Cubs-Reds series will start an NL Central shakeup
Folks are trained to pay attention to the weather at Wrigley Field.
We can tell you how the Cubs are faring this season when the wind blows out (7-1).
We can tell you how they do when the wind blows in (4-4).
We can even tell you how they do in a crosswind, whether it arrives from the southeast or northwest (3-0).
And after Monday night, we will be able to tell you how the Cubs fare when a rainbow, mimicking the high arc of a Moises Ballesteros home run, materializes beyond the right-field wall. The rainbow came courtesy of a thunderstorm that caused a 100-minute delay to the start of Monday night’s game between the Cubs and Cincinnati Reds.
The Cubs, who have yet to experience a rainout at home in 2026, had anticipated earlier in the day that the weather might get messy. But they committed an error not uncommon to your favorite meteorologist, guessing wrong at the storm’s time of arrival. The Cubs moved up the game from its scheduled start of 6:40 p.m. to 6:10, thinking conditions would worsen as the night progressed. Oops. It started to rain around 5:45, thunder and lightning showed up shortly thereafter, and the grounds crew didn’t begin to remove the tarp until 7.
But soon enough it was blue skies and lollipops for this first encounter between the Reds, who began May in first place, leading the National League Central on May 1 for the first time since 2006, and the Cubs, who grabbed sole control of first by sweeping Arizona over the weekend while the Reds were losing three straight in Pittsburgh.
These have been days of miracle and wonder for the Central: All five teams began the day with winning records. Don’t expect that to last: No division since the leagues split into three divisions in 1995 (the strike ended the 1994 season prematurely) has had all of its teams finish a season with a winning record, although there was one occasion where a division has had all five of its members finish at .500 or better.
That would be 2005, when the Braves, Phillies, Marlins, Nationals and Mets all finished at break-even or better in the NL East.
Still, the fact that the Pirates began the night with a 19-16 record, which qualified for last in the NL Central but was better than any team in the AL Central and West, meant a little something for however long it lasts.
“It tells me everyone is playing well,’’ Cubs manager Craig Counsell said when asked about all five Central teams sporting records above .500. “It also tells me we haven’t played too many games in the division yet.’’
That all changes this month for the Cubs. After four with the Reds this week, the Cubs will host the Brewers (May 18-20), then play four in Pittsburgh (May 25-28), who took two of three from the Cubs last month in Wrigley, before ending the month with three against the Cardinals in St. Louis (May 29-31).
The Cubs took sole possession of first place for the first time this season on May 1, then increased their advantage to two games over the Reds and Cardinals with another win Sunday against the Diamondbacks. They began the night with a five-game winning streak and an 11-game winning streak at Wrigley. That probably accounts for the number of TV cameras in the clubhouse before the game mushrooming to five.
Last season the Cubs grabbed first place on April 4. They were in first place for 93 days, until July 27. Three weeks later, they were nine games behind the Brewers.
The ivy has turned green, hope is rising, a rainbow is hung in the sky. But if this was the Kentucky Derby, we’re only two furlongs in. A lot of race to be run.
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