After a rain-shortened 3-5 home stand left the Cubs at 17-21, they're hitting the road.
First stop is The Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, where the Cubs will take on the first place Reds (23-17) in a brief two-game series, the second of six scheduled series between the two teams. The first series took place at Wrigley Field May 6-8, when the Reds won two of three in a very competitive series.
The Reds are coming off a three-game sweep of the St Louis Cardinals, which gave them a 1.5-game lead in the NL Central. The Cubs, who split a rain-shortened series with the San Francisco Giants this weekend, are currently five games behind the Reds.
The pitching matchup for Monday’s game will be Carlos Zambrano for the Cubs, 4-1 in 8 starts with a 4.35 ERA, and Homer Bailey for the Reds, 2-0 in two starts this season with a 0.69 ERA.
Monday’s first pitch is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. Central on WCIU in Chicago. The forecast in Cincinnati at the time of first pitch is 54 degrees and cloudy.