The Reds have lost nine of their last 13 — all of those games against the Brewers and Dodgers, pretty tough competition.
Then again, the Cubs are a pretty good team as well, and the Cubs have won seven of the first 10 games between these two teams this year.
For more on the Reds, here’s Wick Terrell, manager of our SB Nation Reds site Red Reporter.
Once again the Cincinnati Reds get to limp home at the end of a disappointing season, both literally and figuratively. Winners of just 2 of their last 10
games, the meat of their schedule has hit them at the precise time they were most ill-equipped to deal with it, and both the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers have slammed shut even the tiniest windows of ‘success’ this club could have held open down the stretch.
The Reds have been eliminated from postseason contention, officially. They’ve secured a ‘losing’ season with their 82nd loss. Brady Singer, who Chicago will unfortunately (for them) miss this series, has pitched so poorly he has mercifully made it impossible, surely, for the Reds to consider giving him a Qualifying Offer at season’s end. All that remains to be seen now for Cincinnati is if the Cubs can help them build on their -154 run differential on the season and make a run at the league-leading Colorado Rockies mark of -177.
At least Elly De La Cruz has gone nuclear of late. He’s staking his claim for NL Player of the Month and – in a non-PCA world – as the best player on the senior circuit altogether. Hopefully that shows up again for one last series in Great American Ball Park for the 2026 year with the Cubs in town.
Fun facts
The Cubs and Reds have played 2,439 games against one another since 1890, when the Reds jumped to the National League from the American Association, where it had been a founding member in 1882.
Over 137 seasons, the difference in wins and losses between the Cubs and Reds is . . . 23, with the Cubs leading, 1,220-1,197. There have been 32 ties.
The Cubs won two of three games in their previous trip to Cincinnati this season, on July 10-12, bouncing back from a 4-0 loss to win, 5-3 and 8-4.
They dropped four straight games in their second, late-season appearance at Great American Ball Park last year.
The Cubs last swept a series there June 27-29, 2016. This is their 26th visit to Cincinnati since then. Five times, they won the first two games and lost the third, most recently Aug. 11 and 13-14, 2022.
(Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
Probable pitching matchups
Friday: Clay Holmes, RHP (2-3, 3.46 ERA, 1.205 WHIP, 4.07 FIP in seven starts with Cubs; 6-7, 2.85 ERA, 1.145 WHIP, 3.58 FIP in 16 starts overall) vs. Chase Burns, RHP (15-3, 2.80 ERA, 1.150 WHIP, 3.17 FIP)
Saturday: Matthew Boyd, LHP (8-5, 4.16 ERA, 1.238 WHIP, 4.34 FIP) vs. Nick Lodolo, LHP (3-5, 5.12 ERA, 1.490 WHIP, 5.76 FIP)
Sunday: David Peterson, LHP (5-2, 4.15 ERA, 1.457 WHIP, 4.27 FIP in 14 games with Cubs; 8-8, 5.11 ERA, 1.551 WHIP, 4.06 FIP in 30 games overall) vs. Rhett Lowder, RHP (6-11, 5.79 ERA, 1.520 WHIP, 4.78 FIP)
Times & TV channels
Friday: 5:40 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network, MLB Network (outside the Cubs and Reds market territories)
Saturday: 5:40 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network
Sunday: 12:40 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network, also streaming on Peacock (outside the Cubs and Reds market territories)
Prediction
Given these pitching matchups, the Cubs ought to score a lot of runs in this series. They’ll take two of three.
Up next
The Cubs return to Wrigley Field for the final regular season home series of 2026. They’ll face the Miami Marlins in a three-game series beginning Tuesday evening, after an off day Monday.
