The 2024 Cubs season comes to an end this weekend.
Of note, not related to this series: The Cubs are tied with the Cardinals for second place in the NL Central entering the season’s final weekend. Both teams are 81-78. While the Cubs host the Reds, the Cardinals are at San Francisco. Hopefully the Cubs will play at least one game better than St. Louis over the weekend and finish in second place alone.
Now, for more on the Reds, here’s Wick Terrell, manager of our SB Nation Reds site Red Reporter.
Another year, another late September where the Cincinnati Reds are stumbling their way through meaningless games with a patchwork roster. This time, though, they’re doing so devoid of the services of manager David Bell, who was finally relieved of his duties earlier in the week in this, his sixth season at the helm of the club.
These Reds are, in so many ways, a reflection of Bell. They aren’t a bad team, per se, and they probably should have a better record than they do. They certainly aren’t a good team, though, and never truly would have been unless a dream scenario of every single hurt player having stayed healthy all season. They aren’t better than they were a year ago, and the players brought in from outside the organization in recent years have seemingly regressed the longer they’ve been with the club.
That was enough for Nick Krall, whose seat should be just as hot as Bell’s, to make the call. So, the 76-83 Reds limp into another offseason of uncertainty – one that will precede the 2025 season, or exactly 30 years since this franchise last won so much as a single playoff series.
Elly De La Cruz is good, still. Tyler Stephenson is having his best offensive year ever. Heck, Hunter Greene is going to receive some down-ballot Cy Young Award votes and will hopefully get a start in this here series. That said, this is the same incomplete Reds club it was always going to be, and Bell lost his job because he couldn’t find a way to work a miracle.
Next man up!
Fun fact
The Cubs have played 15 series since the start of August, against 13 different teams. None have been against the Reds. The division opponents last played July 29-31, at Cincinnati, where the Reds took two of three games. The Reds also won two of three when the teams last met at Wrigley Field, way back on May 31-June 2. Since the finale of that series, the Cubs have played 99 games.
(Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
Probable pitching matchups
Friday: Jameson Taillon, RHP (11-8, 3.41 ERA, 1.143 WHIP, 3.94 FIP) vs. TBD
Saturday: Kyle Hendricks, RHP (4-12, 6.28 ERA, 1.508 WHIP, 5.07 FIP) vs. TBD
Sunday: TBD vs. TBD
This series preview is posting at about four hours to game time for the first game, but the Reds have not posted any of the starting pitchers, so here we go with the TBD’s again. Wick Terrell tells me that Hunter Greene and Rhett Lowder are in line to start two of the games in this series, but which order is unknown. The third game will likely be a bullpen game for the Reds.
For the Cubs, Shōta Imanaga’s turn would come up Sunday. I hope he’ll make the start.
Times & TV channels
Friday: 1:20 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network, MLB Network (outside the Cubs and Reds market territories)
Saturday: 1:20 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network
Sunday: 2:20 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network
Prediction
The Reds got off to a hot start this month but have lost eight of their last 13. The Cubs played pretty well against the Nats in the last homestand.
One last “two of three” from me for this series. That would match the Cubs’ 2023 record at 83-79. A sweep would better it by one win.
Up next
The 2025 season! The Cubs will next take the field Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025 at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona against the Dodgers. The Dodgers will also be the Cubs’ opponent Tuesday, March 18, 2025 when they open the season in Tokyo, Japan.