Reds close out a painfully historic season vs. the Cubs

Previewing the pitching matchups: Reds vs. Cubs

Cincinnati Reds starter Hunter Greene vs. Chicago Cubs starter Hayden Wesneski

Rookie Hunter Greene (4-13 4.66 ERA) makes his final start of the season opposing Hayden Wesneski (3-1 2.33 ERA) of the Cubs in tonight's opener. If there's been one bright spot in the Reds season, it's been the dominance of Greene over his last seven starts.

Tossing 40.1 innings, the fireballing right-hander has whiffed 58 while compiling an exceptional 2.01 ERA. The 22-year-old California native has not allowed more than two earned runs in an outing in six starts dating back to a July 15th appearance versus the St. Louis Cardinals.

Right-hander Hayden Wesneski has been impressive in a trio of September starts. Working 18.1 frames, he's limited the opposition to four runs and surrendered only one round-tripper. The former sixth-round selection of the New York Yankees in 2019 is looking to solidify a spot on the 2023 Chicago roster.

Cincinnati Reds starter Luis Cessa vs. Chicago Cubs starter Javier Assad

Luis Cessa (4-4 4.76 ERA) toes the rubber Tuesday night as Javier Assad (2-2 3.62 ERA) takes the mound for David Ross' club. Let's hope Cessa can weave the same magic against the Cubs he deployed in a September 8th start versus the North Siders.

The 30-year-old Mexican fanned a season-high eight Cubbies in 5.2 innings leading the Reds to a 4-3 victory. If the Reds are going to lean heavily on Cessa next season, he has to be much better at GABP. In 20 appearances at home, including three starts, the right-hander has compiled an ugly 6.75 ERA in 32 frames of work.

Rookie Javier Assad is another Cubbie looking to establish himself for the 2023 Chicago club. If he's going to be a part of the Cubs' future, he'll need to limit traffic on the base paths. Opponents have reached base 50 times via a hit or walk in Assad's 32.1 innings.

Cincinnati Reds starter Graham Ashcraft vs. Chicago Cubs starter Adrian Sampson

Wednesday's matinee season finale will feature Graham Ashcraft (5-5 4.52) battling Adrian Sampson (4-5 3.10 ERA) for Chicago. Since returning from the injured list, it's been tough going for the Cincinnati rookie.

Hurling 6.2 innings, Ashcraft has been rocked for 14 hits and nine earned runs. In addition, the Cubs have been a nightmare matchup for the Alabama native. The right-hander has yielded 19 hits and 15 earned runs in only 11.1 frames versus the North Siders in three outings.

Adrian Sampson has had no such trouble shutting down the Redlegs this season. A former fifth-round selection of the Pirates in the 2012 draft, he's allowed Cincinnati to cross the plate just four times in three starts since August 13th.

David Bell's Reds ball club had no chance for success in 2022.

November 2021 served as a harbinger for the 2022 edition of the Cincinnati Reds. Within a matter of days to open the month, the Reds waived Wade Miley, arguably the club's best pitcher last year, and traded two-time Gold Glove Award-winning catcher Tucker Barnhart to the Detroit Tigers as general manager Nick Krall claimed the team had to "align payroll to match the club's resources."

However, as painful as November was for Reds Country, nothing could have prepared the fanbase for the March 14, 2022 deal that saw the Redlegs deal former All-Stars, and fan favorites, Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker to the Seattle Mariners for Justin Dunn, Jake Fraley, and a pair of prospects.

It was painfully clear, the front office was providing field skipper David Bell with a club that had zero chance to be competitive in the NL Central.

Unfortunately, once the season began, things only got worse. Cincinnati dropped 22 of their first 25 contests and never recovered. As the trade deadline drew near, the club sent starting pitchers Luis Castillo to the Mariners and Tyler Mahle to the Minnesota Twins essentially raising the white flag.

Add season-ending injuries to Tyler Stephenson and Joey Votto, and all the ingredients for a historically poor season are in place. Mercifully, the 2022 campaign will reach its conclusion in three days.

Prediction: Reds lose 100 games for the 2nd time in team history.

The Cincinnati Reds will be better in 2023, however, that won't prevent them this year from becoming the second Redlegs club to lose 100 games in a season, as the Reds, despite taking two of three from the Cubs, end the campaign with a 62-100 record.

On a personal note, I can't thank the readers of Blog Red Machine enough for your continued support in what has been an unbelievably trying season for our beloved Reds. Let's do it again starting next March because Reds Country, where else are we gonna go?