CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs released their starting lineup card for this afternoon’s home game at Wrigley Field against the Kansas City Royals, and Ottawa hometown hero and current Chicago media darling Michael Hermosillo is not on it.
The Cubs’ outfield for the 1:20 p.m. interleague contest consists of Rafael Ortega in center batting leadoff, Ian Happ in left batting third and Jason Heyward in right batting sixth.
Hermosillo electrified Cubs fans with a two-run, upper-deck home run in his first at-bat while starting Wednesday. The broadcast, postgame and Cubs media since have featured the Ottawa High School graduate and two-time The Times Baseball Player of the Year heavily.
In an incredibly small sample size of five plate appearances since having his contract selected from Triple-A on Tuesday of last week, Hermosillo is batting .250 with that one home run and two RBIs and carries a .400 on-base percentage and 1.400 on-base-plus-slugging.