Coming off a terrible series against the Cardinals, the Cubs have probably never been happier to arrive in the Queen City to open a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds.
Monday's opener will be interesting to see how the Cubs rebound from two stunning losses to the Cardinals. In the last two games Albert Pujols hit game-winning homers in extra innings. Even more troubling for the Cubs was pitcher Carlos Zambrano referring to the team as a Triple-A team. Although just one game, Monday's opener will show if the Cubs can rally around each other and start moving in the right direction or if they are in for a free fall.
Starting game one for the Cubs (23-34) will be Matt Garza. Garza (2-4,3.72 ) is returning from the disabled list to make his first start since May 17th. This will be his third start against the Reds this season. In the previous two starts Garza was 0-1 and allowed eight runs (five earned). The Cubs lost both of those games.
Mike Leake will pitch game one for Cincinnati (30-30). Leake is 4-2 on the season with an ERA of 5.03. The Reds hope to continue their dominance of the Cubs in which they've won 14 of the last 17 meetings.
The weather in Cincinnati at the time of first pitch is temps in the upper 80's with partly cloudy skies. First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 Central. The game can be seen on WCIU.