INDEPENDENT MLB ANALYTICSINDEPENDENT ANALYTICS
ETLATYOBERLON
FinalFinal lineupsNL Central

Chicago Cubs 5, Cincinnati Reds 2

Final Score and Game Recap

Final score, pitching lines and standings context.

6:40 PM ET · Great American Ball ParkGame-day snapshot Sep 21, 2:01 AM ETFinal lineups lockedCurrent 2026 season stats — updated Oct 9, 5:00 AM ET
T-Score64
Chicago Cubs
89–73 · 2nd NL Central · T-Score 64
5
5–2
FINAL · 9 innings
Cincinnati Reds
75–87 · 5th NL Central · T-Score 26
2
T-Score26
FINAL · 9 innings
Pitching recap
PitcherTeamRoleIPHERBBKP
Matthew BoydCHC
StarterWin
5.0212471
Ryan RolisonCHC
ReliefSave
0.100005
Nick LodoloCIN
StarterLoss
7.0632190
Scoring by inning
123456789RHE
CHCChicago Cubs010011011581
CINCincinnati Reds000020000240
Top hitters
Dansby Swanson2-for-4 · 1 HR · 1 RBI
Michael Busch2-for-3 · 1 HR · 1 RBI
Nico Hoerner2-for-4 · 1 RBI · 1 R
Seiya Suzuki2-for-3 · 1 RBI · 1 BB
Ke'Bryan Hayes1-for-3 · 1 RBI

Matchup at a glance

PitcherStat calculation
CategoryComparisonWhy
Starting pitcherCubsBoyd holds a modest edge in P-Score and WHIP, while the ERA gap is small.
Offense vs handCubsChicago owns a .796 OPS vs LHP, 1th in MLB; Cincinnati ranks 10th vs LHP.
LineupCubsThe confirmed Chicago order includes 7 hitters with an OPS above .750 against left-handed pitching.
BullpenCubsChicago owns a 3.99 bullpen ERA this season, compared with Cincinnati's 4.49.
Recent formCubsChicago has been the better recent team, at 4–6 over the last 10.

Pregame contextStarting pitchers

CHC
Matthew Boyd LHP
Matthew Boyd
Chicago Cubs
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
4.16
93rd
WHIP
1.24
76th
K/9
6.99
178th
BB/9
2.75
72nd
P-Score52i
FIP
–
HR/9
1.18
89th
OPS/R
–
IP
114.2
Last 5 starts
ERA
4.55
QUALITY
START %
40%
(2 of 5)
DAYS
REST
6
CIN
Nick Lodolo LHP
Nick Lodolo
Cincinnati Reds
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
5.12
165th
WHIP
1.49
186th
K/9
7.36
175th
BB/9
3.91
162nd
P-Score41i
FIP
–
HR/9
1.77
193rd
OPS/R
–
IP
96.2
Last 5 starts
ERA
4.39
QUALITY
START %
20%
(1 of 5)
DAYS
REST
5
How the starters differ
·Boyd allows fewer baserunners, with a 1.24 WHIP compared with 1.49.
·Boyd allows the lower home-run rate: 1.18 vs 1.77 per nine.
·Boyd enters with a 4.16 ERA compared with Lodolo's 5.12.
·Boyd has produced a quality start in 40% of outings versus 25%.

How the lineups match the starters' pitch mix

Pitch data coverage: partial. Usage and velocity only.

Boyd arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam44%92.8
Changeup28%78.7
Slider14%83.1
Curveball12%73.1
Sinker1%91.9
Lodolo arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam27%93.8
Sinker26%93.6
Curveball25%82.4
Changeup22%88.0

Team OPS vs opposing starter's hand

Cubs vs LHP (Nick Lodolo)
1st
in MLB
0.796OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000
Reds vs LHP (Matthew Boyd)
10th
in MLB
0.717OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000

Lineup strength vs today's starter

Weighted by batting-order spot. Season rates are regressed toward league average before they enter the model.

Updated Sep 19, 4:40 PM ET
CHCCHC
.775
+53 ptsOPS edge
CINCIN
.722

Clear edge: CHC

Full lineup comparison

Lineups

Final lineupsOrder from the stored snapshot; treat as unofficial until the card is filed.Full lineup page
Chicago CubsOfficial lineupvs LHP Nick Lodolo
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs LHPVs Lodolo (BvP)
1Pete Crow-ArmstrongLCF84.94245.9264-for-9Very small sample
2Alex BregmanR3B76.81928.8910-for-2Very small sample
3Seiya SuzukiRRF78.84126.9745-for-15Small sample
4Tyrone TaylorRLF63.82711.9552-for-11Small sample
5Nico HoernerR2B49.6668.6931-for-5Very small sample
6Michael BuschL1B68.74520.7332-for-2Very small sample
7Carson KellyRC59.71210.8992-for-7Very small sample
8Matt ShawRRF52.7375.8262-for-6Very small sample
9Dansby SwansonRSS55.69419.7673-for-16Small sample
1Pete Crow-Armstrong CF · L.280 / .942 · 45 HRvs hand .926 · 4-for-9 · Very small sample84H-Score2Alex Bregman 3B · R.265 / .819 · 28 HRvs hand .891 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample76H-Score3Seiya Suzuki RF · R.270 / .841 · 26 HRvs hand .974 · 5-for-15 · Small sample78H-Score4Tyrone Taylor LF · R.279 / .827 · 11 HRvs hand .955 · 2-for-11 · Small sample63H-Score5Nico Hoerner 2B · R.263 / .666 · 8 HRvs hand .693 · 1-for-5 · Very small sample49H-Score6Michael Busch 1B · L.242 / .745 · 20 HRvs hand .733 · 2-for-2 · Very small sample68H-Score7Carson Kelly C · R.258 / .712 · 10 HRvs hand .899 · 2-for-7 · Very small sample59H-Score8Matt Shaw RF · R.237 / .737 · 5 HRvs hand .826 · 2-for-6 · Very small sample52H-Score9Dansby Swanson SS · R.213 / .694 · 19 HRvs hand .767 · 3-for-16 · Small sample55H-Score
Cincinnati RedsOfficial lineupvs LHP Matthew Boyd
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs LHPVs Boyd (BvP)
1Dane MyersRCF57.7218.777No MLB historyNo history
2Elly De La CruzSSS87.88030.9901-for-3Very small sample
3Sal StewartR1B78.78732.8021-for-2Very small sample
4Tyler StephensonRC70.72715.6552-for-4Very small sample
5Eugenio SuárezRDH65.74026.7141-for-12Small sample
6Juan BritoS2B42.68331.043No MLB historyNo history
7JJ BledayLLF70.74024.6441-for-2Very small sample
8Matt McLainR2B50.60815.7771-for-2Very small sample
9Ke'Bryan HayesR3B35.4195.5392-for-4Very small sample
1Dane Myers CF · R.257 / .721 · 8 HRvs hand .777 · No MLB history · No history57H-Score2Elly De La Cruz SS · S.283 / .880 · 30 HRvs hand .990 · 1-for-3 · Very small sample87H-Score3Sal Stewart 1B · R.263 / .787 · 32 HRvs hand .802 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample78H-Score4Tyler Stephenson C · R.241 / .727 · 15 HRvs hand .655 · 2-for-4 · Very small sample70H-Score5Eugenio Suárez DH · R.212 / .740 · 26 HRvs hand .714 · 1-for-12 · Small sample65H-Score6Juan Brito 2B · S.245 / .683 · 3 HRvs hand 1.043 · No MLB history · No history42H-Score7JJ Bleday LF · L.217 / .740 · 24 HRvs hand .644 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample70H-Score8Matt McLain 2B · R.185 / .608 · 15 HRvs hand .777 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample50H-Score9Ke'Bryan Hayes 3B · R.141 / .419 · 5 HRvs hand .539 · 2-for-4 · Very small sample35H-Score

Team comparison

OffenseCHCCHC·CINCIN
AVG.251 6th.229 30th
OPS.767 1st.699 25th
Home runs220 3rd213 4th
Runs850 1st666 27th
OBP.339 2nd.305 30th
SLG.428 1st.394 25th
PitchingCHCCHC·CINCIN
1stMLB rank30th
ERA4.12vs4.83
CHCCIN
WHIP1.26vs1.44
CHCCIN
K/97.8vs8.1
CHCCIN
HR Allowed231vs214
CHCCIN
BullpenCHCCHC·CINCIN
1stMLB rank30th
Bullpen ERA3.99vs4.49
no league rank
Bullpen WHIP1.30vs1.37
no league rank
Saves36vs42
CHCCIN
ResultsCHCCHC·CINCIN
+4452nd
Run differential
+18029th
89–73 Record75–87
4–6 Last 103–7
Last 10 games
Chicago Cubs (4–6)
L
W
L
W
L
W
W
L
L
L
Cincinnati Reds (3–7)
W
L
W
L
L
W
L
L
L
L
2026 head-to-head
Season Series
5—8
13 Games Played

Frequently asked

Who is starting for the Cubs?+
Matthew Boyd (4.16 ERA, 8–5) is listed as the starter.
Who is starting for the Reds?+
Nick Lodolo (5.12 ERA, 3–5) is listed as the starter.
What time does the game start?+
6:40 PM ET at Great American Ball Park.
Where is the game being played?+
Great American Ball Park, home of the Cincinnati Reds.
Are the lineups confirmed?+
Not as official league cards. The orders shown are the current projected or last-posted lineups.
How have the Cubs and Reds performed head-to-head?+
Season series: Reds 8–5 this season.
How do the starters compare on P-Score?+
Matthew Boyd is at 52; Nick Lodolo is at 41. P-Score is PitcherStat's 0–100 season index for qualified starters.