Chicago Cubs Lineup (9/28/24): Suzuki DH, Wisdom 3B, Hendricks Likely Making Final Cubs Start

The Cubs beat the Reds on Friday in an hour and 48 minutes, their fastest game since May 24, 2001, when Jon Lieber tossed a complete game against — you guessed it — the Reds. It was the shortest MLB game since 2010 and fifth-shortest in the last 20 years, and there hasn’t been a shorter game at Wrigley since June 3, 1978 against the Phillies.

Lieber remains a very underrated pitcher, kinda like Mark Buerhle on the South Side. Both of those dudes could absolutely carve and they worked as quickly and efficiently as anyone in the game. A couple years prior to Lieber joining the Cubs, I saw Greg Maddux pitch for the Braves in the first half of a doubleheader. He needed just two hours and seven minutes to dominate his old team in a one-run game. I could have sworn it was a shutout in under two hours, sometimes it’s best not to let facts ruin the story.

Now we arrive at the next iteration of those pitchers in Kyle Hendricks, a man who could shove with the best of them in his prime. Those days are long gone now, but he’s got a chance to close out his Cubs career with a throwback performance. We saw that the other day in Colorado and some of that old brilliance has shone through the rust at various points over the rest of the year.

Hendricks says he wants to keep pitching, though continuing with the Cubs beyond this year seems like a big stretch. We can worry about that in the future, now it’s time to celebrate what he’s meant to this organization. It sure would be nice if the lineup celebrated him with a whole bunch of early runs.

Ian Happ leads off in left, followed by Dansby Swanson at short and Cody Bellinger in right. Seiya Suzuki returns from a little time off due to a bum ankle and will be the DH, Michael Busch is at first, and Nico Hoerner is at second. Pete Crow-Armstrong is in center, Patrick Wisdom is at third, and Miguel Amaya is the catcher.

They’re facing Rhett Lowder, who sounds like he should be a backup tight end or slot receiver at an SEC school. The Reds’ first pick in last summer’s draft at No. 7 overall, Lowder was tremendous at Wake Forest and rocketed through the minors this year. He needed just five starts at High-A, 16 at Double-A, and one at Triple-A before getting the call to Cincy.

The 22-year-old righty has been excellent so far across five starts, allowing only four earned runs in 25.2 innings. His 21 strikeouts are a little lower than expected and his 11 walks are a little higher, but he avoids barrels at an elite rate and hasn’t given up a homer yet. Unless the wind conditions are more favorable this afternoon, he should be able to keep the ball in the yard.

Lowder isn’t what you’d expect from a dude who matriculated to the bigs so quickly, especially if you use Paul Skenes as an example. Rather than blowing hitters away with triple-digit heat, the Reds rookie uses a balanced attack that sees his slider, four-seam, and sinker thrown at nearly identical frequencies. The changeup accounts for the remaining 20% of his mix and it’s been his “worst” pitch so far, but it could be deadly if he can keep working it off his sinker.

The 85 mph slider is a gyro offering with good depth, typically landing middle-middle or middle-down, then his 94 mph fastball has a lot of ride to work the top of the zone. Lowder will often elevate it too much, hence the higher walk numbers, so that’s something to watch for. As he matures and dials in the command on that pitch, he could be a big problem for opposing hitters.

The sinker comes in around 92 and bears in on righties’ hands while the 86 mph changeup stays to that same side with good tumble. He throws the change with sort of a Vulcan grip that he developed as a kid and it was among the best offspeed pitches in NCAA last year, so it may just be a matter of time before it breaks out.

The Vulcan can be nice for pitchers who have trouble pronating because you don’t need to turn it over, just throw it hard and let the grip do the work. Judging from the relatively small velo separation between the change and fastball, that seems to be Lowder’s general strategy. Again, being able to tunnel that off of the sinker could lead to a great deal of success in the future.

I wonder whether the Reds will work with him on more of a sweeper to better utilize the glove side of the plate. He’s got high, low, and arm side covered at this point, but he might benefit greatly from something else that gives a different look in terms of either shape or velocity.

Matchups like this are fun because you’ve got the old guard facing the new, which gives us a little something to look forward to even if the game itself means nothing. First pitch is at 1:20pm CT on Marquee and 670 The Score.

Game 2 vs. Cincinnati!

Tune in: https://t.co/Gs2hZXyTjH pic.twitter.com/NE6BNdyvnP

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 28, 2024

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