With a belief that they still have a realistic chance at the postseason, the Cincinnati Reds look to complete a three-game series sweep on Wednesday when they host the Chicago Cubs.
Two role players who were not moved at the trade deadline played a big role in Cincinnati’s 6-3 win over Chicago on Tuesday.
Santiago Espinal homered and fell just a triple shy of the cycle, while right-hander Nick Martinez earned the win, pitching four scoreless innings of relief as the Reds won for the seventh time in nine meetings between the two clubs.
“One thing I can’t tell you is that we’re going to win a World Series, but what I can tell you is that we’re preparing for it,” Espinal said. “We’ve got a great group of guys that are like a family. We just have to be present in the moment for each game. We’re glad we know where we’re at right now and we just have to keep going.”
Martinez is a candidate to step into the starting rotation after Tuesday’s probable starter Frankie Montas was traded to Milwaukee on Monday for outfielder Joey Wiemer and pitcher Jakob Junis. Reliever Lucas Sims was dealt to Boston for a minor league pitching prospect Ovis Portes.
“I don’t think we’re really putting out the vibes that we’re sellers or not trying to make a push,” Martinez said. “For me, it’s more lead by example and we’ll keep fighting and see where this thing ends up.”
Tyler Stephenson had three hits for the Reds, who will try for their first three-game sweep since stringing together three straight wins over the New York Yankees from July 2-4.
“We have to keep believing in ourselves,” Stephenson said. “We’re not out of this.”
Cincinnati stands five games out of the third and final wild-card spot in the National League. The Cubs stand two games behind the Reds in the standings.
As the Cubs’ playoff chances dwindle, they made a move before Tuesday’s game for the future when they traded reliever Mark Leiter Jr. to the Yankees for pitching prospect Jack Neely and infield prospect Benjamin Cowles.
“We wanted to make deals we felt like made sense for 2025 and beyond. The goal wasn’t just to accumulate assets,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said. “We did the deals that crossed our line and made sense for us, and we didn’t do a lot of deals that didn’t.”
The Cubs will send right-hander Kyle Hendricks (2-9, 6.95 ERA) to the mound in the series finale. Hendricks will be making his 15th start of the season in his 20th appearance.
Hendricks is coming off a 6-0 loss at Kansas City last Friday, allowing six runs on eight hits in five innings. He has lost five of his last six starts, with his only win coming on July 12 at St. Louis.
Hendricks is 8-6 with a 4.26 ERA in 26 career appearances and 24 starts against the Reds.
The Reds counter with lefty Nick Lodolo (8-3, 3.45 ERA), who will be making his 17th start of the season. Lodolo hasn’t won in his last five starts, going 0-1 in those five outings with four consecutive no-decisions.
Lodolo will be making his fifth career start against the Cubs, posing a 2-1 record with a 3.32 ERA. Lodolo is 2-0 this season against the Cubs, going six innings in each start and allowing three runs on 11 hits.
–Field Level Media