Michael

Conforto

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.

The 22-year-old has been mired in a prolonged slump at the dish, so giving him a night off to clear his head isn’t the worst possible idea. Michael Conforto will serve as the team’s designated hitter in his place and will bat seventh against Cardinals’ right-hander Andre Pallante on Friday evening in St. Louis.

Happ takes a seat in favor of Michael Conforto against Astros starter Kai-Wei Teng. The 31-year-old hitting .107 (3-for-28) over his last seven games and slashing .188/.349/.377 with three homers and 34 strikeouts in 20 games since May 1. He’ll get a brief mental reset as the Cubs attempt to get him back on track.