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

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:

Reds lineup:

Michael Soroka, RHP vs. Nick Lodolo, LHP

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

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.