Cincinnati Reds vs. Chicago Cubs – September 28, 2024

The Cincinnati Reds (76-84) will look to find some offense when they take on the Chicago Cubs (82-78) in the penultimate game of the 2024 season. Rhett Lowder gets another start to round out his taste in the big leagues, while Kyle Hendricks gets the start for the Cubs.

First pitch takes place at 2:20 p.m. EDT.

Lineups

Start pitcher

Rhett Lowder

This will be Lowder's sixth MLB start and it was a big learning experience for the 22-year-old right-hander that he will use in the offseason to prepare for spring training and compete for a starting spot on Opening Day 2025. Of course, his splits will be one may be a very small sample, but it's encouraging to see that his strikeout rate for hitters on both sides of the plate is around 20 percent. Walking ten left-handed batters in 50 plate appearances isn't a good look, but Lowder is definitely learning to adapt. He walked 12 batters in his first three starts and walked just three batters combined in his other three starts.

Split

Use of parking space

Kyle Hendricks

It hasn't been the best season for 34-year-old right-hander Kyle Hendricks. He struggled with a lower back injury for most of the season, resulting in the worst ERA of his career with just 123.1 innings pitched. Because of the injury, Hendricks alternated between the starting lineup and the bullpen for the Cubs this season.

Lefties in particular have hit Hendricks hard this year. The left-handed hitter is hitting over .300 with 13 home runs against him in 280 plate appearances. This is much higher than his career split against lefties, where he has a slash line of .251/.309/.417. The Reds have beaten Hendricks quite well in his career, with an OPS of .752 against him. In the two games Hendricks appeared in against the Reds this season, he hit a good pitch against them out of the bullpen. In 4.1 innings, he allowed no runs on four hits with three strikeouts and two walks. The player to watch today might be Jake Fraley, as he has a 1.166 OPS against Hendricks in six at-bats.

Split

Use of parking space

Game details:

• Time: 2:20 p.m. EDT
• Location: Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL
• TV: Bally Sports Ohio
• Radio: 700 WLW
• Weather: 66 degrees, cloudy, 40% chance of rain

News and notes

Breaking records

–Nick Martinez (unofficially) broke a Reds franchise record yesterday.

– Yesterday's Reds-Cubs game was the fastest MLB game since 2010, according to MLB's Sarah Langs.

The Cubs-Reds took an hour and 48 minutes. This is the fastest 9-inning game since Armando Galarraga's near-perfect game on June 2, 2010 (1 hour and 44 minutes).

It is the Cubs' fastest 9-inning game since May 24, 2001, also at Wrigley, also against the Reds, also an hour and 48 minutes

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) September 27, 2024

On this day

One of the most exciting moments in Reds history (including in my lifetime) occurred on this day 14 years ago. The Reds' magic number was one and they began a home series against the Houston Astros. The game had everything: pitching, defense and a tie going into the ninth. I'll let YouTube help you relive the ending.

Division standings