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The Cincinnati Reds (18-23) start a three game series with the Chicago Cubs (23-18) at Wrigley Field. This series is crucial for the Reds as they try to climb back into the playoff conversation.

First pitch is at 8:15 EDT. It can be found on Fox Sports Ohio for fans in the Cincinnati viewing area and MLB.TV for those who are out-of-market. It will also be on 700 WLW for those prefer to listen on the radio.

Starting Pitchers

Name IP ERA FIP xFIP WHIP K% BB%
Tyler Mahle 30 3.90 4.81 4.78 1.07 28.50% 9.80%
Alec Mills 37.2 5.50 5.56 4.80 1.22 16.50% 7.00%

REDS

Right-hander Tyler Mahle makes his sixth start of the season and his seventh appearance overall. He’s coming off a seven inning performance against the St. Louis Cardinals in which he gave up three runs on four hits while walking two and striking out three. In two starts against the Cubs this season, Mahle has allowed four runs on eight hits, including two home runs, with three walks and 15 strikeouts in 10.2 innings. For the season, Mahle has thrown 30.0 innings and recorded a 3.90 ERA/4.82 FIP with 35 strikeouts and 12 walks.

Mahle has given up home runs to a few Cubs players, including Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo, and Jason Heyward. That guy from Middletown has hit two home runs off Mahle in his career.

CUBS

RHP Alec Mills opposes Mahle on the mound tonight. Mills has a 5.50 ERA and a 5.57 FIP in seven starts this season. In 37.2 innings, he’s given up eight home runs and walked 11 while striking out 26. Mills has faced the Reds twice in 2020. In his first start against them in July, he pitched 6.0 innings and allowed two runs on two hits while striking out three and walking two. The Reds got to him in his second start against him. Mills made it through only three innings, giving up four runs, including three home runs. Both of those games were at Great American Ball Park, so it will be interesting to see how he fares at Wrigley Field. (As always, it probably will depend on if the wind is blowing out).

Curt Casali, Nick Castellanos, Kyle Farmer, Eugenio Suarez, Joey Votto, and Jesse Winker all have a home run off Mills in their careers.

Lineups

REDS CUBS
1. Joey Votto (1B)
2. Nick Castellanos (RF)
3. Jesse Winker (DH)
4. Eugenio Suarez (3B)
5. Mike Moustakas (2B)
6. Aristides Aquino (LF)
7. Shogo Akiyama (CF)
8. Jose Garcia (SS)
9. Tucker Barnhart (C)		 1. Ian Happ (CF)
2. Kris Bryant (3B)
3. Anthony Rizzo (1B)
4. Javier Baez (SS)
5. Kyle Schwarber (LF)
6. Willson Contreras (C)
7. Jason Kipnis (DH)
8. David Bote (2B)
9. Cameron Maybin (RF)

Joey Votto is back at first base after starting as the designated hitter on Sunday. Aristides Aquino gets the start in left field tonight.

News and Notes

Doug’s got you covered with the roster moves the Reds made this afternoon.

Nick Senzel is more important to this team than you might think he is.

I wrote about the Reds bullpen being good right now, which means I will totally jinx it.

Old friend Billy Hamilton will be on the Cubs active roster for this series.

Final Thoughts

As I said at the beginning, this week is a crucial week for the Reds. They currently sit 2.5 games behind the Marlins and Giants for an NL wild card spot and three games behind the Cardinals for the second division playoff spot. A nice, six-game winning streak would be really nice right about now. Time is running out, and it’s now or never for our favorite team.

GO REDS!

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