Chicago Cubs, John Lackey look to maintain division lead

The Chicago Cubs look to take their second straight against the Cincinnati Reds after an off day on Tuesday.

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The

didn’t get an impressive a start from

in his debut, but he settled down in the end, getting the win against the Arizona Diamondbacks  in a 14-6 decision in which he allowed six runs but none in his final three innings. The Cincinnati Reds will send

to the mound who has a career ERA of 1.66 aginst the Cubs.

The Cubs (6-1) were stymied by the Reds on Monday, going hitless through 6 2/3 innings. A bloop single by David Ross broke the no-hitter and turned out to be the spark as the Cubs scored twice in the seventh, then used Addison Russell‘s three-run home run in the eighth to stun the Reds (5-2).

Lackey (1-0, 9.00) will be familiar with many of the Reds hitters as he’s faced them often when he was with the Cardinals. Joey Votto and Jay Bruce have each homered twice off of him while Billy Hamilton will slide back to the top of the order to leadoff for the Reds.

Simon (1-0, 1.80) returned to the Reds after being dealt to the Tigers and netting the talented Eugenio Suarez. After leaving the series opener with an injury, Zack Cozart won’t get the start in game two. He’s been effective against most Cubs’ hitters except for Antony Rizzo who has two home runs in just 15 at-bats against him. Dexter Fowler will return to the lineup and leadoff while Joe Maddon will go with Jorge Soler in left field again.

Here are the lineups for tonight’s action:

First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CT and will be televised on CSN+. 670 The Score will have the radio broadcast. As always be sure to follow us on Twitter @CubbiesCrib and like us on Facebook!