Apr 20, 2017
Series Preview- Cubs v. Reds
Comeback Cubs hit the road with renewed sense of optimism
After starting the season 6–3 and winning the first three series of the season, the Cubs hit a slight rough patch in the middle of their nine game home stand. A sweep at the hands of the Pirates, an opening game loss to the Brewers and an early deficit in game two meant the Cubs were staring a five game losing streak straight in the face.
What happened next? In short, the Cubs’ bats came alive and they found some of their 2016 magic. Not only did they come back to win 9–7 on Tuesday, but the defending champs took a 4–1 deficit and turned it into a 7–4 walk-off win on Wednesday thanks to Addison Russell’s heroics.
The Cubs were not going to start 25–6 like they did in 2016, so it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that this season is off to a “slow” start. Before Tuesday night, some fans were pushing the panic button even though we are still in April. Having an 8–7 record at this point is not where most people pegged the Cubs to be, but these two comeback wins, albeit against the Brewers, should provide a much needed spark heading into a nine game road trip.
After an off day on Thursday, the first three games of the upcoming road trip begin in Cincinnati on Friday against the first place Reds. Yes, you read that right — The first place Cincinnati Reds. This is the first time these teams will face each other in 2017, and the Reds enter Friday’s contest just one game ahead of Chicago.
Game 1- Jon Lester vs. Tim Adleman, Friday 6:10 PM CDT
The Cubs will lean on lefty, and staff ace, Jon Lester to try and extend the winning streak to three in a row. This will mark Lester’s fourth start of the season with his last appearance coming Sunday against the Pirates in a 6–1 loss. It was his best start of the season as he went seven innings, allowing three hits, 0 earned runs and 3 k’s before the bullpen imploded.
On the season, Lester has thrown 18 innings with a 1.00 ERA and 2.03 FIP. Slow starts have been the theme as of late for the Cubs, so having him post some zeroes in the early innings should go a long way towards getting this series off to a strong start.
On the flip side, the Reds will counter with second year pitcher Tim Adleman. This is Adleman’s first start of the season, and he’s only appeared in one other game so far in 2017. In that outing against Milwaukee, Adleman went four innings, allowing two hits and one run to go with five strikeouts.
The right hander is relatively unknown to the Cubs. They faced Adleman twice late in his 2016 rookie season, and both times the Cubs were able to generate some runs (combined 5 runs in 11.1 total innings).
Game 2- Jake Arrieta vs. Cody Reed, Saturday 12:10 PM CDT
Nearly one year to the day he threw his second no-hitter there, Jake Arrieta returns to Great American Ballpark. Arrieta’s no-hitter from a year ago stands as one of many highlights from 2016 for the Cubs. Just like Lester, this will be Jake’s fourth start of the season. He takes a 2.89 ERA and 3.71 FIP into Saturday’s contest. Known as a strikeout pitcher, that trend has continued early in 2017 with 21 strikeouts in Arrieta’s first 18.2 innings.
Cincinnati will send left hander Cody Reed to the bump for his first start of the season. Reed is another second year pitcher who has appeared in four games for Cincinnati this season. His stats show: 8 IP, 0 hits, 0 ER, 4 BB’s and 8 K’s. Obviously, this is a small sample size, but Reed showed strong outings in all four relief appearances. In 2016, the Cubs faced him twice and got him out of the game before the fifth inning on both occasions, leading to decisive victories.
Game 3- John Lackey vs. Bronson Arroyo, Sunday 12:10 CDT
The series finale features two savvy veterans who were old teammates and champions for the Boston Red Sox in the early 2000’s. John Lackey will take the mound for Chicago coming off a six inning, four run outing against Milwaukee on Monday. On the season Lackey has a 4.00 ERA and 4.69 FIP.
Bronson Arroyo is off to a rough start this season for Cincinnati. In three starts, he has posted an 8.40 ERA and 7.04 FIP. In his last appearance, Arroyo went five innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits.
On paper, the Cubs have advantages in all three pitching match-ups this weekend. Let’s see if that translates onto the field.
Nick Konotopskyj is a recent graduate of St. Bonaventure University in Western New York. As a fan of the Cubs, Bills, Sabres and Knicks winning seasons have been hard to come by let alone title contending teams. Finally, the Cubs were able to lift the curse last fall. You can follow him on Twitter here.
