Cubs vs. Cardinals Lineup: Happ's Heater, Brown Needs to Cool Down Cardinals?

The Cubs will try to bounce back from a tough 6-5 loss to the Cardinals in yesterday's opener. Ben Brown and his sparkling 2.01 ERA try to get the Cubs back in the win column again tonight and maintain pace with the rest of the NL Central.

Game Info

Who: Chicago Cubs (31-27) at St. Louis Cardinals (30-25)
Where: Busch Stadium
When: 6:15 PM CT
Watch: FOX
Listen: 104.3 The Score

Chicago Cubs Lineup

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

Ian Happ has been scalding hot this road trip, slashing .364/.391/.864 with three home runs and two doubles while driving in 11 runs. He's still striking out a decent amount with four of them in the last five games, but he's been a literal godsend for the Cubs' offense with a 1.255 OPS.

Miguel Amaya gets the start at catcher tonight with Moises Ballesteros returning to the lineup at DH, and both have been struggling at the plate. Amaya hasn't gotten a hit in his last five games, while Ballesteros has just five hits for the entire month of May. Hopefully, things change for both hitters in June.

Seiya Suzuki and Alex Bregman all have hit doubles off Leahy in previous meetings, Bregman did extend his hitting streak to 9-games though and will look to make it multi-digits tonight.

St. Louis Cardinals Lineup

1. JJ Wetherhold, 2B
2. Ivan Herrera, DH
3. Alec Burelson, 1B
4. Jordan Walker, RF
5. Nolan Gorman, 3B
6. Masyn Winn, SS
7. Jimmy Crooks, C
8. Bryan Torres, LF
9. Victor Scott II, CF

Former Cub Nelson Velázquez got sweet revenge on the Cubs with a game-tying 3-run home run yesterday, but he'll take a seat for Bryan Torre. Ivan Herrera moves to DH, Jimmy Crooks will do the catching, and Nolan Gorman gets a start at 3B. Speaking of Gorman, he and Burelson took Brown deep back on June 23rd of last year, both hitting 2-run homers.

Also, Cardinals Hall of Famer Al Hrabosky went "tarps off" yesterday and yeah ...

This is how you attack a Friday pic.twitter.com/R2B0XfUypG
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) May 30, 2026

Feels like the Cubs were doomed from the start yesterday, even prior to Shota Imanaga allowing three home runs again. Not today!

On the Mound ...

May 2, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Ben Brown (32) pumps his arm after the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

Cubs - Ben Brown, RHP

The 26-year-old Ben Brown is having his most productive season in the majors right now, featuring a 2.01 ERA on the season. As a starter, though, he's 2-2 on the season with a 3.97 ERA. Brown is commanding his stuff better than ever, striking out at least six batters in his last three starts while issuing no more than two walks.

Brown will lean on his lethal combination of a fastball that can touch 98 mph and a knuckle-curve that generated 11-swinging strikes in his last outing vs PIT, but his addition of a sinker has given him a usable third offering. Plus, the sinker has been effective at generating groundballs, giving Brown the lowest hard hit rate of his career at 41.4%.

A shutdown outing for Ben Brown that goes about 6+ innings would be such a pick up for this Cubs team that has felt the need to bail out their starters as of late. Despite past success vs Brown, the Cardinals haven't seen this version of the righty yet.

Cardinals – Kyle Leahy, RHP

The 29-year-old Leahy is coming off a rough start in Cincinnati, where he allowed 5 runs on two home runs, all in the 5th inning. Before imploding, Leahy was having one of his better starts of the year, striking out eight Reds on the evening. His 4.44 ERA on the year is solid, and Leahy has a large repertoire of pitches, leaning on his fastball 31.7 percent of the time and then a near even mix of his curveball, slider, sinker, sweeper, and change-up.

But even with that wide mix, Leahy gives up hard contact with teams slugging .460 against him. He has also issued the 14th most walks in baseball. With the Cubs being one of the most patient teams in the league right now, coupled with Ian Happ being on a heater, this could make for a solid hitting night.

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