Cubs Lineup (4/15/25): Game 2 Against the Padres at Petco

CUBS LINEUP — The bad news? The Cubs dropped the opener in San Diego last night, despite taking a two-run lead into the bottom of the sixth inning. The good news? That was the least winnable game of the series *and* because the Padres really poured it on, none of Julian Merryweather, Porter Hodge, or Ryan Pressly came into the game (meaning they should be available tonight).

The other good news? Shota Imanaga is starting tonight. Let’s see if he and the following Cubs lineup can even the series one-to-one before getaway day tomorrow.

Ian Happ, LF
Kyle Tucker, RF
Justin Turner, DH
Michael Busch, 1B
Dansby Swanson, SS
Nico Hoerner, 2B
Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF
Miguel Amaya, C
Gage Workman, 3B

In case you missed the big news, Matt Shaw was sent to Triple-A Iowa tonight ahead of the Cubs second game against the Padres. It’s not yet clear who will get a majority of the starts at third base in his absence, but for at least tonight, Gage Workman is the guy (I’d expect Jon Berti to get a look too).

Workman, 25, is the prospect the Cubs took from the Tigers in the Rule-5 draft, and he made the team, in part, because if he hadn’t, the Cubs would lose him back to Detroit (though he also won a spot with a solid spring training performance). The results haven’t been there for Workman in a very tiny, ignorable sample from a data perspective (10 PAs), but I would caution that he also hasn’t quite looked the part yet.

And that, my friends, is how you ensure a huge night at the plate offensively with the reverse jinx.

Go Workman. Go Cubs.

Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
Luis Arraez, 1B
Manny Machado, 3B
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Oscar Gonzalez, LF
Yuli Gurriel, DH
Jose Iglesias, 2B
Jason Heyward, CF
Martin Madonado, C

Chicago Cubs: Shota Imanaga, LHP

Shota Imanaga’s most recent start (vs Texas at Wrigley) was his first rough outing of the season.

In 5.0 innings against the Rangers, Imanaga allowed five runs to score on seven hits (including two homers) and one walk against just four strikeouts. He hasn’t actually struck out more than four batters in a game yet this season, despite doing so in 20 of 29 starts in 2024.

That said, he did just face this exact Padres squad two starts back, and it was a very good one: 7.1 IP, 4H, 1ER, 0BB, 4K. It’s usually not beneficial for a starter to face the same team twice in short order, but that’s happening for both teams tonight, so it’s a wash.

San Diego Padres: Randy Vasquez, RHP

Randy Vasquez has made three starts so far this season, only one of which qualified as a quality start (his first, against the Braves at the end of March). With that said, he’s managed to allow just three earned runs total over these first three outings, yielding a 1.72 ERA over 15.2 IP.

But despite the run prevention success, Vasquez does seem to have one big issue early on: wildness.

Over his first three starts, Vasquez has walked twice as many batters (12) as he’s struck out (6), which is why his peripherals (6.38 xERA and 4.56 FIP) are a whooooooole lot worse than the results. And the Cubs, as we know, have been one of the most patient teams in baseball this season, so this could be a beneficial matchup once again.

And yet … I can’t get too excited.

Despite the wildness, opposing batters (including the Cubs two starts ago) have done next to nothing with the balls they are putting in play: 15.9 LD%, 87.4 MPH EV, 25% hard-hit rate, and only four barrels. Like I said above, quick pitcher rematches tend to favor the hitters, but I wouldn’t expect an easy offensive night in San Diego.

Chicago Cubs (11-8) vs San Diego Padres (14-3) at 8:40 pm CT – Marquee Sports Network, 670 The Score, WRTO 1200