Colin Rea would’ve been lined up to start tonight against the Philadelphia Phillies, but Craig Counsell announced last night that lefty reliever Riley Martin would be starting the game.
The full details of the outing weren’t shared, because why would they be? It doesn’t give the Cubs any strategic advantage to say that Martin is an “opener” and Rea will follow as the bulk … but you can bet that’s the plan.
For one thing, the Cubs used that same setup multiple times last year on Rea days, with great success. For another thing, the Phillies have been great against righties here in the early going, but abysmal as a team against lefties. For still another thing, several of the club’s top lefty bats – Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper among them – hit near the top of the order.
Add it all up, and the Cubs could benefit from ensuring that they get to deploy a lefty against the top of the Phillies lineup in an inning when the game is still close, while also protecting Rea a little bit against potentially facing the best Phillies hitters three times.
It’s worth noting that the Cubs had started giving Riley Martin multi-inning appearances at the start of games at Iowa earlier this year, and, although I tend to doubt that was about stretching him out as a starter, I do think it speaks to the potential for Martin to go multiple innings. If he cruises through the first and you still like the match-ups, go for it. On the flip side, though, the Cubs will likely have been gearing Colin Rea up to take over at a particular point in the game (he’d be preparing like a starter, so you can’t exactly get him fully warm and then sit him down), so I’m not sure how realistic that is.
Even if it’s just a true one-inning-opener situation for Martin, which I suspect it will be, I like the approach. Might not ultimately work out, but it is strategically sound.
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