Chicago Cubs Lineup (4/30/25): Busch Batting Cleanup, Kelly Catching, Boyd Starting
Nothing washes away the funk of losing two straight at home like heading to an empty ballpark in Pittsburgh and putting up more runs than there were Pirates fans in attendance. That should change on Thursday, when the biggest reason to watch the Buccos takes the bump, but Bob Nutting’s baby has been adopted by the Cubs for the time being. You know things are going poorly when chants of “P-C-A” and “Sell-The-Team” can be heard with equal frequency and fervor.
Baseball’s best offense was back at it again, which could have allowed Shōta Imanaga and the pitching staff to mail it in. They were nails, however, and Imanaga shoved despite being squeezed by both the home plate ump and leg cramps. Let’s hope Matthew Boyd is able to avoid both obstacles in tonight’s start. He doesn’t have much experience against this group, but he should be fine as long as that running fastball keeps avoiding barrels.
Putting up another nine-spot would be nice, and the Cubs have more than enough firepower to do just that. Ian Happ leads off in left, followed by Kyle Tucker in right and Seiya Suzuki at DH. Michael Busch slides back into the cleanup spot, then it’s Carson Kelly behind the dish and Nico Hoerner at second. Pete Crow-Armstrong patrols center, Dansby Swanson is the shortstop, and Jon Berti plays third.
They’re facing 26-year-old righty Carmen Mlodzinski — the first player with that name since former Cubs great Carmen Pignatiello in 2007-08 — who is serving as a starter for the first time in his big league career. He worked largely as a reliever in the minors as well and has dealt with shoulder issues that have limited his workload. His 69 innings over 56 appearances last year indicate that he may be limited to five innings or so, provided the Pirates want to keep him in the rotation long-term. The other limiting factor is a propensity for giving up hits, as evidenced by 31 knocks over 22 innings this season.
The pain point for Mlodzinski is a 96 mph four-seamer that gets less ride than most, making it a flat offering that doesn’t blow hitters away. He’s been able to avoid hard contact thanks to a slider/sweeper combo that generates a lot of grounders, but a lack of chase and very low whiff and strikeout numbers have been damning. Left-handed hitters have really gotten to him, posting a .362/.400/.574 slash through 50 total batters this season.
Things could turn around for him in a hurry if his breaking stuff is really working, but the whole works could go sideways if the heater continues to be an issue. Mlodzinski tends to dance around the zone a bit, throwing first-pitch strikes at a 59.6% clip and throwing strikes at a 45.4% rate, but his 91.5% in-zone contact rate says he’s not fooling many opponents.
He’s been very effective against these Cubs hitters in a limited sample, holding them to two hits over 13 combined at-bats. He’s also walked six with just four strikeouts, so that paltry .154 average turns into a .421 OBP and .806 OPS. Barring a change in tack, this sets up to be another very good matchup for the Cubs ahead of Paul Skenes in the finale.
First pitch is set for 5:40pm CT on Marquee and 670 The Score.
