Cubs vs. Reds: RHP Jacob Turner vs. RHP Mat Latos

Chicago Cubs (59-72) vs. Cincinnati Reds (63-69)

RHP Jacob Turner (4-7, 5.77 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, .322 OAV) vs. RHP Mat Latos (4-3, 2.99 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, .220 OAV)

Wednesday, August 27, 2014: 7:10 p.m. at Great American Ball Park

The Miami Marlins were fed up. The golden jewel of the Anibal Sanchez/Omar Infante trade, Jacob Turner was a first-round pick with nothing but upside. Just over two years later, he was flipped to the Chicago Cubs for two minor leaguers.

Tuesday night will be Turner’s first start as a member of the Cubs, having appeared out of relief twice for a total of 4.1 innings and allowing one run. It was back on August 3 that he made his last Major League start, coincidentally against these very same Redlegs. He did not last long, going just four innings of five-run, nine-hit ball before exiting. One of his worst starts of the season signified his demise in South Beach.

Recently, the Cubs bullpen has been lights out. History tells us this can never last, especially for Chicago. With Turner having reached the 100-pitch plateau only once this season, expect to see the Cubs turn to their suddenly dominant arms early on in the night. A golden opportunity has been placed in front of the Reds bats; they will just need to take advantage of the situation.

Here is the lineup he will face via the team’s Twitter account:

CF – Billy Hamilton (2-for-3, 1 RBI)

1B – Todd Frazier (3-for-5, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB)

2B – Brandon Phillips (0-for-3)

C – Devin Mesoraco (1-for-2, 1 K)

RF – Jay Bruce (2-for-6, 1 RBI, 1 K)

3B – Kristopher Negron (0-for-1, 1 BB)

LF – Skip Schumaker (1-for-5, 1 2B, 3 BB’s)

SS – Zack Cozart (1-for-2, 1 RBI)

P – Mat Latos (yet to face Turner)

This will be Mat Latos’ first start as a father. The evolution of the 26-year-old has occurred rapidly since his acquisition from the West Coast, but Latos seems to have found a home in Cincinnati. Unless, he hasn’t. It was announced this morning that the Reds placed Latos on waivers (a fairly common process at this point in the season). Simple economics point out that the Reds will not be able to keep all of their soon-to-be free agent pitchers in Latos, Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake.

For now, Mat Latos is worried about a win. While he has not picked up the loss, his last three starts have all ended in a mark on the wrong side of the column for the Redlegs, bringing the team’s record to 5-8 when Latos starts.

It was at Wrigley Field on June 25 when Mat picked up his first win of 2014. Carving up Cubs batters through seven innings for one of his best starts of the season, Latos went seven innings of work while allowing just a single run and striking out five. With Anthony Rizzo out of the lineup for the Cubs this evening, Latos will be looking to systemically run through Chicago the way he did his last time out.

Here is the lineup he will face via the team’s Twitter account:

LF – Chris Coghlan (1-for-9, 1 BB, 1 K)

2B – Javier Baez (yet to face Latos)

SS – Starlin Castro (8-for-28, 2 RBI, 6 K’s)

3B – Luis Valbuena (3-for-12, 1 RBI, 3 BB’s)

RF – Jorge Soler (yet to face Latos)

C – Welington Castillo (3-for-5, 1 RBI, 1 K)

CF – Arismendy Alcantara (yet to face Latos)

1B – Chris Valaika (yet to face Latos)

P – Jacob Turner (yet to face Latos)

Time is of the essence as the sand in the Reds hourglass slowly begins to thin out. There are only 30 games remaining–a miraculous comeback is needed to salvage a depressing 2014 campaign. Mat Latos looks to get the club back to their winning ways against the Cubs and Jacob Turner.