Almora and Lucroy got the starts in this game for doing less in less AB. Almora and Lucroy got the starts in this game because Sonny Gray has reverse splits, which is the reason those 2 had decent numbers against him. Len literally said this in the open which is probably when you were looking up Russell's stats against tomorrow's Reds pitcher.
I was at the game he pitched, he gave up like 3 home runs in one inning and if I remember correctly the Cubs actually came back and won that game I was there too and I can't believe you even have to consider whether you're remembering correctly since it's to this day the most memorable regular-season game of the current era. (Matusz gave up a 2-run homer in each of the first 3 innings.)