{"id":37015,"date":"2025-05-01T02:11:59","date_gmt":"2025-05-01T02:11:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/?p=37015"},"modified":"2025-05-01T02:11:59","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T02:11:59","slug":"chicago-cubs-lineup-vs-pirates-carson-kelly-in-cleanup-dansby-swanson-batting-8th-shota-imanaga-pitching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/?p=37015","title":{"rendered":"Chicago Cubs lineup vs. Pirates: Carson Kelly in cleanup, Dansby Swanson batting 8th, Shota Imanaga pitching&#8230;."},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"d79db4796efc26332eabfc3f5dafbc76\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:10px 0 10px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<div class=\"hb-ad-inarticle\">\r\n    <div class=\"hb-ad-inner\"> \r\n    <div class=\"hbagency_cls\"  id=\"hbagency_space_111930\"><\/div><\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Chicago Cubs lineup vs. Pirates: Carson Kelly in cleanup, Dansby Swanson batting 8th, Shota Imanaga pitching&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Chicago Cubs unveiled an interesting lineup against the Pittsburgh Pirates, headlined by catcher Carson Kelly hitting in the cleanup spot and shortstop Dansby Swanson batting eighth. Kelly, typically a bottom-half hitter, gets a rare opportunity in the heart of the order, perhaps a strategic move to spark a lineup that has struggled with consistency. The decision reflects the coaching staff\u2019s trust in Kelly\u2019s recent offensive approach, as well as a shake-up aimed at generating more production.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-37017\" src=\"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/67f1a48348549.image_-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/67f1a48348549.image_-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/67f1a48348549.image_-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/67f1a48348549.image_-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/67f1a48348549.image_.jpg 1099w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Dansby Swanson, on the other hand, continues to slide down the lineup amid ongoing struggles at the plate. Once a key fixture near the top or middle of the order, Swanson has battled through a cold stretch, prompting the move to the eighth spot to relieve pressure and possibly help him reset.<\/p>\n<p>Left-hander Shota Imanaga takes the mound for the Cubs. Imanaga has been a revelation in his debut MLB season, boasting elite command and limiting hard contact. His presence offers stability, and the Cubs will look to him to keep a dangerous Pirates lineup in check.<\/p>\n<p>With key lineup changes and Imanaga pitching, Chicago hopes to get back in the win column and regain momentum in a tightly contested NL Central race.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chicago Cubs lineup vs. Pirates: Carson Kelly in cleanup, Dansby Swanson batting 8th, Shota Imanaga pitching&#8230;. &nbsp; The Chicago Cubs unveiled an interesting lineup against the Pittsburgh Pirates, headlined by catcher Carson Kelly hitting in the cleanup spot and shortstop Dansby Swanson batting eighth. Kelly, typically a bottom-half hitter, gets a rare opportunity in the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":37016,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[30],"class_list":["post-37015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-chicago-cubs"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Chicago Cubs lineup vs. Pirates: Carson Kelly in cleanup....<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Chicago Cubs lineup vs. Pirates: Carson Kelly in cleanup, Dansby Swanson batting 8th, Shota Imanaga pitching......\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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