Reds vs. Cubs Rain Delay, May 4, 2026: Start Time, Updates, Full Details

There are plenty of old adages about baseball's early season. Some people say that fans shouldn't even bother looking at division standings at all until after Memorial Day. Others often say that it is a "long season" with "a lot of baseball left to play" to downplay the importance of these early games and results as if these games don't count exactly as much as ones in September. However, something does feel a bit different about the Cincinnati Reds' road series against the Cubs this week, which is why it is a shame that we have to wait to watch it.

Instead of seeing whether or not the Reds can prove that their start isn't a fluke against a quality Cubs team, we are all forced into the waiting game. The rotten weather in the Chicago area was always a potential concern on Monday. In fact, things were looking so rough this evening that the start time was already moved up to 6:10 PM CST in order to try and avoid the storms this evening. Sadly, those attempts were in vain and the Reds and Cubs are starting tonight's game in a rain delay anyway.

**UPDATE: 7:02 PM CST**

Looks like this delay will end up being on the longer end of predictions, but not too bad considering the weather in other areas. Barring a change in the forecast at Wrigley, this game between the Reds and Cubs will begin at 7:50 PM local time (8:50 PM EST).

Reds vs. Cubs Rain Delay, 5/4/26: So when do we think this game will start?

There are times when you know roughly how long the rain is going to be around because the storm is one solid blob on the radar moving at a set speed. The problem with guessing the length of tonight's rain delay is that the rain in the area is very scattered, which is why moving the start time up like the teams did was probably never going to work out as well as they hoped.

Looking at the forecasts out there, there is a decent chance that this is a relatively short rain delay if a window in the storm opens up like some experts are saying could happen. However, other models have the scattered storms in the Chicago area plowing through Wrigley repeatedly this evening until around 8 PM CST or so. Any delay beyond that would be supremely unlucky, although not impossible.

We will keep this post updated as more information is made available by team officials, including an estimates of a game start time. Reds fans should take some solace in the fact that this game is unlikely to be postponed, although we could end up waiting a bit. Get comfortable with some snacks and keep a close eye out for updates.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow