Chicago Cubs vs. Cincinnati Reds preview, Tuesday 8/17, 6:10 CT

Today’s roster move: Here

Tuesday notes. I am going to continue these (updating, of course) until the Cubs win.

LOSING STREAKS: Three Cubs teams have posted 13-game losing streaks;

1944: The Cubs won on Opening Day and then lost 13 straight. They actually played better after that; for the rest of that season they went 74-66, the third-best record in the NL and had the best record in the NL from August 29 to season’s end, 24-15, perhaps a precursor to the 1945 pennant year.

1982: In Tribune Co.’s first year of ownership, the team was hanging near .500 in late May at 21-26 when they lost 13 straight, though from August 1 through season’s end they had the second-best record in the NL at 33-24.

1985: The Cubs were 35-19 and in first place on June 11 when the 13-game losing streak began, and including that streak they went 42-65 from that date to season’s end, but that team at least had an excuse — all five starting pitchers hit what was then called the disabled list and guys like Johnny Abrego, Jay Baller, Derek Botehlo, Steve Engel and Reggie Patterson were starting games.

THE LOSSES OF AUGUST: The Cubs are 1-14 this month and have been outscored 122-57. Apart from the game they won (3-2 over the Rockies August 4), they have had only seven other leads in the other 14 games:

1-0 for 2½ innings August 1 in Washington
1-0 for half an inning August 3 in Colorado
1-0 for half an inning August 10 (first game) vs. Brewers
1-0 for half an inning August 10 (second game) vs. Brewers
4-1 for half an inning August 13 in Miami, the only lead of more than one run
1-0 for 2½ innings August 14 in Miami
5-4 for half an inning later in the August 14 game

Here are today’s particulars.

Cubs lineup:

Reds lineup:

Kyle Hendricks, RHP vs. Vladimir Gutierrez, RHP

USA TODAY Sports

USA TODAY NETWORK

Kyle Hendricks usually gets torched at GABP but not this year. In his only start in Cincinnati in 2021, July 4, he threw six strong innings, allowing five hits and one run, with no walks and five strikeouts.

So yes, I’m saying there’s a chance.

Statcast

Vladimir Gutierrez has made two starts against the Cubs this year, including his MLB debut at Wrigley Field May 28, where he threw pretty well but the Cubs won 1-0.

He’s struggled some since then but is having a good August: three starts, 1.42 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 16 strikeouts in 19 innings.

Clearly, we are doomed.

Statcast

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network. Here’s a list of providers currently carrying Marquee.

Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com 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 2021 Game Thread procedure will be a bit different than previous years. It will be similar to what we’ve used for Spring Training.

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, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game, including the First Pitch Thread and the overflow thread, as well as the recap when it’s published. The recap will also live on the front page as a separate post.

You will also be able to find the preview, First Pitch Thread and the overflow thread in the box marked “Chicago Cubs Game Threads” at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in this section link). The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

The First Pitch thread will post at five minutes before game time, then an overflow thread at 90 minutes after the scheduled game time.

Discuss amongst yourselves.