Cubs Host Reds at Wrigley With Playoff Position on the Line
The Chicago Cubs (76-59) welcome the Cincinnati Reds (64-71) to Wrigley Field for a 2:20 PM ET first pitch, and the gap in these records tells you most of what you need to know about the stakes. Chicago is playing meaningful late-August baseball; Cincinnati is playing out the string.
The pitching matchup is legitimately interesting. Andrew Abbott is expected to take the mound for Cincinnati, while Kevin Gausman is set to start for Chicago — and on paper, that's a compelling duel worth tuning in for on MLB.TV, Marquee Sports Net, or Reds.TV. Whether the Reds' offense can give Abbott any kind of cushion is the real question hanging over this game.
On the Cincinnati side, Sal Stewart is the name to watch. He's carrying 29 home runs and 102 RBI on the season — that's a legitimate power-and-production profile that can change a game in a single swing regardless of what the standings say. Elly De La Cruz, hitting .268, gives the Reds a dynamic presence at the top of the order who can create problems in ways that don't always show up in a box score. The Reds aren't a pushover offensively; they're just a team that hasn't put it together consistently enough to matter in the standings.
For Chicago, Pete Crow-Armstrong is flat-out having a season. Thirty-three home runs, 83 RBI, and a .277 average — that's an across-the-board breakout from a player who is now clearly one of the most dangerous hitters in this lineup. At Wrigley Field, with the Cubs needing every win they can get to protect a 76-59 record, Crow-Armstrong is the kind of player who elevates when the moment demands it. Our model doesn't have a validated read on this specific game, so we're not going to manufacture a lean where one doesn't exist — but the Cubs' record advantage, home environment, and the Crow-Armstrong factor make Chicago the intuitive side here. Watch the first few innings closely; how Abbott handles the Cubs' middle of the order will likely set the tone for everything that follows.