The Cubs head into the final series before the All-Star break with a real chance to make this one matter. They’re in Cincinnati to face a Reds team that has been sliding, and with Milwaukee finishing the first half against Pittsburgh, Chicago has a shot to tighten the race for second place in the NL Central and chip away at the Brewers’ lead.
Chicago’s lineup comes in unchanged from its series finale in Baltimore, with one notable wrinkle: Michael Conforto slides into the DH spot, which opens right field for Seiya Suzuki. Suzuki left last night’s game early, but the Cubs said it was only cramps, and he’s available.
That matters because he’s been swinging a hot bat again, launching two home runs over his last two games and driving in five runs after a four-game stretch without a hit. If the Cubs are going to take advantage of a Reds pitching staff that has allowed the sixth-most homers in baseball, Suzuki feels like one of the obvious names to watch.
Ian Happ also gets a little bit of a homecoming angle here. He was born in Pittsburgh, but he played college ball at the University of Cincinnati, so this stop carries some extra familiarity for him. He had two hits in Baltimore, including one that kept the Cubs alive in the top of the ninth, and Chicago will be hoping that carries over.
The Cubs’ full order: Pete Crow-Armstrong in center, Alex Bregman at third, Michael Busch at first, Suzuki in right, Happ in left, Nico Hoerner at second, Conforto as the DH, Carson Kelly catching, and Dansby Swanson at short.
Cincinnati’s lineup brings its own challenges despite the overall numbers. The Reds have the second-lowest batting average in the majors and sit 24th in OPS, but they can still work walks and punish mistakes with power. That’s the kind of profile that can make life interesting for a pitcher like Shota Imanaga.
Imanaga already handled this club well once this year. In his last outing against the Reds, he went six innings, struck out 10, and allowed just one earned run on a home run.
He did issue three walks, but the strikeout total told the bigger story. After that, he hit a rough patch, though he’s steadied himself lately.
Over his last two starts, he’s given up two earned runs in each, and on July 4 against the Cardinals he punched out eight.
On the other side, Hunter Greene is still trying to get fully back into rhythm after offseason elbow surgery. He made his 2026 debut on July 4 and it was a rough one: 3.1 innings, eight earned runs, seven hits, four walks, and seven strikeouts.
The stuff is still loud. Greene works with a three-pitch mix, but his fastball averaged 99.5 mph last season, and in 2025 he posted a 31.4 percent strikeout rate while walking just 6.2 percent of batters faced.
The Cubs will be hoping this is still a work-in-progress outing for him rather than the version he eventually settles into.
Cincinnati’s lineup features Elly De La Cruz at short, Sal Stewart at first, Spencer Steer in center, JJ Bleday in left, Eugenio Suárez at DH, Tyler Stephenson behind the plate, Noelvi Marter in right, Edwin Arroyo at second, and Ke’Bryan Hayes at third.
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Houston, meanwhile, could offer a more intriguing path than the obvious headline names. The Astros have bullpen pieces that will draw attention, but Chicago may be better served by targeting a younger arm with room to grow and years of control remaining, the kind of move that could stabilize the back end without forcing the Cubs into a pure rental chase. In a market where the biggest names tend to get all the oxygen, that sort of quieter fit may end up being the more practical swing. [Read more 🡒]