PCA’s 21 Bombs Fuel Cubs-Reds Pitching Duel Storyline

Nick Lodolo toes the rubber for Cincinnati against Javier Assad and the visiting Cubs, and the arm-versus-arm subplot gives this one a proper narrative spine before the first pitch is thrown.

The real seasoning, though, is Pete Crow-Armstrong. The Cubs outfielder is hitting .293 with 21 home runs — numbers that make him one of the more electric young bats in the National League heading into the second half. Elly De La Cruz counters at .272 for the Reds, bringing his own highlight-reel energy to the middle of the Cincinnati order alongside Sal Stewart’s 19 home runs.

Neither franchise is in postseason limbo just yet, but both are close enough to the edge that a mid-July series loss stings. The run-line at CHC -1.5 frames this as a game the Cubs are expected to control — which only raises the dramatic stakes if Lodolo keeps them honest.

Young arms, a rising star swinging a hot bat, and two clubs with something to prove: this one sits at chunky on the Chunk Scale.