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Joe Maddon warned everyone, so this shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, but at the same time what a lovely surprise he’s giving Chicago Cubs fans, as the best leadoff hitter in MLB history is back!
Albert Almora Jr. is getting the day off, so Anthony Rizzo is leading off.
Here is tonight's #Cubs lineup!
Game preview: https://t.co/l5pEspHsiK #EverybodyIn pic.twitter.com/pglllL7LFY
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 1, 2018
Rizzo was dealing with a back issue earlier in the year, but he just hasn’t looked all that great. He’s had a few moments where you think he’s turning the corner, but the results haven’t been there and you can tell Rizzo is getting frustrated.
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No one is really worried because Rizzo has had has struggles in April almost every season with the Cubs and that includes Maddon, who said the following on Tuesday.
"He's gonna hit .500 one of these months. He's going to catch up. There's nothing wrong with him whatsoever. He's handling it great. Honestly, I'm not concerned, even in a small way." -Joe Maddon on Anthony Rizzo
— Bernstein & McKnight (@Bernstein_McK) May 1, 2018
Hopefully this move gets Rizzo going, as he’s currently slashing .149/.259/.189, with only one home run. Rizzo did spend time on the 10-day DL.
And yes, we’re joking about the best leadoff hitter stuff, but Rizzo really did boost the Cubs offense last year, when Maddon put him in the leadoff role.
Last year, #Cubs Rizzo was 15-for-50 in the leadoff spot with 5 HRs, 2 2B, 12 RBI. He hit leadoff HRs in 4 of 7 Gs
— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) May 1, 2018
Anthony Rizzo: first #Cubs leadoff man to get on base to lead off a game in 7 straight games since Richie Ashburn June 28-July 3, 1960
— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) June 21, 2017
How about a repeat performance.
