The bad news: the Cincinnati Reds lost the series opener to the Chicago Cubs last night.
The good news: Kyle Hendricks is neither hitting nor pitching for the Cubs tonight.
The standings in the NL Central now show the Reds trailing the 1st place Cubs by 8.5 games to date, and while it’s true that there are well over a hundred games left in the 2019 season, continually dropping in the standings is becoming increasingly insurmountable for these Reds - especially given how many players they could be tempted to move at the July 31st trade deadline. So, it would certainly behoove the Reds to start putting some wins on the board, especially if they can come at the expense of the teams ahead of them in the division standings.
Cincinnati will turn to Sonny Gray for tonight’s start, with hopes that he’ll pitch better than in his homecoming outing in Oakland last week. Meanwhile, the Cubs will turn to the enigmatic Yu Darvish, who has struggled again in the early going this year despite possessing obvious great talent in his dynamic right arm.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 PM ET. Go the freakin’ go, Reds.
Reds Lineup
Sonny and 75. #BornToBaseball pic.twitter.com/BpEshirg42
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) May 15, 2019
Cubs Lineup
Here is tonight's #Cubs starting lineup.
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 15, 2019
Game preview: https://t.co/7nPNntrDt4 pic.twitter.com/R4VehvKKjY