Michael

Conforto

It’s nothing more than a routine day of rest for the 32-year-old slugger. Suzuki has had a terrific season in the middle of the Cubs’ starting lineup, slashing .270/.368/.473 with 26 homers, 86 RBI and three stolen bases in 634 plate appearances. Michael Conforto will start in his place in right field and will bat fifth against Red Sox’ right-hander Tanner Houck.

Conforto opened the scoring in the ballgame with a 411-foot (103.2-mph EV) solo shot off of Ryan Gusto in the third inning. He also led off the sixth inning with a single and scored on a two-out RBI knock from Michael Busch that proved to be the difference in the ballgame. The 33-year-old outfielder is now hitting .240/.332/.489 with 14 long balls and 38 RBI in 256 plate appearances on the year.

Conforto’s home run was his 12th of the year. He hit a two-run shot off Diamondbacks reliever Taylor Clarke in the sixth inning. Merrill Kelly was one out away from completing the sixth inning, but the D-backs went to their bullpen and it immediately backfired as Clarke allowed the home run to Conforto. He’s hitting .232 with a .799 OPS and 33 RBI.

Conforto put the Cubs on the board with a three-run homer off Michael McGreevy in the second inning. After striking out in the fourth inning, he was lifted for a pinch-hitter against a left-handed pitcher in the seventh. The home run was Conforto’s 10th of the season while hitting .232/.322/.459 with 30 RBI across 214 plate appearances.

The Cubs have been wanting to get Suzuki a breather for a while now, so he’ll sit down against Royals’ right-hander Randy Dobnak on Sunday afternoon. Expect to see him off the bench if needed in late-game situation though. Michael Conforto will start in his place in right field and bat fifth for the Cubs on Sunday.

The two homers were part of eight the Cubs hit on the afternoon, which tied a franchise record. Conforto recorded some impressive Statcast metrics earlier in the year but wasn’t playing consistently as recently as a little over a week ago. With Matt Shaw injured and Moises Ballesteros at Triple-A, Conforto has started against five of the past six righties Chicago has faced. Wednesday’s outburst should keep him cemented in a strong-side platoon role.

The 31-year-old slugger played both halves of Wednesday’s doubleheader and recently battled some knee issues, so giving him a breather makes complete sense here. Michael Conforto will start in his place in right field and bat second for the Cubs against Mets’ right-hander Freddy Peralta on Thursday evening in New York.

Suzuki already missed the first two weeks of the season with a PCL sprain in the same knee. Matt Shaw replaced him tonight and would join Michael Conforto in line for additional playing time if Suzuki needs to go back on the IL.

It appears to be nothing more than a routine breather for the 31-year-old slugger. Suzuki has seen his production fall off following a brilliant 2025 campaign, slashing just .239/.324/.400 with eight homers and 20 RBI through his first 204 plate appearances on the season. Michael Conforto will take his place in right field and bat second for the Cubs against A’s right-hander J.T. Ginn.

Lefties are hitting .336/.416/.555 against Kyle Leahy, but the Cubs still couldn’t find any room for the switch-hitting Ramírez today. Michael Conforto is on the bench, too, as the Cubs are starting Moisés Ballesteros at DH rather than give up some defense by having him catch. Ramirez has started two of the Cubs’ nine games since being recalled last week, but that’s still better than Kevin Alcántara; he’s yet to get a start in eight games with the team.