Cubs vs. Blue Jays Lineup: Matt Shaw Moves Up, A Tough Pitching Matchup, More

The Chicago Cubs are looking to win their third straight series over a below .500 squad. They will start things off with one of their best arm on the mound. The only problem? So will Toronto.

Game Info

Who: Toronto Blue Jays (37-38) at Chicago Cubs (39-36)
Where: Wrigley Field
When: 1:20 PM CT
Watch: Marquee Sports Network
Listen: 104.3 The Score

Chicago Cubs Lineup

1. Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF
2. Alex Bregman, 3B
3. Michael Busch, 1B
4. Seiya Suzuki, DH
5. Ian Happ, LF
6. Matt Shaw, RF
7. Nico Hoerner, 2B
8. Carson Kelly, C
9. Dansby Swanson, SS

Moises Ballesteros is no longer with the big league squad. The team made the move on Thursday following his extended slump, officially announcing that Justin Dean has been added to the active roster. Who is that? We gave you a rundown of the 29-year-old outfielder earlier this morning. In short, I wouldn't expect to see much of him over the next handful of days.

We can't say the same about Matt Shaw! He is set to make his fourth consecutive start and appears locked into a daily role moving forward, especially with Ballesteros now out of the mix. He will bat sixth this afternoon, moving ahead of both Nico Hoerner and Carson Kelly.

All things considered, Shaw has been one of the Cubs' more consistent hitters this year. He is batting .429 over his last seven games and is coming off a Rockies series where he had two multi-hit games and a total of five hits with only one strikeout. We may not have expected it, but Shaw is playing like someone who could help this Cubs offense finally turn things around.

The rest of the lineup is pretty familiar, though this is only the third time this season we have seen Nico Hoerner bat seventh. He has been ice cold for weeks now, holding just a .183 batting average over the last month of action. You obviously can't take him out of the lineup, but his inability to make good contact has been brutal to watch. He looks very out of sorts.

Toronto Blue Jays Lineup

1. George Springer, DH
2. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B
3. Jesús Sánchez
4. Yohendrick Piñango, LF
5. Alejandro Kirk, C
6. Nathan Lukes, CF
7. Kazuma Okamoto, 3B
8. Davis Schneider, 2B
9. Andrés Giménez, SS

The Cubs will get a look at Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who has surprisingly struggled to hit for the same power this year. He's got only four home runs over his 71 games and is recording his lowest slugging percentage since 2022.

Nonetheless, the Blue Jays have played better baseball over the last week-plus. They are 6-4 in their last ten games and just took care of business against the Red Sox with a sweep.

On the Mound ...

May 30, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Ben Brown (32) looks on prior to a game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Le-Imagn Images | Jeff Le-Imagn Images

Chicago Cubs – Ben Brown, RHP

It's crazy to think that there is no other pitcher the Cubs would want on the mound to start a series. Ben Brown has completely flipped the narrative this season, pitching lights out with a 1.74 ERA. His fastball is sitting at 96.5 mph, while his curveball has been one of the best breaking balls in the league with a 44.2% whiff rate.

To be sure, he can still get hit pretty hard, which will be something to look out for at the top of this lineup. But Brown undoubtedly has the stuff right now to help this Cubs team pick up a second straight win.

Toronto Blue Jays – Kevin Gausman, RHP

Kevin Gausman is having another strong year with a 3.41 ERA. He essentially leans on two pitches, relentlessly attacking opponents with his well-placed fastball before making them look silly with his 84 mph split finger.

He is known to have excellent command and has one of the lowest walk rates in baseball (4.6 percent). Having said that, since he is throwing plenty of stuff in the zone, there is a chance for this Cubs squad to hit him hard. He's given up a home run in each of his last three starts, as well as four runs in two of his last three.

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