None of that is new information for oddsmakers by this point in August, but it's the backdrop for a series that means very different things to each side. Cincinnati has fallen off the pace in the NL Wild Card race in recent weeks, while Chicago is still hanging around a playoff picture that's gotten tougher to crack with Milwaukee running away with the division.
Burns has been the best story in the Reds' rotation all year, a 14-3 arm with an ERA under 3.00, but his last time out against the Giants was a mess — 5 earned runs allowed in just 3.2 innings, a step back from the form that made him a Rookie of the Year name. Reports out of Cincinnati have also suggested the club may be managing his innings down the stretch, which could mean shorter outings and an earlier trip to a taxed bullpen.
Imanaga, for his part, has quietly turned into the guy the Cubs hoped he'd be again after last year's hamstring trouble, but his last start against Seattle was inefficient — just 2 innings on 72 pitches before departing with a no-decision. Cincinnati's lineup is banged up too, having lost Michael Toglia to season-ending shoulder surgery and Spencer Steer to a wrist injury that may not let him return at all this year, which leaves Francona piecing together a lineup as much as a rotation.
Neither team arrives with much momentum. Both have gone 2-3 over their last 5 games, and the Cubs specifically have dropped their last 2 before this series. It's a matchup of two clubs that need better baseball than they've been playing lately — one because it still has something to play for, the other because it's trying to prove it still belongs in the conversation.