Cubs-Reds series will start an NL Central shakeup
Folks are trained to pay attention to the weather at Wrigley Field.
They can tell you how the Cubs are faring this season when the wind blows out (7-1).
They can tell you how they do when the wind blows in (4-4).
They can even tell you how they do in a crosswind, whether it arrives from the southeast or northwest (3-0).
And after Monday night, they’ll 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 the series opener between the Cubs and the 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, incorrectly guessing the storm’s arrival time. They moved the game up from its scheduled start time 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 lolli-pops for this first encounter of the season between the Reds, who began May in first place, leading the National League Central for the first time since 2006, and the Cubs, who grabbed sole control of first by sweeping the Diamondbacks over the weekend while the Reds were losing three straight in Pittsburgh.
These have been days of miracle and wonder in the NL Central: All five teams began Monday with winning records.
Don’t expect that to last: Since the leagues split into three divisions in 1995, no division has seen all of its teams finish a season with a winning record, although there was one occasion when all five members of a division finished at .500 or better. That would be 2005, when the Braves, Phillies, Marlins and Mets all finished at break-even or better in the NL East.
Still, the fact that the Pirates began Monday night with a 19-16 record — last in the NL Central but better than any team in the American League Central or 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 games with the Reds this week, they host the Brewers on May 18-20, then play four on the road May 25-28 against the Pirates, who took two of three from them last month at Wrigley. They end May with three against the Cardinals in St. Louis.
The Cubs took sole possession of first place for the first time this season Friday, then increased their advantage to two games over the Reds and Cardinals with another win Sunday against the Diamondbacks. They entered Monday 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 and kept it 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 has hung in the sky. But if this were the Kentucky Derby, we’d only be two furlongs in. A lot of race to be run.