Ross Rolls Out New Chicago Cubs Starting Lineup Sunday Against Diamondbacks

With their backs against the wall, the Chicago Cubs are rolling out a new starting lineup Sunday for their series finale at Chase Field against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Cubs are on the brink of being swept and have dropped seven of their last nine games, in the thick of a playoff chase. A loss Sunday would drop the Cubs from the second National League Wild Card spot to a tie for the third Wild Card with the Miami Marlins. The Marlins took four of six games from the Cubs this season and own a tiebreaker over the Cubs, meaning the Cubs would fall out of the playoffs with a loss Sunday evening.

Cubs manager David Ross is using a starting lineup he hasn't gone to all season.

For only the second time in 2023, Ian Happ will bat lead-off. Happ made his first start as the club's table-setter Saturday, going 2-for-6 in a 7-6, 13-inning loss in Phoenix. Happ had occupied the three-hole for the team for most of the season, but has struggled mightily. Over the past five months, Happ has slashed just .218/.330/.725. Ross moved Happ to sixth in the Cubs' lineup last Sunday, but has since batted him third, and now, in the lead-off spot.

The Cubs' top seven batters Sunday will resemble the lineup Ross went to Saturday, but Ross did make a pair of notable changes at the bottom of his lineup. Patrick Wisdom will receive the start at third base, over Nick Madrigal, batting ninth. Rookie Miguel Amaya will bat eighth, starting in place of Yan Gomes.

Rookie Jordan Wicks (3-0, 1.99 ERA) will take the mound for the Cubs, as they play on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball for the first time all season.

Here's a look at the Cubs' starting lineup for their series finale Sunday against the Diamondbacks:

1) LF Ian Happ

2) 2B Nico Hoerner

3) DH Christopher Morel

4) 1B Cody Bellinger

5) SS Dansby Swanson

6) RF Seiya Suzuki

7) CF Mike Tauchman

8) 3B Patrick Wisdom

9) C Miguel Amaya

SP Jordan Wicks

Here is tonight’s #Cubs starting lineup against the Diamondbacks! pic.twitter.com/vyoM7gJKQP
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 17, 2023

For more from Jack Vita, follow him on Twitter @JackVitaShow, and subscribe to his podcast, the Jack Vita Show, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Facebook, Amazon, iHeartRadio, and wherever podcasts are found.

Published Sep 17, 2023

JACK VITA

Jack Vita is a writer and contributor to Sports Illustrated's Inside the Cubs, and host of the Jack Vita Show, a popular sports podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and wherever podcasts are found. Jack is a 2017 graduate of Valparaiso University, in northwest Indiana. Since completing his degree, Jack has created his own independent sports media outlet (JackVita.com) and podcast (the Jack Vita Show). He has featured prominent guests from the worlds of sports and entertainment including Brian Urlacher, Scot Pollard, Bob Nightengale, Dan O'Dowd, and Survivor icons Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Cirie Fields, Danni Boatwright and "the Dragon Slayer", Coach Benjamin Wade. While studying at Valparaiso, Jack was the school newspaper's beat writer for the Valpo Crusaders men's basketball team, which won three straight Horizon League championships from 2015-2017. Traveling to cover the team, Jack had a front row seat to one of the nation's best mid-major teams, headlined by future NBA Draft pick Alec Peters and coached by NCAA Tournament hero Bryce Drew. Jack hosted a weekly sports radio show and provided play-by-play and color commentary services for ESPN 3 and the university's student radio station, WVUR-FM, 95.1 The Source, covering Valparaiso men's soccer, women's basketball, softball and volleyball. Jack also covered these sports, in addition to men's and women's tennis, baseball and women's soccer for the school newspaper, The Torch. While he was in college, Jack interned for and co-hosted Jewell On Sports, a sports radio program on AM 1050 WLIP in Kenosha, Wisconsin. There, he interviewed various pro athletes such as Ahman Green, Javon Walker and Javier Arenas, in addition to talking sports with the late, great Brad Jewell. Jack also interned for 22nd Century Media, a now defunct newspaper corporation that provided news to the North Shore of Chicago. With 22nd Century Media, Jack wrote post-game recaps, feature stories about local athletes, reviews of local restaurants and compiled the newspaper's "Pet of the Week" and "Athlete of the Week" sections, while providing copy-editing services. Before attending Valparaiso, Jack enrolled at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he studied for two years before transferring. He is a high school graduate of New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Illinois. You can follow Jack on Twitter @JackVitaShow, subscribe to his podcast, the Jack Vita Show, wherever podcasts are found, and reach him via email at jack@jackvita.com.

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