The Chicago Cubs face the Cincinnati Reds Watch FREE: Live Streaming Online MLB from Great American BallPark Monday at 7:10 PM ET
The Reds are thrilled with what they've seen from Alfredo Simon, who has been outstanding while filling in for the injured Mat Latos. Jeff Samardzija has been nearly as good for the Cubs, but he doesn't have much to show for it.
In a rematch of an earlier showdown, Simon takes the hill opposite Samardzija as the Reds open a three-game home set against the Cubs on Monday night.
Simon (3-1, 1.30 ERA) has given Cincinnati a huge lift, surrendering two runs or fewer in each of his first four outings while holding opponents to a .172 average. The right-hander is looking to win a third consecutive start after allowing two runs and four hits over 6 2/3 innings in Wednesday's 5-2 victory at Pittsburgh.
"He's been terrific," manager Bryan Price said. "He's been an extremely versatile pitcher for us the last two-plus seasons. He's always been a talented guy, but he's really found himself and made himself into a very good-looking starting pitcher."
Simon also shined in a 4-1 win at Wrigley Field on April 18, allowing one unearned run over six-plus innings opposite Samardzija.
"We just weren't able to do a whole lot offensively," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said afterward.
Samardzija (0-2, 1.53), who has yet to yield more than two earned runs this season, can't seem to catch a break. The right-hander has struck out 27 and walked just nine over five starts spanning 35 1/3 innings while receiving a combined nine runs of support.
Samardzija was in line for the victory before the Cubs (8-16) allowed five runs in the ninth inning in Wednesday's 7-5 loss to Arizona. He gave up two runs and seven hits in 7 1/3 innings.
"I'm going out and doing my job. As a starting pitcher, you know when you're pitching every fifth day and you come out -- you have to have a short memory," Samardzija told MLB's official website. "You start carrying over start to start, that's when it starts to snowball on you. You keep doing your work and competing for the team and hope for the best."
Samardzija has received an average of 2.60 runs of support during an 11-start winless stretch dating to last year.
Samardzija surrendered three runs -- one earned -- and struck out seven in as many innings against the Reds earlier this month, dropping to 0-4 with a 4.75 ERA in his last seven starts in the series.
The Reds (11-14) just suffered a three-game sweep at Atlanta to conclude a 5-5 road trip, falling 1-0 in 10 innings on Sunday. Cincinnati also lost 4-1 on Saturday and is 7 for 61 (.115) in its last two games.
The Cubs had dropped four in a row before posting their first shutout in Sunday's 4-0 win at Milwaukee.
Despite the victory, the Cubs dropped the three-game set to extend their string of winless series to 13. Chicago's last series win came at Cincinnati from Sept. 9-11.
However, the Reds are 25-7 against the Cubs dating to August 2012 after taking two of three in this season's first series.
The game will be streaming live on gofirstrowus.eu/sport/baseball.html
