Rookie outfielder Jorge Soler belted two home runs in Monday night's game against the Cincinnati Reds, including a game-tying two-run blast in the bottom of the eighth to force extra innings and propel the Chicago Cubs to a 7-6 victory. The Reds hope to even the series on Tuesday night at 8:05 p.m. ET.
Cincinnati will send rookie right-hander Anthony DeSclafani to the mound to face Jake Arrieta of the Cubs. DeSclafani (0-0 with a 3.00 ERA) was acquired in an offseason trade with the Miami Marlins and won a spot in the Reds rotation during spring training. His first start of the season came last week against the Pittsburgh Pirates, during which he surrendered two earned runs on five hits and one walk.
Arrieta (1-0 with a 0.00 ERA) will follow Jon Lester's shaky start on Monday. The right-hander earned a win against the St. Louis Cardinals last week after tossing seven scoreless innings and giving up only three hits and three walks. Arrieta had his big break in 2014 after finishing 10-5 with a 2.53 ERA and 1.123 WHIP in 25 starts in his first full season with Chicago since being acquired from the Baltimore Orioles in 2013.
In three career starts against the Reds, the 29-year-old owns a 2-1 record with a 3.60 ERA, 0.75 WHIP and 30 strikeouts (30 innings). In two of those starts he took no-hit bids into the seventh inning last season at Wrigley Field, but they were broken up by outfielder Billy Hamilton and second baseman Brandon Phillips.
Speaking of Hamilton, the speedster was left out of the Reds' lineup last night because manager Bryan Price said, "We're trying to keep him fresh," according to ESPN. He already has seven steals in his first six games as he hopes to best his 56 stolen bases mark he notched last season. Perhaps Price's decision to leave Hamilton out of the lineup last night hurt the team's chances of winning because it's evident Lester is unable to pick of runners at first base.
However, the Cubs likely aren't worried about speedy youngsters because they have plenty of their own. Soler is one of them and he's a force to be reckoned with as he hopes to contend for Rookie of the Year honors. Shortstop Starlin Castro enters his sixth season at 25 years old and is finally on a Cubs team that has managerial stability with a chance to contend. Utility man Arismendy Alcantara was off to a terrible start to the season until he knocked in the game-winning run last night in the bottom of the 10th inning. His potential has opened the eyes of many, but he has yet to break out.
But the Reds are no club to overlook. They did finish fourth in the NL Central last season, but that was because most of the team, including Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Brandon Phillips, Homer Bailey, Aroldis Chapman and others, dealt with injuries that significantly hampered their chances of winning. With the exception of Bailey, all of those players have returned healthy in 2015 and helped the Reds to a 4-0 start.
They'll look to snap their current three-game losing streak tonight at Wrigley Field.
Check out the live stream for tonight's matchup here as well as the live radio broadcast here (if you're a Cubs fan) or here (if you're a Reds fan).
