AP Photo/Michael Swensen

The Rundown: Greene Shuts Down Crapulent Cubbies, Counsell Coy About Rotation Options, Kershaw Retires

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterSeptember 19, 2025

“I let the battle commence. I see a sun in the trees and a draught at the door. With my head in my lap, there’s a day to explore.” — When the Hangover Strikes by Squeeze

The Cubs met the Reds with a four-game winning streak and a newly minted playoff berth, but facing Hunter Greene in what was essentially a hangover game halted Chicago’s momentum. Greene tossed a one-hit complete game shutout against Colin Rea, who threw a gem of his own. The news wasn’t all bad, however. The Padres lost to the Mets, reducing the Cubs’ magic number to five to host the Wild Card round.

Rea’s performance was just what the Cubs needed and it’s too bad the offense couldn’t back him up. The veteran righty struck out 11 Cincinnati batters in seven innings, keeping Craig Counsell from dipping too deep into his bullpen. Michael Soroka mopped it up and pitched well while Seiya Suzuki had Chicago’s lone hit, his 30th double of the season.

Shōta Imanaga will face Nick Lodolo this evening as the Cubs try to get back on the right side of the ledger. A win tonight coupled with another Padres loss will reduce Chicago’s magic number to three, making home field advantage a near lock.

Cubs News & Notes

Ball Four

Perhaps yesterday’s loss had nothing to do with being hungover and everything to do with Wednesday’s dress code.

Central Intelligence

  • Milwaukee (94-59): Quinn Priester is emerging as Milwaukee’s next breakout ace, and he could replace Freddy Peralta at the top of the Brewers’ 2026 rotation.
  • Chicago (88-65): Counsell isn’t going to announce his playoff rotation ($) two weeks in advance, but Horton could take the bump in Game 1 against the Padres or Mets.
  • Cincinnati (77-76): Reds manager Terry Francona may alter his rotation to give Greene two more regular season starts. Cincinnati trails the Mets by two games but won the season series 4-2, so they just need to tie New York in the standings.
  • St. Louis (74-79): The Cardinals lack of depth on their 40-man roster may prompt a traditional rebuild instead of the scorched-earth kind. Most St. Louis executives believe the team’s farm system is healthy.
  • Pittsburgh (65-88): A new documentary celebrates the life of Roberto Clemente on and off the field. It’s called “Clemente” and it’s playing now in select Pittsburgh-area theaters. Richard Linklater served as one of the film’s executive producers, and the film is also expected to hit Netflix near the beginning of this year’s World Series.

Wild Pitch

“Makes it kind of quiver down in the core ’cause you’re dreamin’ of them Saturdays that came before… And now you’re stumblin'” — (Looking for) The Heart of Saturday Night by Tom Waits

How About That!

Clayton Kershaw announced he will retire at the end of this season. I love a happy ending, but I’m okay if his season ends much sooner than October does.

Nick Castellanos described the infamous Phillies Karen like he was talking about the 2025 Rockies.

Bad actors are stealing and reselling tickets illegally accessed via MLB’s Ballpark app.

Milwaukee has now won 19 straight in games that Priester starts.

Extra Innings

Cub fan, Bud man, Dansby Swanson.

Apropos of Nothing

WKRP in Cincinnati premiered 47 years ago this week. There is something wrong with you if the Turkey Drop episode isn’t one of the funniest things you’ve ever seen. “As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.”

They Said It

  • “It’s a grind of a season. You celebrate the first goal you accomplished. We’ve also made it to our first goal, and that’s exciting. For everybody that’s been a part of the grind the whole year, for everybody that’s worked so hard to put us in this position, it’s a fun thing to do. It turned out perfect in my eyes. We had a lot of fun. We got to Cincinnati and the old people went home while the young people stayed out.” – Counsell
  • “I love pitching in high-stakes moments. It’s a lot of fun to go out there and compete when you’re in the thick of it.” – Horton
  • “[Boyd’s] got to feel like he’s on the attack. [During] the good stretch, he was seemingly ahead of the hitter, ahead of the hitter, ahead of the hitter, finishing at-bats quickly. The balls have been an issue of getting into different counts. That gives the hitter a little bit of an advantage, and then you have to win back that advantage. He’s had a little bit of a hard time doing it.” – Counsell
  • “We’ve created a game plan [for our starters] to be able to be flexible. But, yes, we have the guys we want to be flexible on those days.” – Counsell

Friday Walk-Up Song

Though I’d like to see the Cubs clinch at home on Tuesday with Cade Horton on the mound, let’s just get ‘er done this weekend. Three wins to go.

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterSeptember 19, 2025
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