Chicago Cubs vs Cincinnati Reds – Series Preview (August 28-30): Overview, Game and Broadcast Info, Starting Pitchers, W2W4
The Cubs (76-58) had a disappointing road trip to the West Coast, where they lost series to both the Mariners and Diamondbacks. The 2-4 stretch featured three painful walk-off defeats, two of which came on home runs against closer Jacob Webb. Craig Counsell‘s squad hopes a return home to Wrigley will get things going again when they begin a three-game set with the Reds Friday afternoon.
The Reds (63-71) are still in last place in the National League Central, but they aren’t terrible. However, they are far enough out of the race that they aren’t a factor in the playoffs and are mainly playing out the string in 2026.
Cincy has been surprisingly ineffective offensively despite playing at Great American Ball Park, with a .698 team OPS that is 26th best in baseball. They do have an impressive 173 home runs, just four fewer than the Cubs. First baseman Sal Stewart continues his monster year with 28 home runs and 100 RBI. Elly De La Cruz and JJ Bleday are also significant power threats in the middle of the lineup.
Cincinnati’s pitching has been similarly disappointing, with a 4.55 team ERA that is just 24th in MLB. The rotation has been mostly bad, other than the very notable exception of Chase Burns and his 2.77 ERA, 164 strikeouts, and 14 wins.
The bullpen has nearly identical numbers to the starting staff, but they have a couple talented arms. Emilio Pagán is back as the closer after suffering a nasty-looking leg injury against the Cubs earlier this year. Brock Burke and Julian Garcia have been two of the more effective high-leverage relievers for manager Terry Francona.
Chicago has seven games with the Brewers in the 10 days after this series. If they want to have even an outside chance at the division, they have to take care of business against the Reds this weekend. Even putting that aside, they need a series win to get the bad taste out of their mouth from the frustrating road trip.
Game Time and Broadcast Info
- Friday, August 28 at 1:20pm CT on Marquee.
- Saturday, August 29 at 1:20pm CT on Marquee.
- Sunday, August 30 at 6:20pm CT on NBC.
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | ERA | W/L | FIP | K/BB |
| 8/28 | David Peterson | 30 | L | 5.17 | 7-7 | 4.01 | 2.10 |
| Rhett Lowder | 24 | R | 5.13 | 5-8 | 4.67 | 1.93 | |
| 8/29 | Kevin Gausman | 35 | R | 4.37 | 7-11 | 3.50 | 3.63 |
| Andrew Abbott | 27 | L | 4.16 | 6-9 | 4.53 | 1.68 | |
| 8/30 | Shōta Imanaga | 32 | L | 3.78 | 8-9 | 4.61 | 4.24 |
| Chase Burns | 23 | R | 2.77 | 14-3 | 3.11 | 3.34 |
What to Watch For
- It was a tough series for Pete Crow-Armstrong in Arizona with just one hit in 12 at-bats.
- Gausman went seven scoreless innings against the Diamondbacks but did not get the win.
- Alex Bregman had just one hit in the desert after tearing it up in Seattle.
- Ian Happ stayed hot with a double and a home run against Arizona.
