Pre-Kids: Cubs vs. Padres (9:00 a.m. CT) – Lineups, broadcast information, discussion thread

CUBS RANGE — I dream of one day making the playoffs without being eliminated once. Would that be really nice? Just fun from start to finish. Alas. Not this year. We’re already in survival mode, and we’re only one game away! I guess it’s better to be involved than not. And, last time I checked, the Cubs to have has already won two matches in a row. It can happen.

In case you missed the news earlier, tonight’s Cubs starter Kevin Gausman is still not 100%. And while the injury in question is to his non-throwing shoulder, he admitted that he’d have to “change a little bit to be able to do what I want to do,” which doesn’t exactly sound ideal.

Meanwhile, Padres starter Nick Pivetta allowed just three earned runs total in his four September starts. Shrug your shoulders. We’ll see. Here’s a look at the Cubs’ lineup for Game 2 of the Wild Card Series in San Diego.

Chicago Cubs roster:

1. Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF
2. Alex Bregman, DH
3. Michael Busch, 1B
4. Seiya Suzuki, RF
5. Ian Happ, L.F.
6. Nico Hoerner, 2B
7. Matt Shaw, 3B
8. Carson Kelly, C.
9. Dansby Swanson, S.S.

There is only one change in the Cubs lineup tonight, and that’s Matt Shaw replacing Pedro Ramirez at third base.

The latter performed well defensively at third in Bregman’s absence, but the offensive spark he provided mid-season dimmed considerably as his exposure increased over time. That’s not to say a word about his future potential, which remains promising, but I don’t think it’s a crazy move to trade Shaw, even for a right-hander like Pivetta. Plus, for what it’s worth, Pivetta offers reverse splits. So there you go.

Shaw has also generally been very solid defensively at third base himself, so things are going well in the wash. Yes, this Cubs lineup would be better with Bregman at third and Michael Conforto at DH, especially after Conforto finished the season strong. But we’re just lucky to have Bregman in there.

I have to work early and often tonight. Come on Cub Scouts. I don’t want to go home.

San Diego Padres roster:

1. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
2. Dustin Harris, L.F.
3. Manny Machado, 3B
4. Ty France, 1B
5. Jackson Merrill, C.F.
6. Xander Bogaerts, SS
7. Ethan Salas, C.
8. Austin Hays, DH
9. Jake Cronenworth, 2B

Pitch match:

Chicago Cubs: Kevin Gausman, RHP

By now you should know the story of Kevin Gausman.

But here are the broad strokes: The Cubs landed Gausman at the deadline, and since then he’s alternated between good and horrible starts down the stretch. Well, sort of. In fact, he had just finally thrown back-to-back solid outings against the Braves and Marlins to end the regular season. But in the final inning of that last start, he dove for a ball to make a great defensive play (which he did!), injuring his non-throwing shoulder in the process.

This injury prevented him from starting last night and forces him to “change a little” tonight to do what he wants to do. Sigh. Not exactly confidence-inspiring.

The only thing that seems potentially optimistic to me is that his typical below-zone splitter approach could work well against what appears to be a very aggressive/swing-happy Padres lineup. Every time Gausman has had success with the Cubs this season, it’s always been against teams that refuse to lay off that pitch. I guess we just have to hope he can throw it as effectively as ever despite the shoulder injury adjustments he’ll have to make to get through this.

Gausman faced the Padres once earlier this season (with the Blue Jays), pitching six innings with three earned runs on four hits, three walks and eight strikeouts. He’ll probably have to be a little better than that tonight if the Cubs want to win. Of course, it probably won’t go through the command more than twice no matter what, so we’ll see.

I don’t know who will come after Gausman. Obviously this will depend a bit on the game, but since this is an elimination game, I have a hard time imagining the Cubs not putting at least some work in Daniel Palencia and Ryan Zeferjahn.

But there’s also Clay Holmes, who has experience coming out of the bullpen, and David Peterson, who pitches better than most Cubs starters. Someone will have to start tomorrow if the Cubs win, but there will be no tomorrow if they don’t. Decisions, decisions. We’ll see.

Some notable matchup histories between Gausman and the Padres:

• Bogaerts: 17-60, 2 2Bs, HR, 2BB, 14K
• Machado: 9-26, 2B, 2 hours, 0BB, 4K
• Tatis: 8-23, 2B, 2 hours, BB, 5K
• France: 7-21, 2B, 2BB, 5K
• Cronenworth: 2-19, 0BB, 6K
• Hay: 7-14, 2B, 2 HR, 2BB, 5K

San Diego Padres: Nick Pivetta, RHP

Nick Pivetta spent most of this season on the injured list (elbow), but returned in early September and dominated in four (admittedly short) outings against the Nationals, Giants, Marlins and Dodgers (combined): 18.2 IP, 15H, 3ER, 2BB, 18Ks.

That’s good for a 1.45 ERA.

Most Cubs don’t have much history against Pivetta, although almost all of them have faced him several times before. Here are some of the notable match statistics:

• Swanson: 10-36, 2B, 2 hours, BB, 12K
• Comfort: 2-13, 2 hours, 2BB, 3K
• Happiness: 3-12, 2B, BB, 8K
• Bregman: 3-9, 3B, HR, BB, 3K
• Kelly: 4-8, 3B, HR, 0BB, 4K
• APC: 1-5, BB, 4K
• Suzuki: 2-7, HR, 0BB, 2K

But here’s the thing: After using none of their big relievers last night, the Padres might not even let the Cubs pounce on Pivetta if he falters early. And if the Padres can take an early lead themselves, they could play matchups right to the end. They didn’t need it last night, but if they did it would have been even harder to score (…uh, well, get a hit).

Finally, I found this post from our friends at CHGO interesting/useful:

Broadcast information:

• First pitch: 9:00 p.m. CT
• How to watch Cubs game of the day: NBCSN, Peacock
• How to listen to today’s Cubs game: 104.3 The partition
• Match : Chicago Cubs (0-1) vs. San Diego Padres (1-0)

Cubs vs. Padres – Top Injuries:

Cubs vs. Padres – Petco Park Weather Report

Location: San Diego, California
Temperature:
Wind: