-level him a bit.
I felt like that was confusing. Let me re-state that in bullet-points:
In theory, Edward Cabrera will be better when he uses a four-seamer as his base fastball And that’s because his other fastball, a sinker, looks more like his outpitch (the changeup) However, Cabrera has trouble commanding his four-seamer So last year, he switched to a sinker as his primary fastball, and it worked in terms of lowering the walk rate, but it lowers his ceiling, too But now that he’s with a new org, one hoping to take him to the next level, Cabrera is back to throwing his four-seamer. So if he can command it, he’ll be even better. If not, he might need to lean on the sinker more and accept a slightly lower ceilingMake sense?
Pittsburgh Pirates: Braxton Ashcraft, RHP
Braxton Ashcraft has had a fantastic start to the season, especially his most recent game against the Orioles.
@CIN: 6.0 IP, 4H, 2ER, 4BB, 3K vsBAL: 6.0 IP, 4H, 1 ER, 0BB, 8KHe’s also generating a ton of groundballs, neutering most of the admittedly extra hard contact he’s allowed this season. Bottom line, he’s not an easy matchup. Sorry to say.
So how is he succeeding? Well, he mixes in a 96-97 MPH heater with a similar-velo sinker, and a hard slider at 91.0 MPH. But he’ll also drop a curveball in there 24% of the time, which just sounds like a real nightmare arsenal to face if I’m being honest. And he doesn’t have much of a lefty/righty split issue, either. So again, yeah, won’t be easy.
Broadcast Info:
Chicago Cubs(6-7) vs Pittsburgh Pirates (8-5) 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 right, low to moderate
Today vs Pirates: 50° ☁️ Wind blowing in from RF at 7mph? Gusts up to 13mph #Cubs #Weather
— Wrigley Winds (@WrigleyWinds) April 11, 2026Hence then, the article about chicago cubs lineup seiya suzuki sits ballesteros above pca 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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