Ohio Cup
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| First meeting | June 16, 1997 Jacobs Field |
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| Latest meeting | May 19, 2016 Great American Ball Park |
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| Next meeting | May 22, 2017 Great American Ball Park |
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| Statistics | |||
| Meetings total | 99 | ||
| Regular season series | Indians, 54–45 | ||
| Largest victory | Indians, 15–2 (July 2, 2004) | ||
| Longest win streak | Indians, 6 (twice, most recent: July 18, 2015–present) | ||
| Current win streak | Indians, 6 | ||
The Ohio Cup, also known as the Battle of Ohio, is an annual interleague rivalry series between the two Major League Baseball (MLB) teams from the U.S. state of Ohio: the Cincinnati Reds of the National League (NL) and the Cleveland Indians of the American League (AL). The series name comes from the trophy the teams play for, which was first introduced in 1989 for an annual pre-season exhibition game between the two teams, and later reintroduced in 2008. The cup is awarded to the team that wins the most games against the other in a particular season. In the event of a tie, the team holding the trophy from the previous season retains it.
Prior to the introduction of interleague play, the Reds and Indians had only met in spring training or other exhibition games. Because the two teams play in opposite leagues, the only chance they can meet in the postseason is in the World Series. The Ohio Cup series was originally created in 1989 and was an exhibition game between the two teams played in the state capital of Columbus at Cooper Stadium just prior to the start of the season. A total of eight Ohio Cup games were played, from 1989 to 1996, with the Indians winning six. The games in Columbus were typically well-attended, with attendance topping the stadium's 15,000-seat capacity in all but one year.
The regular-season series began in 1997 with the start of interleague play and has been played every season since except 2002. From 1999–2001 and every season since 2004, the teams meet in two three-game series per season, one in Cincinnati and one in Cleveland. For the 2013, 2014, and 2016 seasons, two two-game series were played back-to-back at each team's home field. Through the 2016 meetings, the Indians lead the all-time regular-season series 54–45.
Both the Cincinnati Reds and the Cleveland Indians are among the oldest teams in Major League Baseball. The current Reds franchise was founded in 1881 and joined the National League in 1890, while the Indians are a 1901 charter member of the American League. Because the two teams are part of different leagues, however, the only chance for them to meet was in the World Series, which has not occurred through 2014. Cincinnati won the tainted 1919 World Series and the Indians won the World Series the following year. In 1940, the Reds again won the World Series with the Indians finishing second in the American League.
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