Chicago Cubs Lineup (6/21/26): PCA Batting Leadoff, Bregman Second, Imanaga Facing Cease (PPD)

This one has been postponed due to inclement weather and will be played on Thursday, August 6 at 1:20pm CT.

Saturday’s loss was a massive letdown in a season that’s been full of disappointment, but it also felt somewhat inevitable. The Cubs carried a five-run lead into the 7th inning, then proceeded to allow eight runs in two innings to lose the game. It was fitting that the Blue Jays’ first blow came from Daulton Varsho, the son of former Cubs great Gary Varsho.

The elder Varsho was drafted by the Cubs in 1982 and debuted with them in 1988, eventually tallying 215 plate appearances over parts of three seasons. As you surely recall, or at least were made aware later, that 1989 season saw the Cubs win the NL East with a very nice 93-69 record before falling to the Giants in the NLCS. They failed to repeat that success in 1990, going 77-85 to finish fourth. After winning 92 games and losing in the NLDS last year, this Cubs squad is fighting to tread water.

It’s not quite 1990, but it sure doesn’t feel like what we expected. Well, not all of us. Some of you are fonts of misplaced rage. Name your cliché: mother held you too much or not enough; last picked at kickball; late-night sneaky uncle, whatever. Now you’re so angry that moments of levity actually cause you pain, give you headaches. Happiness, for some of you, hurts.

Does anyone else ever sit back and marvel at Con Air’s cinematic genius? I’m not sure exactly why that paraphrased quote above popped into my head, but I think it’s because I’m feeling a bit nostalgic. I wrote yesterday about how Nico Hoerner reminded me of a home I saw in Hawaii years ago, and that’s also where I saw Nicholas Cage’s greatest role. Maybe those memories are being stirred up because it’s Father’s Day, which is another wrinkle in the Varsho connection.

And now we reel it back to the present, where the Cubs still have a chance to win the series. I’m not too bullish on Shōta Imanaga having a third straight great start, but he has held his opponents without a homer for two games in a row. The Jays are a bit more potent than the Rockies, though, so we’ll see.

Pete Crow-Armstrong is leading off in center, followed by Alex Bregman at third, Michael Busch at first, and Seiya Suzuki at DH. Ian Happ is in left, Matt Shaw is in right, Hoerner is at second, and Carson Kelly does the catching. Dansby Swanson bats ninth at short.

They’re facing former Cubs prospect Dylan Cease, who is pitching better than ever after securing the bag in the offseason. The 30-year-old righty is striking out more batters than in any previous season, and his 97.8 mph fastball is being thrown harder than before. His deadly slider is his calling card, but his sinker has actually been his best pitch by far when viewed on a per-pitch basis.

Though it has more ride than most, in part due to his over-the-top slot, it’s a couple ticks slower than the four-seam and gets more deception due to the increased use of his changeup. The 84 mph offspeed hasn’t been all that valuable on its own, but it creates a lot of deception by having a very similar movement profile and location to the sinker.

Increasing the usage of those pitches from only 6% of his repertoire to just over 20% has helped Cease to generate far more grounders and reduce home runs. When combined with his higher K rate, you can see how he’s such a tough opponent. His one real weakness is a 10.2% walk rate that often sees him allow multiple free baserunners. Of course, he’s shown that he’s more than capable of stranding them with great frequency.

Over 103 total at-bats against Cease, these Cubs are batting .204 with a .630 OPS and just two home runs. Both of those came from Busch, so we probably won’t have a slugfest on our hands. We’ll see what happens when things get started at 1:20pm CT on Marquee and The Score.

Final game of the homestand.

Tune in live on @WatchMarquee. pic.twitter.com/9pADpxs4gD

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 21, 2026