Cubs Bring Playoff Urgency to Cincinnati in Saturday Showdown
With the Cubs sitting at 85-69 and every game carrying postseason weight, a trip to Great American Ball Park against a 72-82 Reds squad is exactly the kind of game Chicago cannot afford to sleepwalk through. No model read is available for tonight's contest, so this one comes down to reading the matchup the old-fashioned way.
Matthew Boyd is expected to take the mound for Chicago against a Cincinnati lineup that still has teeth despite the Reds' losing record. Nick Lodolo is set to start for Cincinnati, and the Cubs' offense will need to solve him early if they want to keep pace in what figures to be a tight late-September game. Opinion: Boyd's assignment here is straightforward on paper — a sub-.500 opponent at home — but Great American Ball Park has a way of humbling pitchers, and the Reds are not without weapons.
The story on the Chicago side is Pete Crow-Armstrong, who has put together a season that demands attention. His 44 home runs and 105 RBI lead the Cubs' key statistical categories, and his .280 average suggests he's doing damage with consistency, not just in bursts. Opinion: Those are the kinds of numbers that make opposing pitchers uncomfortable in the late innings, and Lodolo will need a plan for him from the first at-bat. For Cincinnati, the offensive load is shared. Elly De La Cruz leads the Reds in batting average at .287 — a legitimate threat to get on base and create chaos — while Sal Stewart anchors the power side with 32 home runs and a team-best 110 RBI. Opinion: Stewart's RBI total is quietly impressive for a team that hasn't won much, which tells you he's been producing in spots where it actually matters.
No validated model read exists for tonight's game, so there's no algorithmic lean to anchor your decision-making. Opinion: That's not necessarily a bad thing — it forces you to weigh the matchup on its merits, and the merits here favor a Cubs team with more to play for. But Cincinnati's lineup, led by De La Cruz and Stewart, is capable of making a playoff-chasing club pay for any lack of focus. First pitch is at 6:40 PM ET at Great American Ball Park, available on MLB.TV, Marquee Sports Net, and Reds.TV.