Chicago Cubs vs. Cincinnati Reds preview, Friday 5/26, 1:20 CT

Friday notes...

• SOME RUN SCORING FACTS: In their first 37 games, while going 18-19, the Cubs lost only twice by more than four runs: once by five and once by six. In their last 12 games, while going 4-8, they have lost by nine runs twice, by 10 once and by 13 once. The Cubs outscored their opponents by 48 runs in their first 37 games, 183-135. Since then, they have been outscored by 29, 49-78. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• MORE ON RUN SCORING: The Cubs have scored in each of their first 49 games in 2023 and in 58 straight games dating to September 25, 2022. The franchise record is 127, set in 1958-59.
• HE’S HOT: Seiya Suzuki, last 13 games since May 10: .370/.464/.804 (17-for-46), five doubles, five home runs, nine walks. For the season Suzuki is now batting .293/.383/.504 with eight doubles, a triple and six home runs in 37 games.
• HE’S NOT: Since his last home run May 10 against the Cardinals, Patrick Wisdom is batting .121/.194/.182 (4-for-33) with 19 strikeouts. (Yikes.)

Here are today’s particulars.

Cubs lineup:

Reds lineup:

Justin Steele, LHP vs. Hunter Greene, RHP

Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Justin Steele has been one of MLB’s best pitchers all season. He’s allowed more than three runs in just one of his 10 starts and has been particularly excellent at Wrigley Field: 1.48 ERA, 1.088 WHIP, no HR allowed in five starts and 30⅓ innings at home.

He hasn’t faced the Reds this year. Don’t go look at what he did against them last year. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Hopefully today will be better.

Hunter Greene throws HARD. Like 100 miles per hour hard much of the time.

It hasn’t helped him much. While he strikes out a ton of batters — 69 in 50 innings — he also gives up a lot of home runs, eight of them already.

He has not faced the Cubs this year. The last time he faced the Cubs, October 3, 2022 in Cincinnati he threw six shutout innings, but the Cubs hit him hard in two other starts he made against them in 2022. Ian Happ and Nico Hoerner have homered off him.

Statcast

Statcast

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network. Here’s a list of providers currently carrying Marquee. It’s also on MLB Network (outside the Cubs and Reds market territories).

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 2023 Game Thread procedure will be like last year’s, 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.