Normally teams love having home-field advantage, but for the Chicago Cubs, Wrigley Field has failed to yield positive results. Over the past two seasons the Cubs have struggled playing at home. That has been especially true against the Cincinnati Reds who have won their last 15 of 16 games at Wrigley Field. Top hitters Joey Votto, Todd Frazier, Brandon Phillips, Jay Bruce and Zack Cozart have combined for just 10 home runs in the last 20 games against the Reds at Wrigley Field and the team hopes that trend continues.
Chicago lost both games of a double-header against the New York Yankees and are in need of putting together some wins while being stuck in an 18-innings scoreless drought. Chicago has now dropped four-straight games. Jeff Samardzija takes the mound to try and break the losing streak. He is 0-1 on the season with a 1.29 ERA, but has a 4.68 ERA against the Reds. If Samardzija can get some run support, the Reds stand a chance, but he has received just three runs in his past three starts.
The Cubs' bats have been the reason for their downfall. Anthony Rizzo is a .193 career hitter against the Reds while Starlin Castro is just .177 with 16 strikeouts and 14 hits against the team last season. Cincinnati is sending Alfredo Simon to the mound and the Cubs only have six at-bats against the pitcher. He is coming off a start where he gave up just one run in eight innings to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Cincinnati is also not getting the bats moving behind Simon. He has received just two runs, but the Reds offense is starting to move. They have 30 runs and 10 home runs while winning the past three of four games. Cincinnati is fresh off a sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates and look to keep momentum moving into Wrigley Field.
