Chicago Cubs vs Kansas City Royals Starting Lineup — Friday, Aug 7, 2026
Starting Lineups
Chicago Cubs @ Kansas City Royals · Friday, Aug 7, 2026
| # | Batter | AVG | OBP | OPS | HR | RBI | vAVG | vOPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pete Crow-Armstrong | 0.289 | 0.386 | 0.936 | 26 | 69 | — | — |
| 2 | Seiya Suzuki | 0.270 | 0.364 | 0.840 | 19 | 64 | — | — |
| 3 | Alex Bregman | 0.248 | 0.338 | 0.722 | 12 | 50 | 1.000 | 2.000 |
| 4 | Michael Busch | 0.241 | 0.352 | 0.742 | 14 | 63 | — | — |
| 5 | Nico Hoerner | 0.260 | 0.321 | 0.684 | 7 | 54 | — | — |
| 6 | Ian Happ | 0.211 | 0.323 | 0.727 | 18 | 48 | — | — |
| 7 | Carson Kelly | 0.265 | 0.352 | 0.733 | 7 | 40 | — | — |
| 8 | Pedro Ramírez | 0.292 | 0.350 | 0.765 | 1 | 14 | — | — |
| 9 | Dansby Swanson | 0.217 | 0.294 | 0.700 | 17 | 63 | — | — |
| # | Batter | AVG | OBP | OPS | HR | RBI | vAVG | vOPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carter Jensen | 0.228 | 0.301 | 0.716 | 15 | 54 | — | — |
| 2 | Bobby Witt Jr. | 0.286 | 0.356 | 0.813 | 13 | 41 | 0.333 | 1.666 |
| 3 | Jac Caglianone | 0.254 | 0.309 | 0.762 | 18 | 45 | — | — |
| 4 | Salvador Perez | 0.215 | 0.263 | 0.639 | 16 | 48 | 0.091 | 0.273 |
| 5 | Isaac Collins | 0.238 | 0.337 | 0.703 | 6 | 34 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 6 | Nick Loftin | 0.249 | 0.332 | 0.731 | 5 | 35 | — | — |
| 7 | Michael Massey | 0.263 | 0.297 | 0.723 | 9 | 39 | 0.167 | 0.334 |
| 8 | Starling Marte | 0.255 | 0.311 | 0.625 | 1 | 12 | 0.500 | 1.167 |
| 9 | Tyler Tolbert | 0.325 | 0.368 | 0.843 | 3 | 6 | — | — |
Chicago Cubs at Kansas City Royals (2026-08-07). Kevin Gausman vs Daniel Lynch IV at Kauffman Stadium.
Starters — Gausman has a 4.38 ERA and 1.29 WHIP across 127.1 innings, with 8.98 K/9, 2.54 BB/9, and 1.06 HR/9. His last three starts were mixed: 5.2 innings with 1 earned run, 6 innings with 3 earned runs, and 3.1 innings with 4 earned runs. The listed trend is down, but the two most recent outings were steadier than the rough July 21 start. Lynch IV owns a 1.96 ERA and 0.93 WHIP in 46 innings, with 6.85 K/9, 2.35 BB/9, and an excellent 0.39 HR/9. His last three appearances were all scoreless, though they covered just 1 inning, 1 inning, and 0.2 innings. The trend is flat, and the elite run prevention stands out more than the strikeout volume.
Teams — Chicago brings the stronger offensive profile with a .753 OPS and 595 runs, compared with Kansas City’s .708 OPS and 480 runs. The Cubs are also in better recent form at 7-3 over their last 10, while the Royals are 4-6. On the pitching side, Chicago has the better full-team run prevention numbers with a 4.05 ERA and 1.25 WHIP, versus Kansas City’s 4.80 ERA and 1.42 WHIP. Kansas City’s offense has been more contact-oriented than explosive, with a .245 average, while Chicago pairs a .248 average with more overall production.