​CINCINNATI — Who are the real Chicago Cubs? That question still lingers nearly four months into the 2026 season. The Cubs headed into their final series before the All-Star break on pace for 91 wins, just a notch shy of their 92-win showing in 2025. It has been a rollercoaster, with stretches of dominance, but also an entire month in which nothing seemed to click.
It appears they’re pointed in the right direction as they opened a series against the Cincinnati Reds on Friday, yet it’s hard to view this club as belonging in the same tier as the Los Angeles Dodgers or the Milwaukee Brewers. On Friday night, the Cubs’ lineup went silent against Reds ace Hunter Greene, who fanned 11 over seven shutout innings in a 4-0 victory at Great American Ball Park. “We didn’t take very many good swings,” manager Craig Counsell said. “I think we hit four balls hard tonight (and had) five baserunners total on the night. That’s never going to be enough.”
Cubs batters struck out a season-high 16 times, with three strikeouts apiece from Pete Crow-Armstrong, Alex Bregman and Michael Conforto. Greene, making only his second start after missing the first three months due to bone chips removed from his right elbow, still reached 101 mph in the seventh inning. The Cubs managed just four hits and one walk in their ninth shutout loss, tying the San Francisco Giants for the second-most shutouts allowed in the majors.
Yet given the injury-plagued pitching staff, a 10-game losing streak, and the continued struggles of Bregman and others, should the Cubs feel content about where they stand entering the break? “We’ve got a decent record, right?” Counsell replied before Friday’s game from the sweltering Cubs dugout. “We’ve put ourselves in a pretty good position. That doesn’t guarantee us anything going forward.”
“We’re not going to come back after the break and be finished with the injuries. We’ve still got injury issues, and we’ve got a way to get what I’d consider back to medium strength. We’re still at a pretty big deficit after the break.” Counsell indicated Jameson Taillon could return next week on the homestand after a rehab start, which would help stabilize a rotation that has suffered significant blows. Since Cade Horton’s season-ending injury and losses of Ben Brown, Taillon, and Edward Cabrera over the past month, Cubs starters were 13-3 with a 3.45 ERA since June 10, ranking third in the National League behind Milwaukee (2.69) and Miami (3.18), and sixth overall in MLB.
Imanaga, who yielded a solo homer to Elly De La Cruz over five innings Friday, has stepped up since reclaiming the role of de facto ace, while Matthew Boyd delivered one of his strongest outings as a Cub on Tuesday in Baltimore, spinning six shutout innings. Imanaga threw 102 pitches and remains a focal point as the Cubs navigate the remainder of the season.