The Chicago Cubs head back home for their first game at Wrigley Field tonight. They’ve won five of their first six games thus far this season, and will be striving to improve that record further in front of their fans. But can the Cubs do so at the expense of the Cincinnati Reds, who are off to a 5-1 start as well?
Read on below for a better look at this NL Central matchup. And for more baseball, check out our preview of the Braves vs. Nats or Orioles vs. Red Sox.
Line: Cincinnati Reds (+200) at Chicago Cubs (-240) – view all MLB lines
TV Broadcast: WGN, FSOH
Betting on the Cincinnati Reds (5-1)
Cincinnati’s 5-1 start is really surprising. This club lost 98 games and missed the playoffs for the third-consecutive time last year. But right now, the Reds seem to have taken a huge step forward and are looking like a team’s that’s bound to finish deep this season.
As for tonight, the Reds will try to notch win No. 6 and their third-straight victory when they send Brandon Finnegan on the mound for the first meeting of a three-game set against a familiar foe in the form of the Cubs.
Finnegan, who was one of the players who came from Kansas City in the Johnny Cueto trade in 2015, provided a solid pitching performance during his season debut last Wednesday versus the Phillies. In that game, the 22-year-old lefty logged in six innings of two-run ball and knocked out a total of nine batters.
However, if Finnegan for some reason struggles in his first career appearance opposite Chicago, the pressure falls on Cincinnati’s offense, which has piled up a total of 29 runs already this season, to provide him some much-needed support at the plate.
That said, look to the pair of hard-hitters in Eugenio Suarez and Jay Bruce to take the reins in doing so. The two are batting .435 and .391, respectively, and have combined for a total of six homers and 18 RBIs.
Cincinnati has lost six of its last four games at Wrigley Field.
Tonight marks the 101st home opener for Chicago at Wrigley Field, and the Cubs will be putting their trust on their own lefty in Jon Lester to take the hill in this series opener against the Reds.
Lester, who went 11-12 with a 3.24 ERA and 1.12 WHIP across 32 starts last year, will be aiming to put on another an excellent performance on the mound. He yielded just four hits and one run while striking out four batters through seven frames during his season debut against the Angels last week.
Furthermore, his experience against Cincinnati should give Cubs fans another reason to be a little optimistic. Lester is 1-0 with a 3.67 ERA, a 0.89 WHIP and .230 opponents’ batting average in over four career starts in this matchup.
On offense, meanwhile, the trio of Dexter Fowler, Anthony Rizzo and Miguel Montero enter this game with hot bats.
Fowler was not included in the Cubs’ lineup during Sunday’s match against Arizona due to a sore hip, but he should be ready to get back on the field later on tonight. Fowler leads the team in batting average (.526), OBP (.640) and hits (10) thus far this season. Rizzo and Montero, on the other hand, have combined for three home runs and 15 RBIs despite batting just .273 and .278, respectively.
Chicago is 5-5 SU in Lester’s 10 previous home starts.
