Chicago Cubs Lineup (7/20/25): Hoerner Leads Off, Shaw at 3B, Horton Starting

The Cubs have sewn up this series with a pair of convincing wins over the Red Sox, but they’re going to need to crochet if they want to earn a sweep. A feat that would be difficult under any circumstances becomes even more so as they face their second former White Sox starter in three days. This will be a short one because we’ve reached the penultimate weekend of travel baseball and should be playing at least two games across the morning and afternoon.

Cade Horton is on the bump for the Cubs as his maturation process continues. He’s had some good starts, now it’s just a matter of establishing consistent swing-and-miss stuff.

Going for Boston is the aforementioned changer of hosiery, Garrett Crochet, a big lefty with a big fastball and a small ERA. Crochet’s sweeper and cutter are unfair, and his changeup — the only pitch he won’t throw to lefties — has also been excellent in limited usage. This is one of the best pitchers the Cubs will face all year, but he’s been prone to giving up hits and runs in bunches.

Based on how the first two games have gone, with each of the top three hitters in the Cubs’ order hammering homers right out of the gate, we may know right away how this one will go. First pitch is at 1:20pm CT on Marquee and 670 The Score.