Chicago Cubs vs. Cincinnati Reds Preview, Wednesday 4/13, 7:05 CT

The Cubs are 6-1 in this young season.

That's a pretty rare event in Cubs history.

Since 1900, here are all the seasons where the Cubs have begun the year with six or more wins and only one loss:

1902	6-1
1907	7-1
1908	7-1
1923	7-1
1934	9-1
1969	11-1
1975	7-1
1985	7-1
1998	6-1

That's a strange mix of seasons. There are two World Series winners in there, another playoff season, but two years in which the Cubs wound up with a losing record.

The latter isn't likely to happen this year. It's not impossible that the Cubs could match the 1969 start and go 11-1. Let's hope they don't match the ending of the 1969 season, though.

Here are today's particulars.

Cubs lineup:

Fowler CF, Heyward RF, Zobrist 2B, Rizzo 1B, Bryant 3B, Montero C, Soler LF, Russell SS, Lackey P

Back in action. https://t.co/EcOTvPQIXM #LetsGo pic.twitter.com/lTGdcPP5Km

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 13, 2016

Reds lineup:

Hamilton CF ,Suarez 3B, Votto 1B, Phillips 2B, Bruce RF, Schebler LF, De Jesus SS, Barnhart C, Simon P

John Lackey struggled early in his first Cubs start, then settled down and made it through six innings. Every Cubs starter this year so far has gone at least six, which has helped keep the bullpen rested. Last year against the Reds, Lackey posted a 2.91 ERA and 1.029 WHIP in five starts. Current Reds are hitting .244 (30-for-123) against Lackey.

After a one-year detour to Detroit, Alfredo Simon is back in Cincinnati. He had a decent first start this year against the Pirates, and the Cubs saw him late in spring training, right after he signed, though only for a two-inning outing. Anthony Rizzo has hit him well in the past (5-for-15, one home run, two walks).

Today's game is on CSN Chicago Plus (check your cable/satellite listings for the channel).

Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Reds site Red Reporter. If you do go there to interact with Reds fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2016 Game Thread procedure will be the same as the one used at the end of 2015. Here's how it works.

You'll find the game preview posted separately on the front page, two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream™ containing the preview will also post on the front page. The First Pitch Thread and all the overflow threads will be published in that stream, as well as the recap. The recap will also live on the front page as a separate post, and at the time I write the recap I will rename the stream "Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of Week) Game Threads" so you can go back and find every thread related to that particular game.

You will also be able to find the preview, First Pitch Thread, all the overflow threads and recap in the box marked "Chicago Cubs Game Threads" at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in this section link). They will also appear in the game's StoryStream™ as noted above.

The First Pitch thread will post at five minutes before game time, then an overflow thread at one hour, two hours and 2:45 after the scheduled game time.

Discuss amongst yourselves.