Chicago Cubs Lineup (5/25/26): PCA Leads Off, Happ Bats Second, Hoerner Sits, Brown Starting
If you were to collect all the shit from a local dog park and microwave it for six minutes, you’d end up with something approximating the Cubs’ play over the last two weeks. They scored in only five of the 54 innings during their homestand and managed just 12 total runs in that span. With two wins in their last 14 games, they have fallen to third in the division.
Now they have four games against the Pirates in Pittsburgh, which could mean falling back to the bottom. This team isn’t worth my time right now, so, while I’d otherwise have time due to the holiday, I’m giving you the quick and dirty breakdown again today.
Ben Brown is on the bump after a bit of a blip the last time out in which he gave up three earned runs on seven hits in five innings. He’s stretched out and may need to go deep since this is the fourth of 10 straight games. The Cubs really need someone to play stopper.
The lineup has been tweaked yet again, though Kevin Alcántara is still being developed as a benchwarmer. That’s probably for the best, because having him hit more home runs for the I-Cubs was just a waste of his talent. Pete Crow-Armstrong leads off in center, Ian Happ returns from his mental break to play left and bat in the spot typically reserved for a team’s best hitter, and Michael Busch is at first. Alex Bregman cleans up at third, Michael Conforto plays right, Pedro Ramírez is at second, and Moisés Ballesteros is the DH. Miguel Amaya does the catching and Dansby Swanson plays short.
They are up against 27-year-old righty Carmen Mlodzinski, who is in his first season as a starter after working primarily in relief over parts of the last three years. His velocity is down a bit on most pitches as a result, and he’s also tweaked his repertoire in a pretty significant way from last year. After incorporating a splitter in 2025 and throwing it about 15% of the time, it’s become his most thrown pitch at 28% through eight outings.
Mlodzinski has also ditched his sweeper and dialed his slider back to 4% of his pitches while throwing his curve at 11%, which is close to last year’s usage. He also has a sweeper that, along with the slider, is more of a weapon against right-handed hitters. He also throws his sinker a lot more frequently to righties.
Though he’s among the worst pitchers in the game when it comes to giving up hard contact, Mlodzinski has given up only two home runs in 50 innings. The Cubs were not responsible for either of them when they faced him back on April 10, as they were shut out despite getting six hits and walking three times. This would normally be a very winnable matchup, but this isn’t a normal team right now.
Maybe we’ll finally see something shift this afternoon. First pitch is at 12:35pm CT on Marquee and The Score.
Start of a new series.
Watch the game live on @WatchMarquee. pic.twitter.com/QWjPomuhGB
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 25, 2026
