First-place Cubs open road trip at Cincinnati

The Chicago Cubs, winners of five of their past six games to bolster their position atop the National League Central, will aim to continue their hot streak on Thursday as they begin a 10-game road trip with the opener of a four-game set against the Cincinnati Reds.

Ian Happ belted his second homer since making his season debut on July 26 by launching his second career grand slam in Chicago's 10-1 romp over the Oakland A's on Wednesday afternoon. The 24-year-old is batting .320 (8-for-25) with six RBI in 12 games.

"The way he's swinging the bat right now, I'm creatively trying to get him in the lineup and see how it plays," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said of Happ, who has played all three outfield positions and second base this year.

Kyle Schwarber blasted a three-run homer for Chicago, which will look to improve upon its poor road record (21-33) on Thursday versus a Cincinnati club that has won seven of the teams' 12 encounters this season.

The Cubs also made waves off the field on Wednesday by signing veteran Jonathan Lucroy to replace injured All-Star catcher Willson Contreras (hamstring). Maddon confirmed the move by telling reporters that Lucroy would join the Cubs on Thursday.

Lucroy was designated for assignment by the Los Angeles Angels last Friday, two days removed from the club acquiring fellow catcher Max Stassi from the Houston Astros.

The 33-year-old Lucroy was reinstated from the injured list last week after sustaining a concussion and a broken nose during a collision with Astros outfielder Jake Marisnick that caused him to miss two weeks.

Chicago left-hander Cole Hamels (6-3, 2.84 ERA) will get the nod on Thursday after a sparkling return from a strained left oblique injury that sidelined him for all of July.

Hamels received a no-decision on Saturday despite scattering four hits over five scoreless innings against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The 35-year-old permitted one run on two hits in one inning on June 28 against Cincinnati before exiting with the injury. Hamels took the loss in that outing, falling to 11-2 with a 1.97 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP in 18 career starts versus the Reds.

Hamels has flustered Tucker Barnhart (1-for-13) in his career, although the Cincinnati catcher is entering the series on a hot streak.

Barnhart belted a pair of solo homers and scored three times on Tuesday as the Reds recorded their eighth win in 11 outings, an 8-4 victory over the Angels.

"Just trying to contribute any way I can to help the team win," said the 28-year-old Barnhart, who is batting a robust .379 (11-for-29, three homers, nine RBI) since the All-Star break.

"I've played around here long enough where we haven't been any good. We're good now. And we're going to make things interesting down the stretch."

Cincinnati's Eugenio Suarez launched his team-leading 30th homer Tuesday, marking the second straight season in which he has reached that plateau.

"For me, that's my goal every year, to break my numbers," the 28-year-old said. "That feels really good, and to go back-to-back is more special. Back-to-back 30-home-run seasons is not easy."

Reds left-hander Alex Wood (1-0, 3.18 ERA) will get the nod on Thursday after yielding two runs in each of his starts this season since returning from the disabled list. He had been sidelined due to a sore back.

Wood picked up the win on Friday at Atlanta, overcoming a pair of solo homers and four hits total in 6 2/3 innings during a 5-2 victory.

The 28-year-old sports a 3-2 mark with a 2.86 ERA in nine career appearances (six starts) versus the Cubs.

--Field Level Media