Chicago Cubs Lineup (8/2/26): Peterson Looking to Get Misses in Matchup Against Miz
The Cubs outscored the Mariners 28-11, the Diamondbacks 11-7, and the Reds 30-22, yet they lost all three series. They’re up 21-12 on the Brewers after splitting the first two games, and now need to win one more to at least break even. They no longer possess the top Wild Card spot, not that it matters too much given the matchup, and need to do more than just tread water over the next few weeks.
That means David Peterson is going to have to step up in a big way tonight, something he’s been doing since coming over from the Mets in late June. Peterson is 4-1 with a 3.90 ERA, and that lone loss included 10 earned runs over 3.2 innings. Take that out, and he’s got a 2.44 ERA to go with a groundball rate north of 50% and a decent set of peripherals.
Peterson has reduced his breaking ball usage with the Cubs, going with more sinkers, fastballs, and changeups. The offspeed has featured prominently of late, even more than the sinker in some cases, so we could see more of those tonight. The lefty picked up his first Cubs win in his team debut against the Brewers on June 27, so a repeat would be nice.
He’s going to need to be nails given the matchup, even if it’s just a matter of hanging on to keep the bats within a run or three. Pete Crow-Armstrong is leading off in center after a rough one last night, Seiya Suzuki is the DH, and Alex Bregman is at third. Michael Busch is at first, Nico Hoerner plays short, Ian Happ is in left, and Matt Shaw takes second. Tyrone Taylor patrols right and Miguel Amaya is the catcher.
They’re up against the best pitcher on the planet in Jacob Misiorowski, who is facing them for the third time this season. He’s totaled 12 innings with one earned run allowed on five hits, striking out 16 with five walks. If there’s a glimmer of hope, it’s that Misiorowski’s ERA is all the way up to 2.30 over his last eight starts. That’s downright awful compared to the 1.47 he posted over his first 17 games.
The Cubs saw a ton of cutters in those first two outings, more than twice as many as he throws on average, but they saw fewer sliders and curveballs. Miz has been making an effort to differentiate the slider and cutter a little more, as they have similar shapes with about four ticks of velo separating them. The thought that this guy could keep getting better, especially if he figures out a changeup, is scary.
Only Hoerner and Suzuki have done much against Misiorowski, with the latter collecting both of the homers his team boasts in 83 at-bats. This should be one of those nights where they really need to pick their spots and attack one of the few mistakes they’ll see. Winning this would provide a big morale boost, and it’d be really great to have the bullpen stand up in a close one.
Okay, blowing the Brewers out again would be much better. But still, the ‘pen could sure use a good game or five to get right. First pitch is at 6:40pm CT on Marquee and The Score.
