After a dominant performance by Hunter Greene last night, the Cincinnati Reds (77-76) look to continue that energy in the second game of this four game weekend series with the Chicago Cubs (88-65) Friday night. First pitch from Great American Ball Park is at 6:40 PM EDT.
Lineups
Chicago Cubs
|
Cincinnati Reds |
| Nico Hoerner – 2B | TJ Friedl – CF |
| Ian Happ – LF | Noelvi Marte – RF |
| Seiya Suzuki – RF | Miguel Andujar – DH |
| Carson Kelly – C | Austin Hays – LF |
| Justin Turner – DH | Spencer Steer – 1B |
| Dansby Swanson – SS | Elly De La Cruz – SS |
| Carlos Santana – 1B | Ke’Bryan Hayes – 3B |
| Pete Crow-Armstrong – CF | Jose Trevino – C |
| Matt Shaw – 3B | Matt McLain – 2B |
Starting Pitchers
| Pitcher | IP | ERA | WHIP | BB | K |
| Shota Imanaga | 134.0 | 3.29 | 0.95 | 23 | 110 |
| Nick Lodolo | 144.2 | 3.30 | 1.04 | 26 | 137 |
| Links: Shota Imanaga’s Stats | Nick Lodolo’s Stats |
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Shota Imanaga
The last time left-hander Shota Imanaga faced the Reds, he allowed just three hits on one run with seven strikeouts through 6.1 innings at Wrigley Field in early August. That was one of his better starts over the last two months. In September, Imanaga has given up nine runs in 17.0 innings with five home runs. Ten of his 26 home runs allowed this season have come in August and September.
Imanaga has some reverse splits happening this season, as left-handed hitters really struggle against him. It’s a small sample size, but he’s only allowed 23 hits in 133 plate appearances against lefties. He does tend to walk lefties more than right-handed hitters. Although Imanaga is in the 96th percentile of all MLB pitchers for walk rate according to Baseball Savant, 10 of his 23 walks allowed in 2025 have come against lefties.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB% | K% | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 388 | 81 | 14 | 0 | 23 | 3% | 20% | .217 | .243 | .440 |
| LHH | 133 | 23 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 8% | 24% | .190 | .256 | .314 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-Seam | Split | Sweeper | Curve | 2-Seam | Slider | |
| Velo | 90.8 | 83.0 | 80.3 | 71.6 | 88.3 | 81.4 |
| Usage | 49.5% | 31.4% | 15.8% | 1.7% | 1.1% | 0.4% |
Nick Lodolo
Nick Lodolo is looking to rebound from a terrible start in Sacramento where he allowed five runs on eight hits, including three home runs, to the Athletics on Sunday afternoon. The bad news is that he has usually pitched worse at home than on the road. His road ERA is just 2.74 in 15 starts, while his ERA at GABP is 4.10 through 11 starts. He’s also allowed 12 home runs at GABP compared to only eight home runs on the road.
Unlike Imanaga, Lodolo does not have reverse splits this season, and there’s a fairly big difference between left-handed and right-handed hitters. Lefties are hitting nearly .300 against him, while righties are hitting just .211 against him. Even if they are hitting only .290 against him, Lodolo has still only allowed three home runs to lefties this season.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB% | K% | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 451 | 89 | 16 | 0 | 17 | 4% | 24% | .211 | .259 | .371 |
| LHH | 139 | 36 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 6% | 20% | .290 | .348 | .419 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-Seam | Curve | Change | 2-Seam | |
| Velo | 93.7 | 82.0 | 87.9 | 93.8 |
| Usage | 28.6% | 28.4% | 22.1% | 20.9% |
Game Details:
- When: 6:40 PM EDT
- Where: Great American Ball Park
- TV: FanDuel Sports Network
- Radio: 700 WLW (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: 86 degrees, mostly sunny, 0% chance of rain
News and Notes
Rhett Lowder Scratched From Rehab Start
Minor League Recap
Only two Reds farm teams are still playing this season, and both did not have a good day yesterday.
NL Wild Card Standings
| Team | W | L | GB | Fangraph’s Playoff Odds |
| Chicago-x | 88 | 65 | +9.0 | 100% |
| San Diego | 83 | 70 | +4.0 | 99.8% |
| New York | 79 | 74 | – | 85.8% |
| Cincinnati | 77 | 76 | 2.0 | 7.2$ |
| Arizona | 77 | 76 | 2.0 | 4.8% |
| San Francisco | 76 | 76 | 3.0 | 2.3% |
| St. Louis | 74 | 79 | 5.0 | 0.0% |
The post Chicago Cubs vs. Cincinnati Reds – September 19, 2025 appeared first on Redleg Nation.