Chicago Cubs Lineup (6/16/26): PCA Leads Off, Amaya Catching, Cabrera Starting
The Cubs did their best to spoil Pete Crow-Armstrong’s cycle last night, which was just the 13th in club history and the fourth by a left-handed hitter, but they came through to walk it off. There are still plenty of concerns about an offense that has failed to do much of anything against beleaguered Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen, but a win is a win.
Momentum is only as good as the next night’s starter, so Edward Cabrera will need to keep pitching like he did last week in Denver. Though he gave up two homers, those solo shots accounted for the only runs he allowed. The Cubs’ pitching team worked with him during his IL stint to get his arm slot back up after it had dropped earlier in the season, and it appears as though his velocity and stuff have rebounded.
With several injured starters still working their way back, Cabrera needs to step up and be the pitcher Jed Hoyer was willing to part with Owen Caissie to pry loose from Miami. The Cubs don’t even need ace-level stuff, really, just a competent mid-rotation starter capable of beating a bad team. Of course, they also need to score a few more runs without as much help from said team.
Pete Crow-Armstrong is leading off in center, Alex Bregman is at third, Michael Busch is at first, and Seiya Suzuki is the DH. Ian Happ is in left, Nico Hoerner is at second, and Matt Shaw is in right. Craig Counsell said he’s trying to get Shaw more at-bats, so expect to see him in the lineup regularly. Miguel Amaya does the catching and Dansby Swanson does a at short.
They’re seeing righty Ryan Feltner for the second time in five days after having previously beaten him for their only win of that series at Coors Field. A fourth-round pick in 2018, the Ohio State product is a Rockies-good starter who is perhaps best known for taking a comebacker to the head off the bat of former Cubs great Nick Castellanos in May of 2023. The resultant skull fracture and concussion kept him out for four months, after which he was shut down with elbow inflammation.
A shoulder strain limited him in 2024, then back spasms forced him to miss several weeks last season. This year saw him slowed by right ulnar nerve inflammation, but he’s healthy and ready to make his ninth start of the season. Feltner’s season splits are about as weird as you’ll ever see, with much better numbers on the road and the biggest reverse results imaginable. His career numbers are almost neutral, though some of that is aided by the early returns in 2026.
It’s also important to note here that the righty has only made two starts on the road, both in his first three starts of the season, so there’s a lot of noise. Still, left-handed hitters are 1-for-13 with a walk and five strikeouts, while righties are 7-for-19 with a pair of homers and three walks to as many Ks.
The Cubs didn’t really get to Feltner, save for one inning in which two singles and a walk set up a Suzuki grand slam. Their only other hit against him came two batters later, and it was also a single, so it’s not as though they were really chipping away. Feltner does not do anything particularly well, and he’s among the lowest in the league when it comes to getting chase and avoiding hard contact.
He doesn’t get many strikeouts and he walks too many, plus he leaves a whole lot of 96 mph fastballs right over the heart of the plate. Feltner’s breaking stuff is pretty good and his changeup is slightly better than mediocre, so he can get outs via contact. That said, there’s nothing about his profile that should concern the Cubs.
No, their concern should lie solely with themselves. This is a game they should be able to win easily, but it’s just a matter of whether they’ll take advantage of what should be plenty of opportunities.
First pitch is at 7:05pm CT on Marquee and The Score.
