Cubs at Reds
A rookie's power stroke has given the Cincinnati Reds a boost in the National League wild card race, and they'll try to ride Aristides Aquino's remarkable stretch to a third straight win over the visiting Chicago Cubs on Sunday. Aquino homered in a loss to the Cubs to begin the four-game set Thursday, slugged another in Friday's 5-2 win and then went deep in each of his first three at-bats in a 10-1 rout Saturday night.
The 25-year-old, who walked in his fourth plate appearance and struck out in his fifth Saturday, has six home runs and nine RBIs during a phenomenal four-game run. Cincinnati has won five of its last six games and 10 of 14 to get within 4 1/2 games of a wild-card spot. The Reds will try to inch closer Sunday behind ace Luis Castillo, who opposes veteran Jon Lester for the Cubs. Chicago saw its lead in the NL Central cut to 1 1/2 games following Saturday's result, which left it 22-35 on the road.
TV: 1:10 p.m. ET, NBCS Chicago, FS Ohio (Cincinnati)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cubs LH Jon Lester (9-8, 4.39 ERA) vs. Reds RH Luis Castillo (11-4, 2.63)
After tossing seven scoreless innings at Milwaukee on July 27, Lester has been knocked around in back-to-back starts. He first allowed five runs over five innings at St. Louis before getting rocked for a career high-tying 11 runs (nine earned) on 10 hits in four frames against Oakland. The 35-year-old took a loss at Cincinnati earlier in the year but is 7-2 lifetime versus the Reds.
Castillo will be making his fifth consecutive start at home and trying to duplicate his most recent outing in which he fanned 13 in seven strong innings to defeat the Los Angeles Angels. The Dominican Republic native is 4-2 with a 3.49 ERA in nine career starts against the Cubs after defeating them twice this year. Kyle Schwarber is 5-for-14 with three home runs and two doubles against Castillo while Ian Happ is 4-for-7 with a double.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Cubs placed RHP Steve Cishek (hip) on the 10-day injured list and recalled RHP Dillon Maples from Triple-A Iowa.
2. Aquino's seven home runs ties Colorado SS Trevor Story's MLB record for the most by a player in his first 10 games.
3. After scoring 12 runs on 19 hits in the series opener, Chicago has three total runs and 12 hits over the last two contests.