Last night, the Reds extended their winning streak to six games with a 3-2 victory over Chicago. Cincinnati can win the series today if they outscore the Cubs. The first pitch is slated for 4:10 p.m. ET.
Andrew Abbott
In his most recent appearance, the lefty earned a strong start against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, allowing three runs in 6.0 innings with six strikeouts. It was a solid turnaround from his previous appearance, when he allowed six runs in 6.0 innings against the Cardinals. Teams don’t send many left-handed hitters to face Andrew Abbott. Those who do have the chance to face him have had little success against him, with an OPS of.594. Right-handed hitters aren’t hitting for high averages and aren’t getting on base. However, righties are hitting for a lot of power. When they do get hits, they make them count—24 of the 47 hits righties have.
Ben Brown Brown has appeared as both a starter and a reliever for the Cubs this season. His last three appearances have been as a starter. The first two were spectacular, allowing one hit in 4.0 innings against Atlanta and none in 7.0 innings against Milwaukee. However, his most recent start against the Reds resulted in five runs in 5.0 innings. The splits for Ben Brown are both favorable, but one group has an advantage. Neither lefties nor righties have a high batting average against him, and neither group has much power. However, left-handed hitters are walking frequently, giving that group a 102-point advantage in on-base percentage.