Chicago Cubs Lineup (3/2/20, Late SS): Descalso Leads Off, Almora Second, Mills Starting
The Cubs face the Athletics for the second time this spring in their second game of the day, a fitting return to Hohokam Park following Joe Maddon and Tommy La Stella’s reunion with their old mates at Sloan. Daniel Descalso gets the party started at second base, followed by Albert Almora Jr. in center and Jason Heyward in right.
David Bote is at third, Josh Phegley is catching, Robel Garcia handles DH duties, and Hernán Pérez is at short. Then it’s Caleb Joseph at first and Ian Miller in left to round things out. Not what you’d call a murderer’s row, but pretty standard for a late split-squad road game.
Alec Mills makes his second start and third appearance as he states his case for a spot on the Opening Day roster. The righty has yet to allow a hit in three innings of work and is a likely candidate for at least a long-relief role that will see him flex to the rotation as needed. Mills isn’t going to overpower anyone, but he’s managed pretty strong strikeout numbers in limited MLB action.
Ryan Tepera, Casey Sadler, Justin Steele, James Norwood, and Jason Adam are slated to appear in relief.
First pitch is set for 8:05pm CT and will be shown on MLB Network for out-of-market fans. Like the early game, this one has neither Marquee nor 670 The Score on the call, so in-market Cubs fans are frozen out for all intents and purposes. Gee, that’s kind of been a thing all spring for a lot of you.
Today and tonight for the Cubs pic.twitter.com/W9Osea0nVA
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) March 2, 2020
