Chicago Cubs Lineup (7/11/25): Hoerner Leads Off, Turner DH, Flexen Starting
We’re heading into the final weekend of the season, and the Cubs are opting for a bullpen game in the Bronx with a two-game division lead. That’s a bold strategy, Cotton, let’s see if it pays off. If Craig Counsell can pull the strings to get a win in the opener, the rest of the weekend could be freed up quite a bit more. Having the All-Star break looming next week helps quite a bit when it comes to managing workloads.
Chris Flexen’s scoreless streak came to an end a couple weeks ago against Seattle, but he’s still allowed just three earned runs over 32.2 innings as a Cub. He’s lowered his arm slot just a little bit and has gotten tremendous results from his cutty four-seam as a result, and we’re talking elite here. Flexen’s 9.9 runs of value on the heater are tied with Matthew Boyd for 12th in MLB, and the pitch’s 4.9 runs/100 put Flexen third overall. Not bad for a guy no one really wanted at the start of the season.
He’s among the worst in the league when it comes to getting strikeouts, but he avoids hard contact despite living in the zone. I don’t really like that against the Yankees, a team that wins by hitting the ball hard, but we’ll see if Flexen’s approach keeps them off their game.
As always, even a great performance on the mound won’t matter if the Cubs can’t score runs. Ian Happ has been in a slump all month, and he gets the day off as Nico Hoerner leads off at second. Kyle Tucker is in right, Seiya Suzuki takes left, and Carson Kelly cleans up behind the dish. Pete Crow-Armstrong is in center, Dansby Swanson is at short, and Justin Turner is the DH. Michael Busch is at first and Jon Berti gets another start at third.
They’re facing familiar foe Carlos Rodón, a guy I was hoping would defect to the North Side after spending several years with the White Sox. Alas, he’s in his third year with the Yankees after spending a season in San Francisco, and he’s looking almost as good as ever. The velocity is down a tick from the past four seasons, though nothing like the alarming drop to 91-92 with the Sox back in 2019.
The big lefty’s best pitch remains the big slider that he loves to back-foot righties with, but he’s comfortable throwing it to all batters. His curve is a righty-only offering, same for the changeup, but neither pitch has been very effective this season. That’s always been the case for him, so they’re really just show-me offerings. The true definition of a throwback power pitcher, Rodón will succeed or fail with his fastball/slider combo.
It’s literally hit or miss for him, as he’s got excellent strikeout numbers with a good deal of hard contact allowed. He tends to give up homers in bunches, with five multi-home run games against him in 19 starts so far that have accounted for 11 of the 15 total dingers he’s surrendered. The strikeouts have been down of late, however, with his rate dropping from 31.7% through May to just 22.4% over his last seven starts.
If that trend holds up, the Cubs are facing a much less dangerous opponent than they might have earlier in the season. That could be a matter of fatigue, as Rodón has gone only five innings in four of his last six starts. Getting into the bullpen early and often could be the key this weekend.
First pitch is at 6:05pm CT on Marquee and 670 The Score.
