Chicago Cubs Lineup: Hammel Pitching, Baez at 3rd, Bryant in Left

The Chicago Cubs (70-41) line up tonight against the Los Angeles Angels (49-63) looking for their ninth win in a row and third consecutive series sweep. I just arrived in Chicago and am looking at Wrigley Field as I write this (gotta love Airbnb). So, of course, I’m pretty excited about tonight’s game.

Jason Hammel (11-5, 3.07 ERA) will be on the hill following his short trip to the bereavement list which followed his outstanding outing against the Marlins. Jason has had a propensity to drop off the second half of the season over the last couple years. Last year he posted a 2.86 1st half ERA and a 5.10 2nd half ERA. So far this year he’s looking much better than that, posting a 3.46 ERA in the 1st half and a 1.50 ERA so far in the 2nd half. I’m hoping that trend continues tonight.

Javier Baez is back in the lineup for the Cubs tonight after a day off yesterday. He’ll slot in at third base which pushes Kris Bryant, who crushed a home run last night, out to left field.

Willson Contreras is back in tonight at the catcher position.

Wednesday 8/10 7:05pm CSN+
Jason Hammel (R)
vs. Angels – Ricky Nolasco (R)
1. Dexter Fowler (S) CF
2. Kris Bryant (R) LF
3. Anthony Rizzo (L) 1B
4. Ben Zobrist (S) 2B
5. Addison Russell (R) SS
6. Jason Heyward (L) RF
7. Willson Contreras (R) C
8. Javier Baez (R) 3B
9. Jason Hammel (R) P