You wanted changes to the starting lineup? Well, Craig Counsell certainly wasn’t just giving lip service after Friday’s 4-2 loss when he said that it was time to shake things up in the lineup. Although neither Kevin Alcántara or Pedro Ramirez are starting on Saturday, the batting order has been shuffled to an extreme extend.
Most notably, Pete Crow-Armstrong is in the leadoff spot, while Nico Hoerner has been moved to the cleanup spot. Moises Ballesteros returns to the DH role, while Ian Happ is on the bench. Meanwhile, the middle of the order no longer features Seiya Suzuki, who has been moved down to sixth.
Michael Busch, the team’s hottest hitter for the past month, is batting third, while Alex Bregman moves to the two-hole.
Crow-Armstrong was 1-for-2 with two walks and a two-run home run in Friday’s series opener. He’s had a rough week following his verbal altercation with a White Sox fan on the South Side on Sunday, but the left-handed hitter has been able to maintain steady results since the middle of April. Although the power numbers haven’t reached the heights of 2025 yet, Crow-Armstrong has shown an improved eye at the plate, posting a 10.1 BB% in his last 35 games, helping to raise his OBP to .345 since April 14.
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Meanwhile, Hoerner has been struggling in the leadoff spot for a while. Dating back to April 18, Hoerner has a slash line of .208/.299/.280 with a 71 wRC+.
We all kind of had a feeling that either Happ or Suzuki were going to get a day off here, and for Saturday, it’s Happ. The switch-hitting left fielder still boasts a solid .348 OBP in May, but has been abysmal otherwise, hitting .188 with a 39.5 K% in 86 plate appearances to begin this month. Happ’s numbers hitting with runners in scoring position have been brutal, slashing .143/.314/.268 in 70 opportunities with a 41.4 K%.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see Suzuki get a day on the bench here soon as well. The right fielder has a slash line of .197/.293/.324 in the month of May.
Hopefully, these changes give the offense a boost. It’s been flat-out terrible for the past two weeks, and it hasn’t only been a couple of guys scuffling; most of the lineup has been lifeless, going back to their series against the Texas Rangers.
