The Reds have played better baseball since former Cubs manager Jim Riggleman took over as interim manager last month to replace Bryan Price. Under Riggleman, the Reds have gone 12-14, and they have an overall record of 15-24. The Reds beat the Cubs 1-0 on April 2 at Cincinnati, where rain washed out the other game in that series. Saturday's doubleheader is a makeup for that. The Cubs will visit Cincinnati three times before the Reds come to Chicago. Scooter Gennett has a line of .327/.363/.528 with 7 homers and 25 RBI for the Reds. On-base machine Joey Votto is at .289/.414/.441 with 6 homers and 24 RBI. Speedster Billy Hamilton has 31 stolen bases in his career vs. the Cubs.Major League Baseball action on Friday evening and a pair of teams from the National League Central will duke it out as the Chicago Cubs do battle with the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, Ohio in game one of their three-game series. The Reds have taken the lone game between these teams this year so far, while the Cubs took 12 of the 19 meets last year. Pitching Probables: Kyle Hendricks (3-3, 3.20 ERA) will get the nod for the Cubs in this one and the Reds will counter with Homer Bailey (1-5, 5.59 ERA). It was actually game three as the teams played a makeup game in Chicago before moving the series to Atlanta for three games. The Cubs have lost two of the first three games of that series and are hoping that a series with the lowly Reds can get them back on track.
As of this writing, then Cubs are at 22-18 on the year, which is good enough for just 4th place in the National League Central, but they are still just 2.0 games out of first. The Cubs have been a very good offensive team this year, but they have scored just four total runs in their last two against the Braves, including just one run in a 4-1 loss on Wednesday night. Kris Bryant had three hits in that game and drove in the lone run, but the rest of the offense accounted for just five hits while striking out 11 times. Absorbing the loss in the game was Carl Edwards Jr., who allowed three ERs in the bottom of the 8th after the game was tied 1-1. He is now 2-1 with a 3.79 ERA on the year. Tyler Chatwood took a no-decision after a solid start that saw him allow just one ER on four hits and two walks in 5.1 innings of work. The Cubs have averaged 4.84 rpg and have allowed 3.74 rpg on the road so far.
Taking the hill for the Cubs in this one will be Kyle Hendricks and he has gone 3-3 with a 3.20 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP in eight starts on the year, including 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP in three starts on the road. In his career, he has gone 23-13 with a 3.47 ERA in 53 starts on the road and 6-6 with a 2.88 ERA in 18 starts during the month of May, while against the Reds he has gone 4-1 with a 3.41 in 10 starts, including 1-1 with a 5.70 ERA in four starts here at Great American Ballpark.
The Cubs have been a very solid offensive team in the early going as they come in ranked 4th in the league in scoring, putting up 5.22 rpg, while also ranking 10th in hitting at .253 and 18th in homers with 46. On the mound, they have been very solid as they come in ranked 6th in the league in ERA at 3.46, while also ranking 15th in WHIP at 1.31 and 21st in K’s with 342. The pen for the Cubs ranks 3rd in the league with a 2.79 ERA.The Cincinnati Reds really got off to a rough start this year and they ended up firing their coach early on. They did struggle some after he was let go, but a recent trip out west has really changed things for them at the moment. The Reds came into that series off of a couple of home wins against the struggling Mets and then they took four straight from the Dodgers in LA. They did lose their first two in San Francisco but bounced back in game three with a solid 6-3 win. Despite their 7-2 run, the Reds are still 11 games out of first in the National League Central, so they still have a long way to get to get back to respectability. Adam Duvall led the attack in the win over the Giants as he had two hits, including his 8th homer of the year, while driving in three runs. Scooter Gennett also went deep in the game and it was his 7th of the year. He also had a double in the game and is now hitting .327 on the year, which is 8th in the league. Matt Harvey got his 2nd start for the Reds and he allowed three ERs on seven hits before being taken out after four innings. Jared Hughes grabbed the win and is now 2-2 with a 1.40 ERA on the year, while Raisel Iglesias recorded his 8th save. The Reds have averaged just 4.10 rpg and have allowed 5.22 rpg here at home for the year.
Toeing the rubber for the Reds will be Homer Bailey and he has gone 1-5 with a 5.59 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP in nine starts on the year, including 0-4 with a 6.33 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP in five starts here at home. In his career, he has gone 30-35 with a 4.88 ERA in 102 starts here at Great American Ballpark and 14-8 with a 4.62 ERA in 32 starts during the month of May, while against the Cubs he has gone 8-3 with a 4.53 ERA in 18 starts.Cincinnati has been below average on offense so far as they rank 20th in the league in scoring, putting up just 4.18 rpg, while also ranking 15th in hitting at .247 and 23rd in homers with 43. On the mound, they have been poor in the early going as they come in ranked 25th in the league in ERA at 4.80, while also ranking 24th in WHIP at 1.40 and 19th in K’s with 347. The pen is ranked 16th in the league with a 4.05 ERA. The Reds have been playing very well of late, but that was on the road and they have gone just 6-15 here at home. We also note that they have a game in San Francisco on Thursday and will be traveling back home for this one with no rest. Homer Bailey has been horrible for the Reds this year as he is 1-5 with a 5.59 ERA overall, including 0-4 with a 6.33 ERA here at home and the Cubs should really be able to do some damage against him. Kyle Hendricks has struggled in this park, but he has pitched well this year overall and the Reds should be a bit flat on offense after the long trip and playing on no rest. The Reds have averaged just 4.10 rpg here at home, while the Cubs have put up 4.84 rpg on the road. Chicago has all the edges in this one and should walk away with a much-needed win, especially since the Reds are 5-22 in their last 27 games against the NL Central.
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As of this writing, then Cubs are at 22-18 on the year, which is good enough for just 4th place in the National League Central, but they are still just 2.0 games out of first. The Cubs have been a very good offensive team this year, but they have scored just four total runs in their last two against the Braves, including just one run in a 4-1 loss on Wednesday night. Kris Bryant had three hits in that game and drove in the lone run, but the rest of the offense accounted for just five hits while striking out 11 times. Absorbing the loss in the game was Carl Edwards Jr., who allowed three ERs in the bottom of the 8th after the game was tied 1-1. He is now 2-1 with a 3.79 ERA on the year. Tyler Chatwood took a no-decision after a solid start that saw him allow just one ER on four hits and two walks in 5.1 innings of work. The Cubs have averaged 4.84 rpg and have allowed 3.74 rpg on the road so far.
Taking the hill for the Cubs in this one will be Kyle Hendricks and he has gone 3-3 with a 3.20 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP in eight starts on the year, including 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP in three starts on the road. In his career, he has gone 23-13 with a 3.47 ERA in 53 starts on the road and 6-6 with a 2.88 ERA in 18 starts during the month of May, while against the Reds he has gone 4-1 with a 3.41 in 10 starts, including 1-1 with a 5.70 ERA in four starts here at Great American Ballpark.
The Cubs have been a very solid offensive team in the early going as they come in ranked 4th in the league in scoring, putting up 5.22 rpg, while also ranking 10th in hitting at .253 and 18th in homers with 46. On the mound, they have been very solid as they come in ranked 6th in the league in ERA at 3.46, while also ranking 15th in WHIP at 1.31 and 21st in K’s with 342. The pen for the Cubs ranks 3rd in the league with a 2.79 ERA.The Cincinnati Reds really got off to a rough start this year and they ended up firing their coach early on. They did struggle some after he was let go, but a recent trip out west has really changed things for them at the moment. The Reds came into that series off of a couple of home wins against the struggling Mets and then they took four straight from the Dodgers in LA. They did lose their first two in San Francisco but bounced back in game three with a solid 6-3 win. Despite their 7-2 run, the Reds are still 11 games out of first in the National League Central, so they still have a long way to get to get back to respectability. Adam Duvall led the attack in the win over the Giants as he had two hits, including his 8th homer of the year, while driving in three runs. Scooter Gennett also went deep in the game and it was his 7th of the year. He also had a double in the game and is now hitting .327 on the year, which is 8th in the league. Matt Harvey got his 2nd start for the Reds and he allowed three ERs on seven hits before being taken out after four innings. Jared Hughes grabbed the win and is now 2-2 with a 1.40 ERA on the year, while Raisel Iglesias recorded his 8th save. The Reds have averaged just 4.10 rpg and have allowed 5.22 rpg here at home for the year.
Toeing the rubber for the Reds will be Homer Bailey and he has gone 1-5 with a 5.59 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP in nine starts on the year, including 0-4 with a 6.33 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP in five starts here at home. In his career, he has gone 30-35 with a 4.88 ERA in 102 starts here at Great American Ballpark and 14-8 with a 4.62 ERA in 32 starts during the month of May, while against the Cubs he has gone 8-3 with a 4.53 ERA in 18 starts.Cincinnati has been below average on offense so far as they rank 20th in the league in scoring, putting up just 4.18 rpg, while also ranking 15th in hitting at .247 and 23rd in homers with 43. On the mound, they have been poor in the early going as they come in ranked 25th in the league in ERA at 4.80, while also ranking 24th in WHIP at 1.40 and 19th in K’s with 347. The pen is ranked 16th in the league with a 4.05 ERA. The Reds have been playing very well of late, but that was on the road and they have gone just 6-15 here at home. We also note that they have a game in San Francisco on Thursday and will be traveling back home for this one with no rest. Homer Bailey has been horrible for the Reds this year as he is 1-5 with a 5.59 ERA overall, including 0-4 with a 6.33 ERA here at home and the Cubs should really be able to do some damage against him. Kyle Hendricks has struggled in this park, but he has pitched well this year overall and the Reds should be a bit flat on offense after the long trip and playing on no rest. The Reds have averaged just 4.10 rpg here at home, while the Cubs have put up 4.84 rpg on the road. Chicago has all the edges in this one and should walk away with a much-needed win, especially since the Reds are 5-22 in their last 27 games against the NL Central.
