Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals Renew Acquaintances
By David Dickey
Will Cubs go with a right-handed heavy lineup against Garcia?
Will the Cubs sit multiple regulars in the opening tilt of this crucial series to counter the Cardinals sending lefty Jaime Garcia to the mound? In the early going this season Cubs manager Joe Maddon, not one to worry about justifying his moves to the media–or anyone else for that matter–has shown a willingness to sit left handed hitting regulars Jason Heyward, Miguel Montero, and even Anthony Rizzo, as well as switch hitting Ben Zobrist and Dexter Fowler, when the match-ups and data seem to dictate such.
However, Garcia doesn’t seem to fit the profile of the sort of pitcher the Cubs skipper has sought to help his lefty sluggers avoid. Thus far this season, lefties are hitting a robust .288/.303/.400 off Garcia, while righties have produced a .249/.327/.357 slash line. To those who might be tempted to see such as the results of a small sample size, Garcia’s career numbers further reflect this unexpected trend. Lefties have hit .271/.320/.379 over his career, while righties have hit a more pedestrian .249/.307/.365.
Nonetheless, with Dexter Fowler now day-to-day after suffering a hamstring injury Saturday night against Pittsburgh, Javier Baez heating up over the past week, and top prospects Albert Almora Jr. and Willson Contreras (both right handed) both in need of a proving ground as the Cubs evaluate their readiness for a deep playoff push and postseason, don’t be surprised if the Cubs run out a somewhat more right handed heavy lineup than we’re accustomed to seeing, not just Monday night, but all throughout this series.
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