Chicago Cubs Lineup (7/26/26): Taillon Going for Sweep

It’s always good to have two wins banked heading into a series finale, and that’s where the Cubs sit after walking all over Paul Skenes and the Pirates last night. A little cushion is never a bad thing, especially with Jameson Taillon on the mound. The big righty has a propensity for allowing homers, and he gave up two in his first start off the IL earlier in the week. He did settle in nicely after that, so perhaps he’ll pick up where he left off.

Pete Crow-Armstrong is in center, Seiya Suzuki is the DH, Michael Busch is at first, and Ian Happ is in left. Nico Hoerner plays second, Michael Conforto is in right, and Carson Kelly is the catcher. Pedro Ramírez gets the start at third and Dansby Swanson handles short.

They’re facing righty Braxton Ashcraft for the third time this season, the first two of which have been Pirates wins. Ashcraft has given up 11 hits in 11.1 innings, though, so the Cubs have gotten two him despite scoring only two runs. Just like the two previous Pittsburgh starters, he can run his fastball up there at around 97 mph. He also has an excellent curveball that he throws at 85 mph with less glove-side break than last year. Perhaps the biggest difference from his rookie campaign is the 96-97 mph sinker that has more depth and run.

Using the curve more against left-handed hitters and the sinker more to righties has allowed him to keep his splits fairly balanced. The big difference is that lefties are slugging 70 points better with four of the six homers he’s allowed. He’s been able to limit the damage with a 6.5% walk rate, and he also gets grounders at a 48.1% clip.

The Cubs have a total of 68 at-bats against Ashcraft, and they’ve struck out 19 times with three walks and a Busch homer. PCA is 4-for-9 with two doubles and could add to that line this afternoon, but several other Cubs have also hit this guy pretty well.

First pitch is at 12:35pm CT on Marquee and The Score.