Cubs reveal lineup meant to walk the plank against Jacob deGrom

Using a depleted lineup against one of baseball’s greatest pitchers in Jacob deGrom doesn’t fare well on paper, but the Cubs will hope it’s enough to win.

The Cubs will look to end their two-game losing streak on Wednesday against the Mets in New York. The Cubs have struggled on the road this season, averaging just 3.9 runs per game away from Wrigley Field. They’ve managed just four runs in the first two games of this series, and now the task gets tougher given their opponent tonight: Jacob deGrom.

The 32-year-old righty has been all-world this season, pitching to the tune of a 0.56 ERA, 0.531 WHIP, and 14.5 K/9 rate over 64 innings pitched. For those wondering, that ERA equates to just four earned runs allowed.

The Cubs will send out a starting nine that does not feature Kris Bryant (hand) or Willson Contreras (rest) tonight:

Chicago Cubs: Willson Contreras and Kris Bryant get night off vs deGrom

Chicago first baseman Anthony Rizzo has faired well against deGrom throughout their career matchups. Rizzo is 10-for-23 (.435 BA) with one home run, four RBIs, and four strikeouts against the two-time Cy Young winner. The newly acquired Jose Lobaton has also gone 4-for-7 in a smaller sample size against deGrom.

In nine career regular-season starts against the Cubs, deGrom owns a 3.30 ERA and 1.221 WHIP through 57.1 innings pitched.

Maybe if there’s any glimmer of hope for Chicago tonight it’s deGrom pitching “worse” at home this season. His only two losses have come at Citi Field and he’s allowed his only four runs of the season in Queens. Another positive the Cubs will take into tonight is the lack of offense from the Mets throughout this season.

New York has become notorious for failing to provide run support for deGrom despite his dominance over the past few seasons. 2021 has been no different, as the Mets have scored the second-fewest runs (227) in the majors this season through 59 games played. Chicago recently called up Robert Stock from Triple-A to make his 2021 debut tonight.

All the narratives say deGrom should easily handle this depleted Cubs lineup. But as we know, there are plenty of times in sports where the predetermined story lines don’t take place. To the surprise of some, Chicago has fared well against teams with winning records (23-18). Who’s to say they can’t give deGrom a run for his money tonight.