Chicago Cubs look to bounce back in series against Cincinnati Reds

On the tail of a series loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates over the weekend, Ricky Renteria and the Chicago Cubs (31-42) will look to bounce back with a matchup against the Cincinnati Reds (37-37), who enter play Monday 8 1/2 games back of the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central.

On the Reds’ side of things, the team’s offense has been red-hot of late, hitting a collective .284 over its last 13 ballgames and a big reason is the contributions of first baseman Joey Votto, who is hitting .319 since his return from the disabled list, with five doubles and 9 RBIs in those 12 contests.

An offensive stud for Chicago has been third baseman Luis Valbuena, who, since May 13, has a triple-slash of .330/.395/.527. He, combined with the strong performances of Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro, coupled with the return of catcher Welington Castillo, should give the Cubs some pop in the lineup throughout the series.

Here’s a brief look at the pitching matchups for each of the three games.