The Chicago Cubs are facing elimination at Wrigley Field on Wednesday afternoon, and manager Craig Counsell has locked in his team’s starting lineup.
The Cubs lost the first two games of their series against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field in recent days, but they’ll hope to keep their season alive as they return home for Game 3 of the National League Division Series.
With Jameson Taillon taking the hill for the Cubs, Counsell has switched back to the lineup he used in the first game of the Milwaukee series, returning first baseman Michael Busch to the lead-off spot as he faces Brewers starter Quinn Priester.
Here is the Cubs’ full lineup:
1 Michael Busch – 1B
2 Nico Hoerner – 2B
3 Kyle Tucker – DH
4 Seiya Suzuki – RF
5 Ian Happ – LF
6 Carson Kelly – C
7 Pete Crow-Armstrong – CF
8 Dansby Swanson – SS
9 Matt Shaw – 3B
The Cubs have been outscored 16-6 so far in the series, with home runs from Busch, Hoerner, Happ and Suzuki accounting for all of their offense.
They will face a tough challenge on Wednesday as they battle Priester, who went 13-3 this season with a 3.32 ERA, striking out 132 batters in 157 innings.
On the flip side, Taillon has been locked in since returning from the injured list in September, giving up just four earned runs in 27.1 innings of work. He has struck out 21 batters and walked six in that time, and has allowed one home run in those games.
The Cubs and Brewers will square off at 4:08 p.m. Central time at Wrigley, with the game airing on TBS.