How will rain factor into this one? Postponement? Delay? Poor fielding conditions? Late-inning pinch hit for the Reds?
(It isn’t expected to rain tonight in Cincinnati, by the way.)
Edwin Jackson is coming off of his best start on the year, and will look to keep things going against the Reds. His FIP on the year is actually pretty good, though he’s been hit awfully hard at times, which isn’t always reflected.
On the other side is lefty Tony Cingrani, who faces a mostly righty lineup of Cubs, which is the right way to do it – righties get a nearly 150 point bump over lefties in Cingrani’s splits. That means another start from Darwin Barney, who has started two in a row almost immediately after questions surfaced about whether he was firmly ensconced in a pure bench/late-inning role.
How badly could Junior Lake and Mike Olt each use a huge game? Three homers apiece? Is that asking too much?
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (8-17) at Cincinnati Reds (12-14), 6:10 CT on CSN.
Game Thread and Series Preview
The Game Thread lives here. And, of course, for those who aren’t into message board-style game threads, please feel free to use the comments on this post for your in-game commentary/outbursts.
The Series Preview lives here.
Starting Pitchers
Edwin Jackson (5.02 ERA, 3.29 FIP, 4.37 xFIP; 1.53 K/BB)
versus
Tony Cingrani (2.86 ERA, 3.51 FIP, 4.00 xFIP; 1.89 K/BB)
Cincinnati Reds Lineup
1. Billy Hamilton, CF
2. Joey Votto, 1B
3. Brandon Phillips, 2B
4. Jay Bruce, RF
5. Todd Frazier, 3B
6. Ryan Ludwick, LF
7. Brayan Pena, C
8. Zack Cosart, SS
9. Tony Cingrani, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup
1. Emilio Bonifacio, CF
2. Junior Lake, LF
3. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
4. Starlin Castro, SS
5. Mike Olt, 3B
6. Nate Schierholtz, RF
7. Welington Castillo, C
8. Darwin Barney, 2B
9. Edwin Jackson, P