Chicago Cubs vs. Cincinnati Reds Preview, Sunday 4/24, 12:10 CT

The Cubs lost Saturday night, but are still 13-5. They've won all but one series so far this year (lost two of three to the Rockies), and can win this series with a victory today.

Despite the loss Saturday, the 13-5 start is still one of the best in Cubs history. Since 1900, Cubs teams have been 13-5 or better in the following years: 1907 (15-3), 1908, 1918, 1932, 1970 and 1975 (13-5).

Four pennant winners, two World Series winners, one team that should have probably made the playoffs (1970) and another one that finished with a losing record despite a good offense. The 1975 team set the club record for walks, 650, a record that will likely fall this year.

Here are today's particulars.

Cubs lineup:

La Stella 2B, Heyward CF, Bryant 3B, Rizzo 1B, Soler RF, Montero C, Szczur LF, Russell SS, Hammel P

.@HammelTime39 gets the ball as we go for the series win.

Game preview: https://t.co/qzFtxmFa3g #LetsGo pic.twitter.com/y216OaraBk

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 24, 2016

Well, that's different.

Reds lineup:

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

Jason Hammel threw six shutout innings against the Reds 10 days ago at Wrigley Field, allowing just four hits (though also four walks). I'll take another one of those, please.

The Cubs knocked Alfredo Simon out of the game in the first inning April 13 at Wrigley Field. He faced nine batters; seven of them reached base and another hit a sacrifice fly. That knocked him out of the Reds rotation; he has made one relief appearance since then, but hasn't pitched in nine days. That ought to make Cubs hitters excited to see him.

Today's game is on WGN.

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.