Seiya

Suzuki

Chicago manager Craig Counsell will stick with a near-identical lineup, with the exception of Matt Shaw at the hot corner instead of Pedro Ramírez, after Tuesday’s unexpected Game 1 shutout loss at the hands of Michael King and the Padres. Crow-Armstrong struck out three times in four plate appearances in that defeat. Here’s the full lineup: Crow-Armstrong (CF), Alex Bregman (DH), Michael Busch (1B), Seiya Suzuki (RF), Ian Happ (LF), Nico Hoerner (2B), Matt Shaw (3B), Carson Kelly (C) and Dansby Swanson (SS).

Bregman is ready for the start of the postseason after returning to Chicago’s lineup less than one week after suffering multiple facial fractures when he was hit by a foul ball in the on-deck circle. It’ll be rookie Pedro Ramírez filling in at the hot corner with Bregman limited to DH as he continues to recover. Here’s the full lineup for Tuesday’s series opener in San Diego: Pete Crow-Armstrong (CF), Bregman (DH), Michael Busch (1B), Seiya Suzuki (RF), Ian Happ (LF), Nico Hoerner (2B), Ramírez (3B), Carson Kelly (C) and Dansby Swanson (SS).

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.

Suzuki got the Cubs on the board and tied the score in the fifth inning with a 408-foot (106.1-mph EV) solo shot in the fifth inning. He also singled and walked in the ballgame, finishing the afternoon 2-for-3. For the season, the 32-year-old slugger is now slashing a healthy .270/.366/.476 with 26 long balls and 86 RBI.

It’s an extremely rare day off for Suzuki, who went 3-for-5 during Friday’s game against the Pirates. He’ll take a seat with Tyrone Taylor getting an opportunity to face Pirates ace Paul Skenes. The 32-year-old is on pace to finish as a top-15 fantasy outfielder, hitting .270/.369/.480 with 91 runs scored, 24 homers, 81 RBI and three steals in 578 plate appearanes.

Suzuki’s triple, his first of the year, came on a fly to deep right that saw Billy Cook struggle with the wind. Suzuki has four three-hit games and three games with three runs scored in his last 14 games, and he’s sitting at .270/.369/.480 for the season. That .849 OPS would ever so slightly best his previous high MLB marks of .848 from 2024 and .842 from 2023.

Suzuki’s home run was his 24th of the season. He hit a solo shot off Kyle Harrison in the fourth inning. Suzuki had six home runs and 19 RBI in 27 games in August. He’s hitting .278 with an .865 OPS and 80 RBI this year.

Suzuki singled in the home half of the first inning and rode home on Alex Bregman’s two-run blast. He also singled in the fourth inning before capping off the Cubs’ scoring with a 406-foot (104.4-mph EV) two-run shot off of Reds’ catcher Jose Trevino in the eighth inning. With his three-hit attack, Suzuki is now hitting .277/.370/.492 with 23 long balls and 79 RBI on the year.

Suzuki now has 23 doubles in his last 62 games after collecting just five in his first 55. He shouldn’t have much trouble clearing his MLB high of 31 from 2022 and ’24. Even in Japan, he never had more than 32 in a year.

Suzuki got a hold of a George Soriano changeup and launched it just beyond the left-center field basket in Wrigley, 390 feet away, for the only runs the Cubs would need on the day. Suzuki is hitting .310/.412/.552 over his last 15 games with three homers and one stolen base, along with 15 RBI. Hitting in a good lineup has been great for Suzuki’s counting stats this year.