Chicago Cubs Lineup (4/20/26): Conforto in RF, Amaya Catching, Rea Starting
The Cubs went from possibly being shut out for the third time at home to earning their second walk-off win in as many Sundays. Now they welcome the Phillies for four games, just a few days after winning two of three in Philly to start their five-game streak. The first of those wins came on the 14th with Colin Rea on the bump.
Rea was far from dominant in that one, but his effort was more than enough to allow the Cubs’ first of three straight double-digit outbursts to carry the day. More of the same would be nice on both ends, especially knowing how dangerous Kyle Schwarber and his teammates can be.
Reigning NL Player of the Week Nico Hoerner will try to add to his MLB-leading RBI total in the leadoff spot, followed by Michael Busch at first and Alex Bregman at third. Ian Happ is in left, Moises Ballesteros is the DH, Michael Conforto is in right, and Miguel Amaya is catching. Pete Crow-Armstrong patrols center and Dansby Swanson bats last. I’d be willing to bet we see Matt Shaw and/or Seiya Suzuki slide into that DH spot if the Phillies use a lefty reliever.
They’re up against Aaron Nola for the second time in six days, with the first also coming against Rea. Nola has been with the Phillies organization since being drafted seventh overall out of LSU in 2014, and he’s spent the last 12 years in the bigs. His performance has been pretty consistent for the most part, save for his 6.01 ERA last year. Even then, most of his peripherals were in line with previous seasons. Nola is a throwback whose fastball has been right around 92-93 mph his whole career, but he has impeccable command that allows him to land his pitches for whiffs and weak contact.
He also gets elite extension from his 6-foot-2, 200-pound frame, which makes his stuff play up a little more. His best weapon by a very wide margin is the knuckle curve he throws about 30% of the time, using it against hitters from both sides to get ugly swings. Though most of its value was built in 2017-19, it remains a very effective pitch.
Having a variety of offerings — four-seam, curve, sinker, change, cutter — has allowed Nola to pitch to almost identical splits over the course of his career, though he’s trending far more traditional as he ages. He’s also had significantly better results at home, to the tune of 30-32 points each in average, OBP, and slugging.
What looked like a bad matchup for the Cubs on paper last week went in their favor as they tagged Nola for eight hits in five innings. Between the way they’ve been playing and Nola’s historical performance, not to mention his decline as he gets deeper into his 30s, it’s reasonable to expect the offense to do a little damage tonight.
First pitch is at 6:40pm CT on Marquee and The Score.
See y’all tonight!
Tune in live on @WatchMarquee. pic.twitter.com/f2svshjoyH
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 20, 2026
