The Chicago Cubs will face their divisional rival Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday afternoon in spring training action, and manager Joe Maddon is bringing out the big guns for the game.
The Cubs will send their ace to the mound in the game, as Jon Lester gets his second start of the Cactus League slate at Sloan Park. Lester threw two scoreless innings and struck out three batters in his first start of the spring, and he’ll look to continue fine-tuning his approach in this game.
In terms of the Cubs’ lineup, it’s pretty similar to what the team could roll out on the field for Opening Day:
1 Albert Almora Jr. CF
2 Ben Zobrist DH
3 Anthony Rizzo 1B
4 Kris Bryant 3B
Chicago Baseball
5 Javier Baez SS
6 Jason Heyward RF
7 Willson Contreras C
8 Daniel Descalso 2B
9 Jacob Hannemann LF
The Cubs are also expected to give at least one of their MLB relievers some work on Saturday, as Steve Cishek is on the list of probable pitchers for the game.
The Cubs currently have a 5-3 record so far this spring, just a half-game behind the Seattle Mariners for the best record in the Cactus League. They won their last game on Friday, and have already beaten the Brewers in spring training action this year.
For those fans that want to watch the game, we have some good news: Saturday’s game will be the first televised contest for the Cubs this spring, and you can catch the first pitch on WGN-TV at 2:05 p.m.