Chicago Cubs Lineup (4/19/26): Assad Starting with Chance to Sweep
The Cubs have won four straight for the first time this season, and now they’ve got a chance to sweep the Mets. Both of these teams are heading in opposite directions at the moment, with everything breaking right for one and Murphy’s Law dictating the fate of the other. As unlikely as it is for a team with as much talent as the Mets to drop 12 straight, that’s exactly what they’re in danger of doing this afternoon.
Javier Assad is going to have to pitch much more like his first start than his last, as he tossed 5.2 scoreless innings of one-hit ball before being torched for nine runs on 11 hits. Just being somewhere in the middle would help, but falling closer to the latter effort will see him back in Iowa as soon as Matthew Boyd returns from the IL. It might even have Jed Hoyer getting a little more serious about a deal for Lucas Giolito.
This game may once again come down to who can make the most of the wind, with a jet stream blowing out to right with gusts approaching 30 mph. It’s going to be a pretty miserable day, with temps in the mid-40s and frequent drizzles from noon on, but the Cubs can make it feel sunnier with another offensive explosion.
As always, that starts with second baseman Nico Hoerner leading things off. Michael Busch has five hits over his last four starts and appears to be coming out of his funk, and Alex Bregman has boosted his own average over the last week and a half. Ian Happ continues to vex his myriad haters with home runs in each of the last two games out of the cleanup spot, then the Cubs have Seiya Suzuki batting sixth in right and Moises Ballesteros at DH. Carson Kelly is the catcher, Pete Crow-Armstrong is in center, and Dansby Swanson is at short.
They’re facing righty reliever Tobias Myers, who figures to serve as a long opener. This is his first start of the year, but he’s recorded at least four outs in each of his six appearances out of the bullpen. The last three of those have gone two or more innings, and he’s gone three innings twice. The former starter hasn’t put up great peripherals and doesn’t miss bats, so it feels like a big correction is due.
His .194 BABIP against is unsustainably low, as is his minuscule 2.1% walk rate. Myers throws his 93 mph cut-ride fastball about 44% of the time, then he’s got a depthy 81 mph slider he features more to righties and a riding splitter with similar velocity that he uses mainly against lefties. His 86 mph cutter is more of a show-me pitch that he’ll mix in around 11% of the time.
As you can imagine from the walk rate, this is a guy who has gotten away with living in the zone so far. How he’s managed that with bottom-shelf chase and whiff rates is beyond me, but it looks like it’s a matter of staying away from barrels. That may not be enough with the conditions being what they are, especially when the bulk of his expected statistical correction will come against left-handed hitters. Though he’s typically pitched to mild standard splits, he has completely stifled the 25 lefties he’s faced thus far.
I have a sense that the Cubs are going to change that today, with Busch leading the way by getting his first homer of the season. We’ll see whether my prognostication is correct at 1:20pm CT on Marquee and The Score.
Let’s have a day.
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— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 19, 2026
