It took way too long to get here, but the Cardinals are finally visiting Wrigley Field in 2025. That it comes over the Fourth of July weekend almost makes this dumb quirk of the balanced schedule worth it. Of course, having it air on a streaming service a lot of fans don’t subscribe to is a pretty big bummer.
Colin Rea will be on the mound as he looks to keep his spot in the rotation. Jordan Wicks is at Wrigley today, presumably as an injury replacement for a reliever, but he’s looked very good in Iowa and could help to stretch out the rotation here at the end of the first half. Porter Hodge hasn’t pitched since June 28 and has appeared only twice since being activated from the IL, so he might need a little more time to ramp up.
Drew Pomeranz needed 20 pitches to record two outs before giving way to Ryan Brasier, so perhaps a lefty for a lefty with the former Mariner getting a break to rest up is the move. We’ll probably know right after this is published.
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The lineup is a pretty standard one, with Ian Happ leading off in left and Kyle Tucker patrolling right. Seiya Suzuki is the DH, Pete Crow-Armstrong is in center, and Dansby Swanson is at short. Michael Busch plays first, Carson Kelly is behind the plate, Nico Hoerner is at second, and Matt Shaw handles third.
They’re up against frequent foe Miles Mikolas, who somehow didn’t pitch against them back in St. Louis. It feels like the Cubs face him 15 times a year, but it’s only been 23 times in total. Mikolas has a career .317 ERA against the Cubs, but his results against this roster have not been very good. Over 167 combined at-bats, this group is batting .305 against him. Of course, they’ve only hit three homers and have a mere .318 OBP.
That 32-to-3 K/BB ratio is quite strong for a dude who isn’t known for his strikeouts. The only area on his Baseball Savant page in which Mikolas has red is his 5.7% walk rate, which is in the 83rd percentile. His chase rate is in the 11th percentile, his strikeout rate is in the 9th, and his whiff rate is in the 1st. He has given up 87 hits in 81.1 innings and should not pose a big threat today.
Seriously, nothing about this guy says he should be able to keep the Cubs at bay for more than a couple of innings. He’s only gone six in five of his 16 starts and has allowed fewer than four hits just four times. All that said, this is a guy who knows how to pitch and has guile for days. So even with a 92 mph fastball and pedestrian breaking stuff, he can find his way to a decent outing.
Having the sinker and changeup working early may tell us how this game will go, as those two pitches can get him out of jams. First pitch is at 1:20pm CT with Apple TV+ carrying the exclusive television broadcast and 670 The Score on the radio call.
Kicking off the holiday with a Friday 1:20! pic.twitter.com/pmHT5jUzRy
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 4, 2025
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