Cubs Lineup (4/25/25): Opener vs the Phillies at Wrigley

CUBS LINEUP — Friday, 1:20, Wrigley Field, and a winning record. All we need is about 20 more degrees of warmth, and it doesn’t get much better than that. Here’s a look at the Chicago Cubs lineup for the first of three games against the Phillies at Wrigley Field.

Ian Happ, LF
Kyle Tucker, RF
Seiya Suzuki, DH
Michael Busch, 1B
Dansby Swanson, SS
Nico Hoerner, 2B
Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF
Carson Kelly, C
Jon Berti, 3B

Hooray! Seiya Suzuki (wrist) is back in the Cubs lineup this afternoon, after being a late scratch in the finale against the Dodgers. With an off-day yesterday, he got a nice two-day break, which hopefully healed him back up. I think this will probably be something he deals with off and on for a while, but Suzuki at 90% is still better than the Cubs’ next best option.

Taijuan Walker, starting for the Phillies this afternoon, has faced a handful of the Cubs players a few times before today. None of the samples are particularly significant, and no battle has been overwhelmingly in one favor or the other.

Jon Berti: 7-19 (all singles), no walks, 6Ks
Ian Happ: 1-12, 4BB, 5K
Nico Hoerner: 3-9, 2 2Bs, 1BB
Seiya Suzuki: 3-6
Dansby Swanson: 4-15, 2 2Bs, BB, 2K

I will note, however, that righties have hit Walker significantly better than lefties have over the last two seasons:

vRHH (235 batters faced): .327/.396/.616 (.431 wOBA)

vLHH (229 batters faced): .265/.345/.465 (.350 wOBA)

He has been a LOT better against both types through four starts so far this season, though. More on Walker below.

Bryson Stott, 2B
Trea Turner, SS
Bryce Harper, 1B
Kyle Schwarber, DH
Nick Castellanos, RF
Max Kepler, LF
JT Realmuto, C
Alec Bohm, 3B
Johan Rojas, CF

Chicago Cubs: Colin Rea, RHP

With injuries to Justin Steele and Javier Assad, Colin Rea has been thrust into the Cubs’ starting rotation a little earlier than I think was expected come the end of Spring Training. But so far, he’s responded well with 8.1 combined innings of two-run ball against the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks.

And that performance featured 10 strikeouts against just 1 walk and no barrels. Frankly, Rea has looked a lot better than expected, and the next step would just be to see if he can continue to get stretched out for longer outings.

Philadelphia Phillies: Taijuan Walker, RHP

Although it feels like he’s been around FOREVER, Taijuan Walker is still just 32 years old (that’s what happens when you debut in the big leagues at age 20). Walker had an injury-shortened, extremely ineffective season with the Phillies last year, but he’s gotten off to a nice start here in 2025, albeit with some shorter outings against some weaker offenses:

vsCOL: 6.0 IP, 3H, 0ER, 1BB, 4K@ATL: 4.2 IP, 5H, 0ER, 3BB, 5KvsSFG: 5.0 IP, 6H, 4ER, 1BB, 5K

vsMIA: 4.0 IP, 1H, 1ER, 3BB, 2K

As you can see, he’s pitched mostly at home and had a rough outing against the only offense that rates out as average or better overall (Giants). I suspect the top-scoring offense in the league at Wrigley on a Friday will be a significantly greater challenge.

Chicago Cubs (16-10) vs Philadelphia Phillies (13-12) at 1:20 pm CT – Marquee Sports Network, MLBN, 670 The Score, WRTO 1200