Seiya

Suzuki

Chicago will attempt to stave off elimination for the second straight contest at Wrigley Field by rolling out the exact same lineup, which features Busch in the leadoff spot to face Brewers ace Freddy Peralta. The 27-year-old slugger blasted a solo homer — his third postseason round-tripper — in the Cubs’ pivotal Game 3 win. Here’s the full lineup: Busch (1B), Nico Hoerner (2B), Kyle Tucker (DH), Seiya Suzuki (RF), Ian Happ (LF), Carson Kelly (C), Pete Crow-Armstrong (CF), Dansby Swanson (SS) and Matt Shaw (3B).

Cubs manager Craig Counsell will shake things up with veteran Justin Turner leading off, while Michael Busch starts on the bench. Lefty opener Aaron Ashby will take the ball for Milwaukee to kick off the contest before Quinn Priester enters in a bulk relief role. Here’s the full lineup: Turner (1B), Nico Hoerner (2B), Kyle Tucker (DH), Seiya Suzuki (RF), Ian Happ (LF), Carson Kelly (C), Pete Crow-Armstring (CF), Dansby Swanson (SS) and Matt Shaw (3B).

Suzuki has been bumped up to the cleanup spot to face Brewers ace Freddy Peralta, with Ian Happ moved down a couple spots, after going 3-for-11 with one homer and a pair of doubles in Chicago’s Wild Card Series victory over San Diego. The 31-year-old corner outfielder finished the season with an impressive power surge and is clearly building some momentum heading into fantasy drafts next spring. Here’s the full lineup: Michael Busch (1B), Nico Hoerner (2B), Kyle Tucker (DH), Suzuki (RF), Happ (LF), Carson Kelly (C), Pete Crow-Armstrong (CF), Dansby Swanson (SS) and Matt Shaw (3B).

Suzuki delivered a game-tying homer against Padres starter Nick Pivetta to lead off the fifth inning, immediately followed by a go-ahead shot from Carson Kelly. It was his lone hit in three at-bats, but it provided a massive momentum shift for Chicago’s lifeless offense at the time. The 31-year-old slugger’s late-season power surge — five homers in his final four regular-season games — has clearly carried into October.

The 31-year-old slugger crushed a 379-foot (99.1 mph EV) solo shot off of John King in the fifth inning to give the Cubs an early 1-0 lead. Rather than giving him a breather in the season finale, Cubs skipper Craig Counsell kept Suzuki in the lineup and he responded with his fifth home run in his past four games and looks primed for the postseason. He finishes a terrific 2025 campaign slashing .245/.326/.478 with 32 homers, 103 RBI and five stolen bases in 651 plate appearances.

Suzuki has three homers in two days after going 38 straight games without one. It’s his second MLB grand slam. Suzuki was 2-for-16 with the bases loaded in his first two seasons with the Cubs, but he’s 12-for-22 with 27 RBI in those situations since the beginning of 2024. The 30-homer season is his first in MLB, but he had two in Japan, topping out at 38 in 2021.

Suzuki took Mets’ starter Nolan McLean deep for a solo shot in the fourth inning. McLean was at the end of his outing in the sixth inning and Suzuki hit a three-run home run to chase him. Suzuki hadn’t hit a home run since August 6 against the Reds, a span of 38 games. He’s hitting .244 with a .787 OPS and 97 RBI this year.

It appears to be nothing more than a routine day of rest for the 31-year-old slugger. Suzuki has been in a funk at the plate lately, slashing just .216/.355/.257 with zero homers, five RBI and a 20/16 K/BB ratio over 93 plate appearances in his last 21 ballgames. Perhaps a day off to clear his head will do some good. Willi Castro will start in his place in right field and will bat eighth for the Cubs against Zack Littell and the Reds on Saturday evening in Cincinnati.

Suzuki played the role of spoiler in the seventh inning on Thursday, smacking a two-out double that broke up Hunter Greene’s no-hit bid. That would be his squad’s only hit in the ballgame. On the season, the 31-year-old slugger is slashing a healthy .244/.324/.459 with 27 homers, 91 RBI and five stolen bases across his 618 plate appearances.

Suzuki found himself back in Chicago’s lineup for the first time in nearly one week due to an undisclosed illness. He should be good to go for the final week and a half of the regular season.