The Chicago Cubs are entering a pivotal series Monday afternoon against the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers.
Chicago currently trails the Brewers by seven games for the division lead. While making up that deficit with just 18 regular-season games remaining will be difficult, the Cubs are also trying to hold onto the top Wild Card spot with the Philadelphia Phillies breathing down their necks.
Ahead of Monday’s Labor Day showdown, which will feature left-handers Matthew Boyd for Chicago and Robert Gasser for Milwaukee, Cubs manager Craig Counsell made a few changes to his starting lineup.
Cubs Announce Seiya Suzuki Change
One of those changes involves star outfielder Seiya Suzuki, who started all three games against the Miami Marlins over the weekend in right field.
For Monday’s game, however, Suzuki will get the start at designated hitter.
Chicago will instead have Matt Shaw in right field, Pete Crow-Armstrong in center and Tyrone Taylor in left.
Here’s the Cubs’ full lineup:
Via Underdog MLB: “Cubs 9/7 P. Crow-Armstrong CF S. Suzuki DH A. Bregman 3B T. Taylor LF N. Hoerner SS M. Shaw RF C. Kelly C B. Murray Jr. 1B P. Ramírez 2B M. Boyd SP.”
Cubs 9/7
P. Crow-Armstrong CF
S. Suzuki DH
A. Bregman 3B
T. Taylor LF
N. Hoerner SS
M. Shaw RF
C. Kelly C
B. Murray Jr. 1B
P. Ramírez 2BM. Boyd SP
— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) September 7, 2026
Suzuki’s 2026 Season
In his fifth season with the Cubs, Suzuki is putting together the best season of his MLB career.
He enters Monday batting .271 across 126 games and 480 at-bats. Suzuki has scored 86 runs, collected 130 hits, hit 24 home runs and driven in 80 runs while slugging .481 with a .850 OPS.
Looking at the Cubs
As for Chicago, the Cubs are 81-63 overall and hold a half-game lead over the Phillies for the top Wild Card spot.
That position is important because the top Wild Card team will host a best-of-three series in the first round of the postseason, likely against another Wild Card team.
Chicago Cubs Announce Seiya Suzuki Change Before Brewers Series