Chicago Cubs 4, Cincinnati Reds 2 in Strat-O-Matic 2020 season simulation game 97

A two-run rally in the bottom of the fifth inning was the difference for the Chicago Cubs (50-47), as they scored a critical 4-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds (49-48) at Wrigley Field.

That was the result today as Strat-O-Matic games of Glen Head, N.Y., continued its announced plan to simulate the entire 2020 Major League Baseball season on a day-by-day basis for as long as actual game play is on hold.

Help set the lineup, batting order for the simulated Reds:

Have you ever dreamed of your opportunity to “manage” the Reds? Now is your chance. Learn more below!

With the score tied at 2-2 in the bottom of the fifth, Steven Souza Jr. led off against sim Reds starter and loser Trevor Bauer with a double. Albert Almora Jr. then followed with a triple to right field, scoring Souza. Almora scored when Nick Castellanos failed to cleanly field Almora’s extra-base hit, putting the home team ahead 4-2, which was the final score.

Chicago scored first in the bottom of the third on Anthony Rizzo’s two-run homer, but the Reds came right back in the top of the fourth on a two-run dinger by Mike Moustakas. After the Cubs went ahead, the sim Reds’ best opportunity to rally came in the top of the eighth, when Shogo Akiyama led off with a walk and Michael Lorenzen followed with a single. However, Cubs righthanded reliever Rowan Wick then retired the heart of the Reds order — Joey Votto, Eugenio Suarez and Castellanos — without any further advance of the runners.

Freddy Galvis led the Reds offensively with three hits, and Moustakas and Castellanos tallied two each.

Here is the sim Reds box score, as provided by Strat-O-Matic:

A-Pinch Hit For Bauer In 7th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Kuhnel In 9th Inning

B-Pinch Hit For Quintana In 7th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Wick In 8th Inning

Standings following the July 17 games:

Chicago’s win allowed them to keep pace with Milwaukee and St. Louis, who both also won today.  Cincinnati fell out of a tie with the Cubs and into fourth place, one game behind Chicago and four and a half behind division-leading Milwaukee.

The 2020 schedule has the Reds and Cubs playing game two of the three-game series at Wrigley Field on Saturday. Whoever the Redleg Nation commenter/manager turns out to be will choose the starting pitcher from anyone except Bauer. Righthander Yu Darvish will start for Chicago.

Help set the lineup, batting order for the simulated Reds:

Have you ever dreamed of your opportunity to “manage” the Reds? Now is your chance.

Strat-O-Matic has agreed to allow Redleg Nation to submit the Cincinnati Reds’ lineups for each day’s simulated game. We want all of our readers who want to participate to get involved.

Here is how it will work:

• In each wrap up of that day’s simulated game, Redleg Nation will post the opposing starting pitcher for the next game. You will know who the pitcher is and whether he is left-handed or right-handed, and you can use that information in creating a lineup for the next game, and submitting it in the comments below. “Splits” such as performance vs. left-handers or right-handers are replicated in the Strat-O-Matic game algorithm, and therefore should be considered.
• We will accept lineups from every reader who wants to submit one. The lineup that will be submitted to Strat-O-Matic each day will be the one that receives the most positive replies (in effect, “yes” votes) from readers other than the submitter. In case of ties:
  • First tiebreaker: Lineup submitted by the reader who has had the fewest number of opportunities as a “manager.”
  • Second tiebreaker: Lineup submitted earliest in the comment thread. (So get your lineup in “early” each day.)
• What is “early?” Redleg Nation posts these articles daily between 5 and 6 p.m. Eastern time. Strat-O-Matic’s deadline for us to submit a lineup for the next day’s game is midnight. On most days, we’ll do this before “bedtime,” which is typically between 10:30 and 11 Eastern time.

All players’ batting stats

All players’ pitching stats

Batting and pitching player stats by team

Have fun with this! If you have any questions, please post them in the comment string below. Here are the “managerial records” of our Redleg Nation participants to date:

About Strat-O-Matic

Strat-O-Matic has been in the sports simulation business since the 1960s. A USA Today article contained this explanation:

Strat-O-Matic and other baseball simulations use statistics from the previous season to create “cards” for each player on a roster. The team managers select the batting order and the starting pitcher. From there, a series of dice rolls and calculations determines the outcome of each at-bat.

Strat-O, as it’s known to longtime players, first gained its immense popularity as a board game. The company has since expanded to a downloadable Windows version and one that’s played online. A few years ago, it introduced Baseball Daily – a new iteration that combined the player cards from the previous season with statistics from the real season being played at the same time.

Unlike many video games, the Strat-O-Matic results are based on algorithms that account for players’ performance based on statistics that their statistical experts project for each player in the 2020 season. It’s not a game played with a joystick that relies more on the skill of the person with the video game controller in his or her hand.

The simulation software will keep comprehensive statistics for all teams for the season, so we’ll be able to track year-to-date leaders in many statistical categories. Our current plan is to provide statistical leader summaries here at Redleg Nation each Sunday. You can follow the season at Strat-O-Matic.com, where they plan to post the results from each day’s schedule at 2 p.m. Eastern time.