Cubs Look to Keep Up Winning Ways Against Reds – Series Preview: April 21-24, 2016
The Chicago Cubs played the Reds last week in their Wrigley Field series opener and things went pretty well. They swept the Reds, starting with a dramatic, come-from-behind game winning home run off the bat of Addison Russell in game one. After that game, the Cubs went on to cruise to victories in the final two match-ups and ended up outscoring the Reds 22-6 in the series.
The Cubs will look to get back to putting some runs on the board in this series, after being held to .194 batting average in the series against the Cardinals. Of course, they won two out of three in that series on the back of their stellar pitching, which is quite impressive but not likely sustainable over a long season.
Game Times & Broadcast Info
- Thursday, April 21 at 6:10 PM CDT on CSN+
- Friday, April 22 at 6:10 PM CDT on WGN
- Saturday, April 23 at 6:10 PM CDT on CSN
- Sunday, April 24 at 12:10 PM CDT on WGN
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Team | Pitcher | Age | Throws | ERA | W/L | K/BB |
| 4/21/2016 | Cubs | Jake Arrieta | 30 | R | 1.23 | 3-0 | 10.00 |
| Reds | Brandon Finnegan | 23 | L | 2.97 | 1-0 | 1.60 | |
| 4/22/2016 | Cubs | Jon Lester | 32 | L | 2.21 | 1-1 | 4.75 |
| Reds | Jon Moscot | 24 | R | 4.76 | 0-0 | 2.00 | |
| 4/23/2016 | Cubs | John Lackey | 37 | R | 3.66 | 3-0 | 4.40 |
| Reds | Dan Straily | 27 | R | 2.70 | 0-0 | 2.00 | |
| 4/24/2016 | Cubs | Jason Hammel | 33 | R | 1.00 | 2-0 | 6.50 |
| Reds | Alfredo Simon | 34 | R | 12.15 | 0-1 | 1.80 |
What to watch for
- The Cubs look to build on a great beginning to the 2016 season, particularly by their pitching staff. Cubs starting pitchers have been outstanding this year, posting a 2.29 ERA and 2.67 FIP. Jake Arrieta takes the ball in game one and it will be the second straight time Jake’s pitched after a tough Cubs loss.
- The Reds came to Wrigley Field last week with a 5-1 record but left with a record of 5-4. They’ve since gone 3-3, losing two against the Cardinals and one against the streaking Rockies.
- Keep an eye on Kris Bryant, Addison Russell and Jason Heyward. Between all three of them, they managed only five hits in thirty-one at-bats against the Cardinals and none of them have been hitting particularly well so far this season. They’re obviously going to pick it up and we’re hoping this is the series they do it.