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Cubs vs. Reds Monday 8/4 game threads

2025-08-04T15:57:51-05:00

Monday’s game threads are all right here.

Overflow thread: Cubs vs. Reds, Monday 8/4, 7:05 CT

2025-08-04T15:57:00-05:00

Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images

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First pitch thread: Cubs vs. Reds, Monday 8/4, 7:05 CT

2025-08-04T15:56:00-05:00

Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images

Go get ‘em, Michael.

Chicago Cubs vs. Cincinnati Reds preview, Monday 8/4, 7:05 CT

2025-08-04T15:55:00-05:00

Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images

The Cubs meet up with the Reds for the first time since the end of May.

IMPORTANT SITE NOTE: As noted in this article, there won’t be any new posts on BCB after this game preview until at least 8 a.m. CT tomorrow. See the link for more info. Comments will remain open.

Monday game notes...

EVERYONE DIGS THE LONG BALL: The Cubs have hit 159 home runs, tied with the Mariners for third most, behind the Yankees (179) and Dodgers (164). But the Cubs have hit only 68 at home, which ranks 11th. Their 91 on the road are second most, just one behind the Mariners and eight more than anyone else. They have hit more homers in their first 53 games at Wrigley Field in 10 seasons, with a high of 87 in 2004. They hit 79 in 2021, 78 in 1987 and 75 in both 1958 and 1961. In 2022-24, they hit 51, 59 and just 49, which tied for 55th most with 1953. Their 91 on the road are their second most through 56 road games, behind 96 in 2019 and far ahead of 80 in 2017. Last year, they hit 59, tied for 20th most; in 2023, 66, which ranks 20th. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
THE OLD FOLKS: Justin Turner became the second-oldest Cub to hit a walk-off home run. His age yesterday was 40 years and 253 days. Davey Lopes was 41 years and 60 days on July 2, 1986, when he hit a one-out solo shot in the ninth inning to beat the Expos, 5-4. Turner has hit three home runs for the season, tying him with Ernie Banks and Charlie Root for fourth most in a career by a Cub at age 40 or later. Walker Cooper hit seven in 1955; Lopes, 16, in 1985-86; and Gary Gaetti, 17, in 1998-99. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY... to Cubs starter Michael Soroka, who will be making his Cubs debut on his 28th birthday! For perspective, that makes him the second-youngest member of the Cubs current rotation — only Cade Horton is younger at 23.
THE NICO FILES: Nico Hoerner, last 23 games since July 5: .345/.383/.448 (30-for-87) with two doubles, two triples, 11 RBI, four stolen bases and 12 runs scored. In that 23-game span, Nico has three three-hit games and six others with two hits.

Here are today’s particulars.

Cubs lineup:

Start No.1 in Cubbie blue for Michael Soroka!

Watch tonight's game on the Marquee Sports Network App. pic.twitter.com/NYRKZdLC10
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) August 4, 2025

Reds lineup:

First of three with the Cubs.

Powered by @PNCBank pic.twitter.com/0QNc2CPmnC
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) August 4, 2025

Michael Soroka, RHP vs. Nick Lodolo, LHP

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

As noted above, Michael Soroka turns 28 today. That surprised me... thought he was older, as he made his MLB debut in 2018. He was only 20 then, and looked like he might become a star in this league, especially after a second-place Rookie of the Year and sixth-place Cy Young finish in 2019.

Then the injuries came, and he missed all of two years and part of a third. He’s been pretty shaky since his return, including this year with the Nationals.

Soroka pitched against the Reds just two weeks ago, July 23 in Washington. He allowed two hits and one run in 5⅔ innings, striking out six. We’ll take another one just like that, please.

Nick Lodolo threw a complete-game shutout in the game noted above, though of course that wasn’t against the Cubs.

Lodolo made back-to-back starts against the Cubs in May. May 25 in Cincinnati, the Cubs scored three runs in five innings against him, including a home run by Reese McGuire (that was McGuire’s two-homer Cubs debut). May 31 at Wrigley Field, Lodolo threw six shutout innings.

Lodolo has been really good this year, the Cubs struggle vs. LH starters, and he doesn’t walk guys, so watch for the Cubs to be aggressive about putting the ball in play tonight.

Baseball Savant

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network. You can find out if Marquee is available via a provider in your area here.

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page 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 2025 Game Thread procedure will be identical to last year’s.

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.

On The Horizon: Cubs vs. Reds series preview

2025-08-04T13:30:00-05:00

Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

The Cubs welcome a NL Central rival to Wrigley Field.

The Reds are 8-7 since the All-Star break and come off a series loss to the Braves that included that rain-delayed fiasco at the Bristol Motor Speedway. They enter this series on the fringes of the wild-card race, four games behind the third wild-card spot.

For more on the Reds, here’s Wick Terrell, manager of our SB Nation Reds site Red Reporter.

The Cincinnati Reds sit at 58-54 at the outset of this series in Chicago, four games back of the final NL Wild Card spot and chasing the San Diego Padres and New York Mets.

It’s a position in which they’ve been for quite some time, as this Reds club has not yet been swept in a single series so far in 2025 yet also hasn’t managed to put together a win streak long enough to write home about. A win here, a loss there keeps you right around the .500 mark, something the Reds have flirted with seemingly every single day this season.

Still, with Rob Manfred’s Super-expanded Megaplayoffs, that affords one the opportunity to still tangibly pursue postseason baseball, something the Reds still will play for during the remaining 50 games of the season. Given their extended track record of not having anything to play for come August, you’d have thought the front office would have recognized that at the recent trade deadline and augmented the team significantly, but instead they chose a path that’s been called into question by just about everyone.

They added the worst hitter in the game in Ke’Bryan Hayes - and took on every single dollar of his contract. He’ll provide excellent defense at third base, sure, but at what cost to the offense each day?

Miguel Andujar was brought in to hide in left field and only hit LHP, something he’s done well — albeit with comically high BABIP and a perilously low sample size.

Zack Littell, meanwhile, will start Tuesday, though he was brought in from Tampa Bay having given up more homers so far in 2025 than any other pitcher — and his addition was also something of planned subtraction, as Nick Martinez will slide into a bullpen role while Chase Burns runs into his innings limit.

If the Reds are really going to go this year, it’ll be on the backs of their starting rotation, a place that will hopefully float Littell with it. Lefties Nick Lodolo and Andrew Abbott have been simply brilliant this year, and they’ll start the bookend games this series. And if the Reds can keep their heads above water through the end of this series, they’ll welcome Hunter Greene back at some point in mid-August to jolt an already elite starting rotation into perhaps the best in the entire sport.

The Reds, it would appear, are finally playing a big series against the Cubs in August again. It’s precisely what Wrigley Field is for.

Fun facts

Today is the 64th day since the Cubs last faced the Reds, also at home, on June 1. The Cubs won that day to win the series, two games to one. Just a week earlier, they had won two of three at Cincinnati. After the finale of this series on Wednesday, the Cubs will face the Reds only once more in their final 48 games, closing out the next-to-last week of the season with four games at Cincinnati, beginning Sept. 18.

After this series, the Cubs will play three games at St. Louis. This will be the third of only five times all season that the Cubs will face NL Central rivals in back-to-back — and the only one of the five times that does not include the Pirates.The Cubs played at Pittsburgh and Milwaukee, April 29-May 4, then hosted the Pirates and Brewers, June 12-19.They will host the same teams Aug. 15-21, then travel to Pittsburgh and Cincinnati for games Sept. 15-21

(Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)

Probable pitching matchups

Monday: Michael Soroka, RHP (3-8, 4.87 ERA, 1.131 WHIP, 4.12 FIP with Nationals) vs. Nick Lodolo, LHP (8-6, 3.09 ERA, 1.047 WHIP, 3.73 FIP)

Tuesday: Shōta Imanaga, LHP (8-4, 3.25 ERA, ) vs. Zack Littell, RHP (8-8, 3.58 ERA, 1.118 WHIP, 4.89 FIP with Rays)

Wednesday: Cade Horton, RHP (5-3, 3.42 ERA, 1.290 WHIP, 4.12 FIP) vs. Andrew Abbott, LHP (8-1, 2.15 ERA, 1.113 WHIP, 3.59 FIP)

Times & TV channels

Monday: 7:05 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network

Tuesday: 7:05 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network, TBS (outside the Cubs and Reds market territories)

Wednesday: 1:20 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network

Prediction

Two left-handed starters (and two good ones) are going for the Reds, so this one won’t be easy. But I believe the Cubs can take two of three here.

Up next

The Cubs have Thursday off, then travel to St. Louis for a three-game series against the Cardinals beginning Friday evening.

Three up, three down: An update on the Cubs, August 4 edition

2025-08-04T11:00:00-05:00

Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images

The Cubs split six games over the past week.

I know that some Cubs fans are panicking over the team’s two-game deficit in the NL Central and the Brewers appearing to just not lose... at all.

Since the beginning of June, the Brewers are 36-16. That’s... just not sustainable, not over a time much longer than that. Even the 103-win 2016 Cubs didn’t have streaks quite that good. I point you to the Miami Marlins, who are 32-22 in that same span. That’s just... not sustainable.

The Cubs are 29-24 since June 1. That’s an 89-win pace, which obviously wouldn’t be good enough to win the division title. But with the bullpen reinforcements and Willi Castro in place, and Jameson Taillon returning, I think the Cubs will start winning again.

Clearly, the five-game series coming up in a couple of weeks against the Brewers is extremely important. The winner of that series will have the tiebreaker between the two teams, which likely will be meaningful.

Now, here’s who was hot and not for the Cubs over the past week.

Three up

Cade Horton, your table is ready

Horton is riding a 17-inning scoreless streak and though he still issues too many walks, he seems to have the knack of getting out of jams.

Here are his three strikeouts against the Orioles on Friday [VIDEO].

Willi Castro has already been a massive improvement for the bench

Castro started two games since the trade, one at second base and one at third base, and went 3-for-8 with a triple and three runs scored. He’s better than advertised defensively and the two games — just two games! — are already worth 0.2 bWAR as a Cub.

Here’s his triple on Saturday [VIDEO].

Castro now has more triples (one) in two games as a Cub as Vidal Bruján had in 38 games as a Cub (zero).

Here’s a slick defensive play Castro made on Saturday [VIDEO].

Andrew Kittredge made a solid Cubs debut

Kittredge threw the seventh inning in both of the Cubs wins over the Orioles, faced six batters, and retired all of them. On Friday, he touched 96 miles per hour a couple of times.

Here’s Kittredge talking about his scoreless inning on Friday, and on joining the Cubs [VIDEO].

Three down

Seiya Suzuki’s slump stretches on

Seiya did have two hits in Sunday’s win, but even with that, he’s batting just .122/.271/.143 (6-for-49) over his last 14 games with 17 strikeouts. His last home run was the day before that stretch began, July 18 vs. the Red Sox.

In this observer’s view, it might not be a bad idea to give Seiya a day off, or a couple. He has slumped like this in some previous seasons around this time, and a bit of time off might help him refresh and reset.

Kyle Tucker is also not hitting

Tucker injured his right index finger sliding into second base June 1 [VIDEO].

He left that game early and missed the Cubs’ next game. But he has played in all but one Cubs game since then, plus the All-Star Game, and done all right, but over his last 27 games: .226/.365/.301 (21-for-93) with just one home run. He’s walked a lot, keeping that OBP at a good level, but it seems that finger might still be bothering him. Perhaps a day off the last game of the Reds series, with an off day Thursday, might help. With Willi Castro now on the team, perhaps Castro could play left, Suzuki right, and Ian Happ DH on Wednesday.

Just a thought.

Jon Berti, forgotten man

Berti has played in just three games since the All-Star break (well, four, if you count his pitching appearance against the Royals).

He’s 0-for-3 in those games and since he went 1-for-2 against the Pirates May 1, Berti is batting .120/.154/.120 (6-for-50) with 10 strikeouts.

With Castro now on the team, perhaps the Cubs can carry three catchers when Miguel Amaya comes back.

2025 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 111

2025-08-04T09:30:00-05:00

Photo by Lawrence Brown/MLB Photos via Getty Images

The Cubs falter, then recover late for a 5-3 walk-off win.

If you came out of the trade deadline frustrated, then this weekend at Wrigley Field probably didn’t do anything to allay your concerns or frustrations. Certainly, an Orioles team that traded away a good chunk of its players and had been well under .500 didn’t feel like a series that would see the combined three-game score being 9-7. To be sure, over the three day weekend, 12 times a single team scored more than nine runs in a single game this weekend. A good handful more scored more than seven runs. This is all to say that pitching ruled all weekend long.

One day, we’re going to have some talks about how unappealing Wrigley Field has become for an offensive statistic minded player to call home. It’s definitely a great place to visit. Players love playing in front of a packed house that tends to be pretty energetic. Also, there is plenty of food and nightlife around, as so many of you know. But if you care about your legacy, do you want to play 81 games in a park that is increasingly pitcher friendly?

But that’s not our topic for today. I think it’s important to say that frustrating or not, you can never assume a sweep. Two out of three is a good outcome. I’m certainly not throwing it back, even if I’m as frustrated as many of you are. It’s hard to watch this team struggle. As much as the Cubs were a few plays away from a sweep, they weren’t that many plays apart from being swept either. If you care what things looked like, you’d hope that at least one of these three games was a comfortable win.

Therein lies the problem. The offense remains stuck in second gear. They didn’t hit particularly well in any of the three games. Fortunately, they did pitch well over the weekend. The conditions at Wrigley Field probably had at least something to be said with both things. But also, a hat tip to the Cubs pitching staff, particularly the starters this weekend and a furrowed eyebrow at the offense. We’re going to need more at some point.

Alas, three more days come off of the calendar. A series won, but ground lost to the first place Brewers who flat- out obliterated the Nationals in our nation’s capital this weekend. 51 games left on the schedule, two games to overcome. Far from insurmountable. However, May 17 to present, the Brewers are 45-29. That’s a .608 winning percentage, a 98.5 win pace. That’s looking increasingly difficult to catch. The biggest feather in the cap is a five-game set at Wrigley Field between the teams in a couple of weeks.

Colin Rea wasn’t quite as good as Cade Horton and Matthew Boyd were the last two days. But he came up one short of five innings with only two runs on five hits, a walk and a hit batter. Then three relievers needed 12 batters to record 10 outs, keeping the score right where it was until the ninth inning. Unfortunately, Daniel Palencia couldn’t hold the lead and blew a save after 15 consecutive saves converted. The last time he blew one, he bounced right back and so hopefully he’ll do the same thing this time. That is, after all, the life of a closer.

I’m not sure if Justin Turner is the unlikeliest offensive hero, but he’s certainly one of them. By my count, this is the second time he’s walked one off, this time he did it in epic fashion with a two-run homer. Palencia steals the win to go with his blown save. The prime frustration of people who have given up on wins as a meaningful pitcher statistic.

After a long weekend, the Cubs got some production of the top spots in the order today. Not the least of which, Turner was pinch hitting for leadoff hitter Michael Busch. His job was without a doubt identified as just keep the inning alive for Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki who each had a pair of hits in the game. But then he got into one and launched the two-run homer and walked it off. Good for Justin. He’s been consistently identified as a good teammate. A long form article idea for another day is Justin Turner and the potential playoff roster. But we’ll save that one too.

Time marches on. 51 to go. The team is on pace for 95 wins. That feels pretty realistic. It might take a few more than that to win the division. Buckle up.

Pitch Count:

Orioles: 147, 37 BF (8+ IP)
Cubs: 150, 37 BF

Each team’s starter recorded 14 outs and was charged with two runs. Each team’s closer allowed an earned run in the ninth. The difference until that ninth inning was the run allowed by Oriole reliever Dietrich Enns. Enns allowed three singles to the 7-8-9 hitters in the Cubs lineup. Two righties and a switch hitter, after he got the final out in the fifth inning by striking out Pete Crow-Armstrong. Their closer, another lefty, allowed the walk-off to pinch hitter Turner, who was subbing for Michael Busch.

So the lefty thing didn’t work out against the Cubs on this day. The righties (and switch hitter Willi Castro) got the job done. That was the difference in the game. Each team sent the exact same number of batters to the plate. Of course, the Cubs recorded three more outs. So the Orioles threw just over 18 pitches per inning and the Cubs just under 17. In neither instance is that stellar.

Cub pitchers allowed seen hits and three walks. They also struck out 10 and so that piled up a whole lot of pitches. The Cubs had 11 hits and drew two walks. They struck out eight times. Four Cub relievers threw, none of them throwing more than 20 pitches. This was basically the “A” group. They should all be available Monday for the series opener with the Reds.

Three Stars:

Justin Turner gets the top spot for his pinch-hit, two-run, walk-off homer.
Seiya Suzuki had two hits, one an RBI-single and he scored a run.
Drew Pomeranz faced five batters, retiring four of them with the game tied in the fifth and sixth inning of a tie game. This was 3-4-5-6-7 hitters in the lineup and that held the score where it was until the offense added on.

Game 111, August 3: Cubs 5, Orioles 3 (65-46)

Fangraphs

Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.

THREE HEROES:

Superhero: Justin Turner (.293). 1-1, HR, 2 RBI, R
Hero: Dansby Swanson (.191). 1-4, RBI, R
Sidekick: Brad Keller (.118). IP, 4 BF, BB, 2 K

THREE GOATS

Billy Goat: Daniel Palencia (-.210). IP, 5 BF, 2 H, R, K (W 2-1)
Goat: Pete Crow-Armstrong (-.143). 0-4
Kid: Carson Kelly (-.095). 0-3, BB

WPA Play of the Game: Ryan Noda’s two-out, game-tying single in the ninth inning. (.320)

*Cubs Play of the Game: Justin Turner’s two-run, walk-off homer. (.293)

Cubs Player of the Game:

Yesterday’s Winner: Matthew Boyd (184 of 205 votes)

Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)

The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.

Kyle Tucker +29
Matthew Boyd +23
Shōta Imanaga +15
Jameson Taillon/Miguel Amaya +11
3 Players -7
Julian Merryweather -15
Ben Brown -18
Dansby Swanson -24.33
Seiya Suzuki -30

Up Next: The 58-54 Reds are the next visitor to Wrigley Field. The Cubs are 4-2 versus the Reds so far this season. The Cubs took two of three each of the two times they met up with the Reds earlier this year in one of those back-to-back weekend home and home series. The Reds were 29-31 after they last faced the Cubs but has gone 29-23 since. They lost two of three to the Braves in Cincinnati over the weekend. Making matters worse for the Reds, they were scheduled to be off on Sunday, had their showcase game rained out after only an inning, and then continued as a bullpen game.

Michael Soroka (3-8, 4.87, 81⅓ IP) makes his Cubs debut. He’s 0-3 with a 4.59 ERA over his last seven starts (33⅓ IP) so it’s hard to say that it’s trending well or anything of the sorts. The lowest hanging fruit is that the Cubs defense is a good bit better than the Nationals. I don’t think there is much dispute of that. All four Cubs infielders are very good, and their left and center fielders are both excellent. He also strikes out over a batter an inning. Present Cubs who have done that this year include Ben Brown, Daniel Palencia and Drew Pomeranz. Porter Hodge actually did too. But that’s it this year, Michael doesn’t average one more than one per inning in his career. But it was a feat he accomplished last year. Swing and miss stuff appears to have been a priority at the deadline. New Cub Andrew Kittredge is off to a good start as a Cub in that regard.

Nick Lodolo (8-6, 3.09, 128 IP) has to be keeping an eye on getting deep in this game after the Reds were forced into a bullpen game Sunday. He went nine in a start against the Nationals back on the July 23 (against Soroka) and seven in New York against the Mets the start before. He won both of those starts on the road. So he can provide a little length and he can win on the road. He is 3-1 with a 1.88 over his last seven starts (43 IP).

Trivia note: Soroka was a compensation pick, 28th overall in the 2015 draft — the one that featured Kyle Tucker, Dansby Swanson and Ian Happ (and also Alex Bregman). The Cubs seem fixated on that draft.

A few notes about BCB’s switch to a new platform

2025-08-04T08:00:00-05:00

This is probably not Dansby Swanson checking out BCB. Feel free to pretend it is, though | Photo by Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images

You’ll want to take notes.

You have probably read about the changes coming to BCB (and SB Nation as a whole).

First, there will be a new login system. Details on how to log in via the new system are here. You’ll have to do this in order to comment using the new version of the site.

The site will look different, too, though the commenting system will remain the same.

I wanted to let you all know about some logistics for the switch-over, which will happen beginning late this afternoon.

There will be no more content posted on the old version of the site after 4 p.m. CT this afternoon. Thus, the game preview for tonight’s game against the Reds will post shortly before 4 p.m. CT — about an hour before usual for a 7:05 p.m. CT game. Can’t guarantee th lineups will be in there, but all the rest of the normal pre-game content will be. And I have been assured that you will be able to comment on the normal game threads during tonight’s game.

After that, no further content will be posted until approximately 8 a.m. CT tomorrow, Tuesday, Aug. 5. This means there will be no BCB After Dark tonight — After Dark will resume tomorrow night. It also means Cub Tracks will not post at its usual time, 7 a.m. CT. It will post sometime later in the morning. I hope to have the game recap for tonight’s game posted as soon as possible after 8 a.m. CT tomorrow. This all depends on when we’re given the “all clear” to begin posting again.

Lastly, I ask for your patience. In addition to the new look for the site, managers, editors and writers will be using a new content management system (CMS) to write our articles. There will be a learning curve and, I am sure, a few glitches as we get up to speed on the new system. The BCB staff and I hope to have it all sorted out as quickly as we can.

Feel free to ask questions in the comments here. As always, we await developments.