The Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs will wrap up their 3-game series at Wrigley Field this afternoon at 2:20pm ET. Cincinnati will be looking to avoid the sweep at the hand of the baby bears.
Starting Lineups
Cincinnati Reds
|
Chicago Cubs
|
| Eugenio Suárez – 3B | Joc Pederson – LF |
| Jesse Winker – LF | Kris Bryant – 1B |
| Nick Castellanos – RF | Javier Báez – SS |
| Tyler Stephenson – 1B | Ian Happ – CF |
| Tyler Naquin – CF | Willson Contreras – C |
| Kyle Farmer – SS | Rafael Ortega – RF |
| Tucker Barnhart – C | Patrick Wisdom – 3B |
| Jonathan India – 2B | Eric Sogard – 2B |
| Tyler Mahle – SP | Jake Arrieta – SP |
Starting Pitchers
Tyler Mahle
After a hiccup on the 20th against San Francisco where he allowed seven runs in just 2.0 innings, Tyler Mahle rebounded with 5.1 innings of no-run baseball in Washington the last time out. He’ll look to be more like that version of himself today.
It’s been a running theme this year but Tyler Mahle has reverse splits this season. Right-handed hitters are hitting .287/.330/.521 against him in 102 plate appearances with five walks and 33 strikeouts. Lefties are hitting .179/.284/.274 with 13 walks and 33 strikeouts in 109 plate appearances. Left-handed hitters are striking out a lot more and hitting for a lot less power than right-handed hitters have been. Mahle also has some big home and road splits. He’s been outstanding on the road, posting a 1.71 ERA in six starts this year (7.23 on the road in four starts).
Pitch usage from 2021
| 4-Seam | Splitter | Change Up | |
| Velo | 94.3 | 86.4 | 87.3 |
| Usage | 52.3% | 11.9% | 35.7% |
Jake Arrieta
The former Cincinnati Reds draft pick (it’s true, the Reds picked him in the 31st round out of high school but he chose to go to college) has posted a 4.37 ERA this season in 47.1 innings with 16 walks and 38 strikeouts. He had a strong start to the year – his ERA was 2.57 after five starts, but he got roughed up at the end of April by the Reds who tagged him with seven earned in 3.1 innings and hit three homers off of him.
Lefties have performed better against Arrieta this season, hitting .269/.336/.454 against him with 11 walks and 25 strikeouts in 122 plate appearances this year. Right-handed hitters have posted a .219/.278/.438 line this year with five walks and 13 strikeouts in 79 plate appearances. He’s performed much better at home – 2.86 ERA – and it’s mostly due to the fact that he’s kept the baseball in the park at home where he’s given up just two home runs in 22.0 innings.
Pitch usage from 2021
| 2-Seam | Slider | Change |
Curve | |
| Velo | 90.8 | 87.5 | 85.9 | 79.9 |
| Usage | 56.9% | 20.8% | 5.9% | 16.4% |
When and Where
- Game time: 2:20pm ET
- Where: Wrigley Field, Chicago
- Watch: Bally Sports Ohio, MLB.tv
- Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: 62°, sunny, 0% chance of rain.
News and Notes
Hunter Greene keeps getting it done
Last night in Double-A we saw Hunter Greene pick up eight more strikeouts, bumping his league best total to 41 on the year in 28.2 innings while his ERA sits at 1.91 through five starts. I wrote about his start and how the team should handle his promotion and timeline a bit today at RedsMinorLeagues.com this morning if that’s the kind of thing you are interested in reading.
Jose Garcia changes his name to Jose Barrero
Reds prospect Jose Garcia is now going by Jose Barrero. The name change is to honor his mother who recently passed away, so he took her last name. After missing a few days on the temporary inactive list he returned to the lineup on Saturday for Double-A Chattanooga.
NL Central Standings
Playoff odds via Fangraphs
| Team | W | L | GB | Playoff % |
| Cardinals | 29 | 22 | 0 | 41.5% |
| Cubs | 29 | 22 | 0 | 36.9% |
| Brewers | 27 | 25 | 2.5 | 47.9% |
| Reds | 22 | 28 | 6.5 | 6.4% |
| Pirates | 20 | 31 | 9.0 | 0.0% |
Never forget that Jake Arrieta hates Cincinnati … he is on the record about it.
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/redsblog/2015/03/14/cubs-jake-arrieta-hates-cincinnati/24757367/
If that wasn’t motivation enough ….
Breakdown of those 6% playoffs odds … as of today:
1 in 25 chance to win NL Central
1 in 50 chance to qualify as a Wild Card
Ship needs righting … right now.
Go Redlegs.
CBS sports standings predicts a 75.5 win season 1.1% Div Champ 1.7% playoffs
they look completely lost to me
Joey may start a fire when he get’s back from his hitchhiking injury, it should at least get Blandino off the field
Is there a clause in someone’s contract that says Shogo Akiyama is not allowed to start? I understand when he came back from his injury that Naquin was tearing it up but that’s not the case anymore. You’d think that instead of messing around with the batting order or playing musical chairs with players in the infield that maybe Bell would try starting Shogo more than once a week.
Yes, unless he’s hurt, I don’t understand that either.
Same here
Especially if the wind is blowing in like the other day. Seems Shogo could start in that case because Naquin’s homerun threat is diminished.
Nice article on our AA phenom pair of arms. I’m right with you on not rushing them forward. Give them a chance to repeat success the 2nd time against teams (or even the 3rd). Don’t squander starting talent in the MLB bullpen either.
Hoping we take it to Arrieta and the Stupid Cubs today.
Nice article on the other site.
Any ideas on innings limits for both Lodolo and Greene this year?
3 batters – 3 expected outcomes.
Nice 16-game streak for Nick C.
Time to make Jake-the-Reds-hater pay early (and often).
Nice work TySteve! Run up his count.
Now to convert …
That works.
4 straight simple quality at bats.
Stephenson continues to give a quality AB
Joe West crew is the worst. I wonder how many calls get challenged against his crew.
Winner winner chicken dinner!!!
The one thing DB and staff seem to be able to consistently do correctly.
Make ’em pay, Tuck!
Jake is angry
Good. (And when is he not?)
I didn’t realize it’s still HBP if it hits dirt first. Run would score anyway.
Time for India to show up … and he does!
I had not seen that either, Tucker by instinct blocked that pitch in the dirt
+100
India showing some speed on the infield single
Batted around in the 1st. Got to love that.
Time for Mahle to show his stuff.
We scored three runs. In the first inning. With no HRs. Baby steps.
Now, hold them and score some more!
3 singles 1BB 1HBP 1 fielders choice 1 sac fly and no strike outs by any position players produces 3 runs.
Terrible launch angles though.
In theory, the Reds didn’t score.
Joe West is yet another umpire who can’t call balls and strikes.
He’s well beyond his prime and too arrogant to learn or be corrected. Time for him to move along.
Joe West loves him some Joe West. The fact we all know his name tells all
#umpshow
Retirement is calling.
My Internet went out briefly. Bryant was at bat when it did. came back to the inning being over. That’s another baby step.
Now to see if Geno had a good view from the bench while the other players did something productive.
I was about to comment on what I saw as wicked fast bat speed by Bryant. Wonder what uniform he wears next year.
Well, although he loves hitting in GABP, if he joins the Reds he won’t get to face Reds’ pitchers there anymore.
So Suarez makes an out, Winker and Castellanos get on. Isn’t this how it started an inning ago?
Crooked number(s) please!!
He didn’t kill a rally though
Right. And he got to lead off 2x already. Plus he did put the bat on the ball both times.
There may be something to the idea that lead off forces a change in his plate approach to hitting not slugging.
The result of many years of holding down third base and the offseason prediction of at least 50 homeruns.
Productive out by TySteve (again). Gives us a chance and runs Jake-not-from-State-Farm to 50+ pitches.
The good- running Jake early is always fun
The bad- Cubs bullpen is better than he is
If we stay ahead, we won’t have to see Chicken Arms today. Did I mention how much I don’t like the Stupid Cubs’ closer?
You don’t like wings, MM?
I love me some wings, Rojo. I just don’t like them on a certain Cubbie’s Closer.
Arrieta already at 51 pitches after 2 innings. Doesn’t have his stuff today, apparently.
A hit there would have allowed Mahle to cruise … picking and choosing which hitters he wants to challenge.
3rd inning – continue with “Everybody hits. Everybody scores.”
Let’s chase Jake-who-hasn’t-got-it this inning.
60 pitches and climbing. Probably feels more like 100 given how he’s laboring.
Great job by Barnhart.
When a dude doesn’t have it … run up that pitch count.
Also, maybe it brings Mahle up this inning, not leading off the 4th.
Still a lot to learn, Mr. India. You gave away that AB to Jake.
Mahle not even taking a hack at it?
At least we roll over the line-up again.
Pitchers are so useless in the batting order. Hasn’t swung the bat in two at bats now.
It’s time. We’ll see it in the CBA.
Another homer today for Billy Hamilton, who now has an OPS that is .064 higher than That of Eugenio Suarez.
Wow.Just.Wow.
Yeah but can he lead off?
TySteve apparently took all his 1B coaching well based on that stretch-and-catch.
Tell him, Wash
Sorry, Cowboy. Even Barney having to reach back doesn’t make up for West blowing that call.
Of course, then apparently Old-Joe-I-Can’t-See-Anymore gives us one back.
it seems like we have gotten a ton of Joe West this year…is he traveling with the REDS?
Him and Angel Hernandez …
Third time through the lineup … the Reds may put Arrieta and the Cubs out of business … right here.
Clearing Mahle last inning set this up.
Well, it appears Geno heard what Billy just did and had to answer.
I’ll take this as the 1-for-3 lead-off so far. Plus Jake at 70 and fading helps.
look out on Waveland Ave!
It’s Jesse Winker’s world. He just lets Arrieta live in it
And he’s living in his head rent free today. The thought to bunt down 3rd was genius.
Law of averages says that will happen.
Didn’t realize that was only his 4th GIDP this year. Line drive machine indeed.
Jake won’t make it to the 5th
Haha!
85 pitches and the error keeps him throwing
I kind of figured we’d see a muffed throw from 3B today. TySteve had just enough speed to make it work for us.
Will Jake make it through the 4th? I’m thinking David Ross has seen enough by now.
Asked and answered.
Nice to have a 5-0 lead and less innings of their BP to face.
Hey, lucky for Arrieta, it’s a home game. So he’ll be able to find something to do that he finds interesting after his Turkey of a game
Chicago is our favorite city. Haven’t been since Thanksgiving 2019. So many fun things to do and great places to eat there. Can’t wait until we can go back again.
Ever eat burgers at Au Cheval or pizza at The Peqod?
Our pizza joint is the Exchequer on Wabash under the el. Thanksgiving dinner at the Weber Grill.
Chicago is the capital of the American Midwest.
Such a much different feeling being up 5-0 instead of down 5-0 nearly halfway through the game. Let’s make it a habit.
That would be nice, wouldn’t it?
OK, perfect game and no-no off the table.
Now focus on “just pitching” and get through the inning. Fail that task and you don’t get the W in any case.
How are these not strikes???
Joe West baby.
Yeah … I know.
Big K there for Mahle. Now to wrap up the 5th and hit the showers.
And another Joe West gift after blown calls.
Did y’all catch that wave, wave back between Wink and Joc? Smiles all around.
No. No. No. Not Amir.
OK, Amir. Block out the noise and just pitch – like that AB.
Garrett may not be able to go 2 innings today … but this is a great spot to go as long as he can … and hopefully refine his stuff.
Sims might need work and could close things out, if AG stumbles.
I was thinking 1+ would be the target just to get some confidence back.
Joe-can’t-see-the-zone not helping.
That works. Avoid Joe-blows-calls and get the DP.
The oven mitt discussion is more than a little silly.
But they are definitely New School.
Froze him. 9 outs left.
Brandon Phillips is the best Reds seccond baseman defensively by a long shot since 1980. Pokey Reese was outstanding but didnt play long.
Jon India is very good. For a team that has struggled defensively the last 5 years or so- India @ 2b is part of that solution. That 5-4-3 double play turn was major league
I personally like him settling in there. Somebody posted that he didn’t play above AA yet? And I keep having to remind myself that nothing really counted last year for the minor leagues.
Báez with the hat trick
It’s a beautiful day
Always.
Did I mention I find him to be the same kind of punk as the Neck Tattoo? 🙂
Love the “Oh Joe!” from Cowboy.
A rate Shogo sighting …
rare … good grief!
Perez? Seriously? Bell simply can’t help himself!
Nope. He just can’t.
Relievers one inning at a time until we find the one that can’t is just classic.Surely and I mean surely he has no feel at all for the game or his players.Perez hasn’t had it at all that I can remember.Just cluless but great job by Tyler Mahle who twice now on this trip came up big time.Kid is getting better.
Why can’t we do more of that oppo-shift stuff?
Well it’s hard to believe but the guy that walk…….scored.
Is that a thing?
Well, accidents do happen! NOT!
Have we reached the point where everyone realizes that Bell has to go? Unlikely, but we all have dreams.
Corky Miller for Manager!
Obvious to everyone but the people who need to fire him! As a Notre Dame grad I liken Bell’s hiring to ND’s hiring of Jerry Faust back in the day!
I was living in South Bend at the time. At least Faust had a terrific record at Moeller. Bell had no such minor league record.
One of the local jokes back in the Faust(ian) years was …
“Good news! Faust sold his Knollwood house. Bad news – he bought another one.”
Past that point. And it is just a dream for us.
This bullpen is awful
Garrett and perez both had zero command and their walks and failures were erased with lucky hard hit double plays.
Sims and Antone are the only legitimate pitchers in the bullpen.
The Reds didnt address SS in the off-season and also weakened the bullpen.
Add to that injuries and the failures of Suarez Castillo and Garrett and it adds up to 5 under .500 @ Memorial Day
So do you try and sell off the few working parts that won’t cripple you for good? Castellanos, Barnhart, Geno, Shogo?
I think so but, I do agree with Sliotar who I think said recently to resign Tucker to 2 years for less money, I get the feeling he would do it to stay with the team and he surly knows his current deal will be an team opt-out
I think that was me- but if Sliotar said it too…i agree
Reds catching core is solid and if you can have A 2 time GG lefty catcher paired wuth a young RH hitting top 15 pick for under $8 million per year for both???
Absolutely
Story of this game and frankly the season is the growth of Tyler Mahle as the Ace of the staff. Beat Scherzer after a 1-6 home stand and beat Cubs to salvage the series.
First home grown Ace since Cueto
Very well could be. Imagine him, Lodolo, and Greene in the same rotation for a couple of years.
It’s taken awhile, but Tyler Mahle is getting there.
Much better afternoon. Time to go help cook a little dinner.
Catch y’all tomorrow.
3 and 3 road trip! Could have been worse! Beat two (2) former Cy Young winners as well. Still in this thing if we can just string some wins together! Let’s start against the Phillies!