Chicago Cubs Lineup (6/27/25): Tucker Returns to Houston, Horton Pitching
The Cubs pitched back-to-back shutouts to escape St. Louis with a split, and now they’re in Houston for a reunion of sorts. Not only is Kyle Tucker facing his old team for the first time, but Isaac Paredes and Cam Smith will face the organization that traded them three times combined. This is a big series for the Cubs because the Brewers are just three back in the division and get the luxury of hosting the Rockies for the weekend.
Cade Horton will take the mound for the opener as he looks to take another step forward in his development. As good as he’s been so far, those strikeout numbers need to get better if he’s going to get close to his potential. He has yet to punch out more than six batters in an MLB game, and he’s got four starts with three or fewer strikeouts. Maybe he can get that slider working for whiffs tonight.
Taking advantage of the hitter-friendly conditions at whatever they’re calling this ballpark now is a must. The offense has been inconsistent over the last few weeks, often putting undue pressure on the pitching staff. Ian Happ leads off in left, Tucker is in right, and Seiya Suzuki is the DH. Dansby Swanson bats cleanup, Pete Crow-Armstrong is in center, Carson Kelly is the catcher, and Nico Hoerner is at second. Justin Turner handles first and Matt Shaw is across the diamond.
They’re facing lefty Brandon Walter, the most bass-ackwards pitcher I think I’ve ever profiled here. His four-seam is the least-used of his five pitches at just 12%, and his sinker is only two ticks ahead of it. He leads with the cutter at 30%, then it’s the sweeper at 22%, and the change is just a tick below. Those latter two are thrown in the 79-81 mph range, with the sweeper coming in slower on average.
Walter has been very effective through four MLB starts this season, using his offspeed well and mixing pitches to average a little over one strikeout per inning. He’s given up four homers, but it hasn’t really hurt him because he’s only walked two batters in just under 24 innings. He also gets grounders at nearly a 53% clip, allowing him to erase mistakes at a high rate.
The other key is facing a boatload of right-handed hitters, as he’s pitched to massive reverse splits so far. Lefty batters are slashing .357/.438/.571 so far this season, though he’s only faced 16 of them. It would be a great idea for the Cubs to jump all over this guy right out of the gate and take any drama out of the game.
First pitch is at 7:10pm CT on Marquee and 670 The Score.
