Chicago Cubs Lineup (4/21/26): Bregman DH, Shaw at 3B, Imanaga Starting
These are two teams moving in opposite directions right now, with each either winning or losing six in a row dating back to April 14 in Philly. Last night brought us a rematch of starting pitchers, with the Cubs once again getting the best of it, and tonight is more of the same. Shōta Imanaga was outstanding for the third time in a row, holding the Phils to one run on three hits while racking up 11 strikeouts with a franchise record 26 whiffs.
More of that sure would be nice, but the bats have more than held their own over the last eight games. Even though the first two of those were losses and the last three haven’t exactly been high-scoring affairs, Craig Counsell is getting very timely contributions up and down the lineup.
Nico Hoerner leads off at second, then it’s Alex Bregman getting a day off from defense as the DH. Ian Happ is in left, Seiya Suzuki is in right, Carson Kelly catches, and Michael Busch slides down in the order as the first baseman. Dansby Swanson is at short, Matt Shaw handles third, and Pete Crow-Armstrong is in center.
They’re up against lefty Jesús Luzardo again after ambushing him for nine runs (eight earned) on 12 hits. The Cubs are third in MLB with 279 plate appearances against southpaws, and their 124 wRC+ against them carries the same rank. Luzardo certainly helped them out on both fronts last week as he struggles in 2026 after busting out in his first season with the Phillies last year.
His strikeout rate has jumped markedly in the early going, putting him well above any previous results, and his walk rate is lower than ever. That could be a result of his velocity ticking up on everything but the changeup; his fastball is at 97 mph, his sweeper is a very firm 86-87 mph, and his sinker is at 96 mph. The change dropped down to 86-87 mph after being nearly 88 last year, but it tunnels well with his fastball.
Luzardo is a sweeper-first guy, throwing his breaking ball 37% of the time to both righties and lefties. He hasn’t produced particularly big splits in the past, even if they were more pronounced last year, and the limited number of lefties he’s seen this season have hit him really well. That might be because his fastball and sinker are his “worst” pitches, and they make up roughly 57% of his repertoire in those matchups.
Luzardo has some of the shortest extension in MLB, meaning he releases the ball farther from the plate than 96% of his contemporaries. That results in lower perceived velocity and less deception, which could be a factor in his poor results so far. Throwing more strikes is probably not in his best interest, but it’ll be great if he keeps it up tonight. The wind is blowing out hard to center, so this could come down to which pitcher makes the fewest bad mistakes.
First pitch is at 6:40pm CT on Marquee and The Score.
Night two at @ofcwrigleyfield!
Watch the game live on @WatchMarquee. pic.twitter.com/hkT2zk3Dfo
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 21, 2026
