After a series win in San Francisco, the Cincinnati Reds (25-47) look to build on that momentum in a three-game series against division rivals Chicago Cubs (28-45) at Wrigley Field this week. The Cubs enter this series with a 5-5 record in their last 10 games and a series win over the Cardinals in St. Louis over the weekend.

Details:

• Time: 8:05 p.m. ET
• Location: Wrigley Field
• Weather: 80 degrees; Quite sunny
• Television: Bally Sports Ohio
• Radio: 700WLW

Compositions

Cincinnati Reds	Chicago Cubs
2B Jonathan India	CF Christophe Morel
3B Brandon Drury	RF Rafael Ortega
DH Donovan Solano	DH Willson Contreras
1B Joey Votto	LF Ian Happ
SS Kyle Farmer	3B Patrick Wisdom
LF Max Schrock	SS Nico Hoerner
RF Albert Almora Jr	C Yan Gomes
CF Nick Senzel	1B Alphonse Rivas
Aramis Garcia	2B David Bote

– 20 minutes before the start of the game, Tommy Pham was removed and replaced by Max Schrock in left field. The range has also seen a bit of restructuring.

-After being shot in the wrist during the Giants series, Jonathan India returns to the Reds’ starting XI.

-Happ, Contreras and Wisdom have all dominated Luis Castillo in their careers. Contreras is hitting .467 against him in 15 appearances, and Happ is hitting .350 against him in 20 appearances.

Starting pitchers

Last name	IPs	TIME	xERA	FIP	xFIP	WHIP	K%	BB%
Luis Castillo	51.0	3.71	3.58	3.46	3.73	1.14	22.9%	8.4%
Keegan Thompson	61.0	3.10	3.43	4.14	4.21	1.15	22.0%	9.6%

RED

Trade rumors are already swirling around Castillo and the trade deadline is still a month away. The latest is that the Yankees are interested (though we’ve all heard that one before). Last Wednesday, Castillo had probably one of the worst starts of his season so far. He allowed four runs in five innings and struck out six. He came against the LA Dodgers, one of the best teams in the league, but if the Reds are really looking to trade Castillo, they want him to throw the best he can right now to get the best return. Castillo last faced the Cubs on May 25 at Wrigley Field. He struck out six while allowing four hits and two runs in five innings.

This season, Castillo has been slightly better against right-handed hitters than against left-handed hitters, depending on which stat you’re using. His batting average against right-handed hitters is just .202, with a .258 on-base percentage. The batting average against left-handed hitters is .216, but because he walked 12 left-handed hitters, the on-base percentage against left-handers is higher at .310. This matches his career numbers, as historically he has always been better against right-handed hitters.

CUBS

In his second year with the Cubs, Keegan Thompson has pitched 61.0 innings to date, already surpassing the 53.0 innings he pitched in 2021. The 27-year-old right-hander is listed as the organization’s 30th prospect. of the Cubs, but he’s pitching better than that this season. Thompson has really only had one bad start in 2022, a June 7 game in Baltimore in which he allowed seven runs over three innings. However, it comes from arguably his two best starts of the season, a two-hit shutout with nine strikeouts in six innings against Atlanta and a six-inning performance against the Pirates where he allowed four hits and a run. , one homer, with seven strikeouts in six innings.

Thompson throws four pitches, but mostly sticks to his fastball and cutter. He averages in the 90s for his fastball and cutter. Both of these pitches have seen a slight increase in speed from 2021 to 2022. His off-speed pitches, primarily a curveball, have averaged the low 80s this season.

Right-handed hitters tend to hit Thompson better, with a .238 batting average against him. However, left-handed hitters are more on base against him, as he allowed 13 walks to left-handers compared to just eight against right-handers.

News and notes

The Reds made a trade with the Cleveland Guardians today, sending minor league wide receiver Sandy León to Cleveland where he immediately joined their major league team.

The Reds also called receiver Mike Papierski from Triple-A and offered Chris Okey a return to the minor leagues.

You can catch up on the Reds’ minor league action from yesterday here.

There were also a bunch of minor league promotions today:

-Rafael Franco of the ACL at Daytona
-Quin Cotton from Chattanooga to Dayton
-Tyler Callihan from Daytona to Dayton
-Jonathan Willems from Chattanooga to Dayton
-Michael Trautwein from Dayton to Daytona

— Doug Gray (@dougdirt24) June 28, 2022