Nationals (Mikolas) vs Cubs (Horton): 3/28/26, 1:20pm

[Brandon Glick]

After that performance on Opening Day, there is literally no other pitcher in the world that I think the Cubs would rather face than Miles Mikolas. Bring on the homers!

[Brandon Glick]

 

[Bertz]

This feels like a huge gift paired with this pitching matchup.  I don't like how lopsided this game feels.  Baseball has a tendendy to make these types of games go the other way to prove a point.

[chibears55]

Has anyone heard why Counsell has his two power guys hitting 1 and 2, and his two speed guys batting 4 and 5 ?

I dont get the logic behind this

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

1 minute ago, chibears55 said:

Has anyone heard why Counsell has his two power guys hitting 1 and 2, and his two speed guys batting 4 and 5 ?

I dont get the logic behind this

Same reason Ohtani and Tucker hit 1 and 2. Get your best hitters the most AB

[Geographyhater8888]

.7 of Busch’s 3.5 wins last year were compiled in both of Mikolas’s starts against the Cubs.

[Rob]

39 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

Has anyone heard why Counsell has his two power guys hitting 1 and 2, and his two speed guys batting 4 and 5 ?

I dont get the logic behind this

There have been more studies than I care to count about lineup construction. They've pretty much all found that conventional lineup construction wasn't optimal. Gone are the days of a speed guy first, a contact hitter next to move him over, and then power guys.

The general consensus now is just that you want your best hitters to have the most plate appearances. 

There's still some tweaks to be made -- it can always make sense to break up lefties if they're vulnerable to lefty relievers. And we're thinking that speed now makes a bigger difference near the bottom of the lineup -- where getting yourself into scoring position matters more because those hitters are less likely to drive you in by hitting home runs. So I see where Counsell is going with this.

[Nolansomebody]

 

Batting order for today. Swanson and Baller switch places from Thursday, and Amaya bats cleanup.

[chibears55]

1 hour ago, Tangled Up in Plaid said:

Same reason Ohtani and Tucker hit 1 and 2. Get your best hitters the most AB

Ehhh

I wouldn't put Busch and Bregman in the same category as Ohtani and Tucker, plus Freeman and Smith are typical 4-5 hitters unlike PCA and Hoerner. 

I dont mind Busch leading off, but id go with Hoerner PCA Bregman Happ, 2 thru 5.

Edited March 28 by chibears55

[Geographyhater8888]

1 hour ago, chibears55 said:

Has anyone heard why Counsell has his two power guys hitting 1 and 2, and his two speed guys batting 4 and 5 ?

I dont get the logic behind this

Same reason James wood is leading off the Nationals. More at bats for your best hitters. That’s the logic. 

Edited March 28 by Geographyhater8888

[squally1313]

22 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

Ehhh

I wouldn't put Busch and Bregman in the same category as Ohtani and Tucker, plus Freeman and Smith are typical 4-5 hitters unlike PCA and Hoerner. 

I dont mind Busch leading off, but id go with Hoerner PCA Bregman Happ, 2 thru 5.

They aren’t Ohtani and Tucker, but they’re better hitters than PCA and Hoerner. If some hitters are going to get 5 PAs and some hitters are going to get 4 PAs, I want Busch and Bregman in that first group every time. 

[Jason Ross]

Runs are good. I like runs.

[PeanutPunch33]

Amaya is a good player, he's part of this core 

[PeanutPunch33]

LOL

[Nolansomebody]

Hahaha 

two outfielders collided

[Jason Ross]

Well, BABIP gods smile upon thee today.

[JHBulls]

I can almost hear the Benny Hill theme. 

[Derwood]

Well there's the Nationals defense we all read about

[JHBulls]

There are going to be more Washington outfield errors before this one is over. 

[squally1313]

If miles mikolas didn’t already hate all his teammates for, you know, reasons, he definitely does now. 

[CUBDOM4life]

2 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

Well, BABIP gods smile upon thee today.

Just start calling us the Chicago Brewers

[Geographyhater8888]

Nico with the first effective double for 2026 Cubs. 

[Jason Ross]

Cade Horton simply does not horsefeathers around.

[SparkMark1]

I'm pleased so far

[chibears55]

20 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

They aren’t Ohtani and Tucker, but they’re better hitters than PCA and Hoerner. If some hitters are going to get 5 PAs and some hitters are going to get 4 PAs, I want Busch and Bregman in that first group every time. 

Yea but id rather put my RBI/Power guys in better position to drive in runs over getting 1 extra AB. On some teams it may not matter, like with the Dodgers and Yankees who have a bunch of middle of order type bats.

I dont mind Busch leading off, I just think Bregman should be 3 or 4, Happ should be 5th or 6th.

Maybe when Suzuki returns he goes into the 4 hole.

Busch Hoerner Bregman Suzuki PCA Happ would imo be much better 

 

Edited March 28 by chibears55