Inside The Cubs

Guardians Pitcher Scheduled to Face Chicago Cubs on Thursday Under Investigation

The Chicago Cubs gameplan for Thursday may undergo a change after the Cleveland Guardians pitcher they were scheduled to face has been suspended.
Dylan Sanders|
Jun 27, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; A general view a Cleveland Guardians hat and glove on the dugout railing before a game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.
Jun 27, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; A general view a Cleveland Guardians hat and glove on the dugout railing before a game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. | Peter Aiken-Imagn Images

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Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs will need to adjust their game plan at the last minute on Thursday after the Cleveland Guardians pitcher they were scheduled to face was suspended and is now under investigation.

News broke that Guardians righty Luis Ortiz was placed on paid leave while he was 'under investigation' early on Thursday morning.

ESPN's David Purdum and Jeff Passan later reported that it was due to a betting-integrity firm that flagged two pitches that had suspicious gambling activity. Ortiz will not be back until at least after the All-Star break and faces a potential ban from MLB if wrongdoing is found.

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This is incredibly relevant news to the Cubs, as they were scheduled to face Ortiz on Thursday night when the two teams take the field at 7:05 pm CT.

Chicago will now face the southpaw Joey Cantillo instead, which could cause a disruption in gameplanning, given that he pitches from the opposite side.

The Cubs are performing slightly worse against lefties this year, but it's not by a crazy amount. They are slashing .247/.313/.430 as a team against southpaws and are at .260/.332/.452 against right-handed pitchers.

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Pete Crow-Armstrong is slashing just .192/.221/.404 against left-handed pitching this season, which is a far cry from what he does against righties, so he is certainly a "loser" in this scenario.

Michael Busch is another player that struggles at hitting same-side pitching, as he is slashing just .125/.222/.150 on the year.

Ideally, they will be able to chase Cantillo early. This is the 25-year-old's first start of the year. He has a 3.81 ERA over 28.1 innings of work in 21 appearances out of the bullpen.

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For more Cubs news, head over to Cubs On SI.

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Dylan Sanders
DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders

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