Chicago Cubs Lineup (9/13/26): Boyd Facing Bubba, Bucs

Forgive my brevity this morning, dear reader, but it’s Bears Sunday and I’m also getting ready to head out for an afternoon of kayaking with some fraternity brothers. It’s a really cool deal put on as a partnership between a local brewery and a paddlesports livery. You show up at the brewery and they give you a four-pack of your beer of choice, then they shuttle you to a launch and you kayak down the river for a few hours.

Anywho, I’ll have to follow both the Cubs and Bears on my phone today. Part of me is disappointed by that, but the sacrifice is worthwhile to reconnect with friends I don’t get to see as often as I’d like. Maybe both teams can make their respective games so uninteresting, in a good way, that I won’t mind that I couldn’t see them.

Matthew Boyd has been less than great over his last seven starts, but he’s been solid in the last three. Giving his team a quality start today is all you can really ask for, though a dominant performance sure would be nice. Boyd has said he wants to be the starter in the Cubs’ first playoff game, a role for which I don’t believe he’s suited right now. This afternoon affords him an opportunity to change a few minds.

Pete Crow-Armstrong has been pretty quiet for a while now, so maybe he can make some noise as he leads off in center. Seiya Suzuki is back in right after a day off, Michael Busch is at first, and Alex Bregman mans the hot corner. Ian Happ is in left, Nico Hoerner is the shortstop, Michael Conforto serves as the DH, and Pedro Ramírez is at second with Miguel Amaya behind the dish.

They’re facing Bubba Chandler for the third time this season, with the first two resulting in Cubs wins. Chandler didn’t pitch particularly well in either game, and he’s struggled with control all season. His 98 mph fastball gets good ride from an over-the-top slot, but he tends to leave it too low in the zone. His slider also ends up right over the heart of the plate with great frequency, and he sprays the sweeper all over the place.

The stuff is clearly there, it’s just that Chandler is still learning to harness it. The inability to consistently hit his spots keeps him from putting up the kind of strikeout numbers you’d expect, and walking 71 batters with 119 hits allowed over 142 innings means he’s often working under duress. Here’s to hoping the Cubs can take advantage of his erratic performance this afternoon.

First pitch is at 1:20pm CT on Marquee and The Score.