The Cincinnati Reds (15-20) will begin the first of six games in the Bay Area tonight at 10:07 PM against the Oakland Athletics (15-21). The Reds are coming off a wild four-game series against the Giants. The Reds offense scored 37 runs in the series (their most in a series since 1998) and hit 15 home runs (tying the franchise record for a series). Despite the offensive explosion, the Reds only managed a series split. The Reds did however show impressive resolve on Saturday and Monday after disheartening losses the day prior. The Reds now have a run differential of +23, which is 4th best in the NL. The Reds enter play today 6.0 games back in the division and 5.0 out of the second wild-card spot.
The Reds will make their first trip to Oakland since 2013. This will likely be the final time the Reds will play at Oakland Coliseum as the A’s plan to build a new beautiful new ballpark by 2023. The Reds are 8-11 all-time in regular season games against the A’s.
Rendering of the proposed Oakland A’s ballpark that will be located at Howard Terminal in Oakland California. (Courtesy of BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group)
The A’s have lost seven of their last eight games, and they have fallen to last place in the AL West, 6.5 games behind the first place Astros. They have a run differential of -7, which is 8th best in the AL. The A’s have been lead offensively by third baseman Matt Chapman (161 wRC+) who ranks third in the AL in fWAR at 1.8.
| MLB Ranks | Reds | A’s |
| wRC+ | 82 (24th) | 96 (17th) |
| OBP | .295 (26th) | .318 (19th) |
| SLG | .402 (22nd) | .403 (21st) |
| DRS | 19 (5th) | -2 (20th) |
| ERA | 3.49 (2nd) | 4.61 (19th) |
| FIP | 3.42 (2nd) | 4.42 (17th) |
| K/9 | 9.62 (4th) | 7.99 (27th) |
| BB/9 | 3.34 (11th) | 3.35 (12th) |
| HR/9 | 0.81 (1st) | 1.23 (12th) |
Starting Pitchers
Tyler Mahle is coming off a really solid start in New York when he was lined up against Noah Syndergaard 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 7 K. Mahle’s control early this season has been incredible. Out of the 117 pitchers in the MLB with 30+ innings, Mahle ranks 17th in both BB/9 (1.91) and K/BB (4.41). This will be Mahle’s first career appearance against the A’s. Mahle has a career 3.43 ERA in 7 starts against the AL.
33-year old Mike Fiers is having a tough start to the season for the A’s. If you look through his game logs, Fiers has had 3 good starts, 1 mediocre start, and 4 abysmal starts. He has given up 6 home runs over his past 4 starts. The A’s are still on the hook for Fiers for $8 million in 2020, so they are really hoping that he can get right as they can not afford wasted salary.
The good news for the A’s is that Fiers has dominated the Reds over his career. He has a 2.60 ERA in 10 appearances (8 starts) vs the Reds with 36 K and 10 BB.
Starting Lineups
| Reds | Athletics |
| 1. Joey Votto (1B) 2. Eugenio Suarez (3B) 3. Jesse Winker (LF) 4. Yasiel Puig (RF) 5. Derek Dietrich (DH) 6. Nick Senzel (CF) 7. Jose Iglesias (SS) 8. Tucker Barnhart (C) 9. Kyle Farmer (2B) |
1. Marcus Semien (SS) 2. Robbie Grossman (LF) 3. Matt Chapman (3B) 4. Khris Davis (DH) 5. Matt Olson (1B) 6. Stephen Piscotty (RF) 7. Jurickson Profar (2B) 8. Ramon Laureano (CF) 9. Josh Phegley (C) |
Derek Dietrich is starting for the sixth consecutive game vs a RHP as the DH tonight. It appears he is now an everyday player vs RHP, which is certainly deserving. Kyle Farmer gets a surprising start vs a RHP. Farmer was 4 for 11 with 2 HR in the Giants series and has an impressive .958 OPS on the season. However, Farmer has a career 88 wRC+ vs RHP. You would think that this could be a spot for Josh VanMeter to get a start.
Senzelmania
Nick Senzel is off to about as good of a start as you could imagine. He has a .381 OBP and 181 wRC+. Here are some fun numbers and info:
Nick Senzel hit 2 HRs yesterday in his 4th career MLB game. That's the earliest in his career that a player has had a multi-HR game for the #Reds since at least 1908 https://t.co/rBCmv39pLi pic.twitter.com/PkUMXr8bJ0
— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) May 7, 2019
Reds OF Nick Senzel, who was called up from the minors late last week, has worn four different uniforms in his first four MLB games. He'll wear yet another combo tonight, as the Reds will be on the road. (h/t @Brenden_Maxwell) pic.twitter.com/HlC576n94h
— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) May 7, 2019
Just like we all thought:
Nick Senzel: 13 AB, 3 HR
Vlad Guerrero Jr: 30 AB, 0 HR— Alex Fast (@AlexFast8) May 6, 2019
-Nick Senzel's 92.5 mph average EV would rank 26th in MLB among qualified hitters.
-his 19.0 barrels/PA% would rank second
Chase% – 19.6 / MLB avg – 28.1
Expected stats:
.295 xBA
.783 xSLG
.495 xwOBADefensively, he's tied for the team lead with 1 Out Above Average. #Reds
— OnBaseMachine (@RedsFan_Brandon) May 7, 2019
Other news and notes
Greetings from sunny Oakland. I get the pleasure to call #Reds and A’s tonight on @foxsportsoh with Chris Welsh ?@thinkpitch? pic.twitter.com/SdUWAiOvmM
— Jim Day (@JimDayTV) May 7, 2019
Cincinnati #Reds infielder/outfielder Josh VanMeter wins the International League Player of the Month for the Louisville Bats for his performance in April. This result is shocking to no one.https://t.co/vCrP8SSY2F pic.twitter.com/iezJN9UGxc
— Doug Gray (@dougdirt24) May 7, 2019
Conclusion
The Reds have seven road games against two below .500 teams this week. This is a week that is really important for the Reds to capitalize on before they go on a difficult stretch of games: vs Cubs (3), vs Dodgers (3), at Brewers (2), at Cubs (3). Go Reds!
What!!! Votto leading off again?!!! UGH!!!
I’m not sure he was ever “favored” by the fan base. He needs to turn it around.
Mahle had 7 starts against AL teams?
+1
x 10
Another case of let’s bring up somebody to sit on the bench
What in the heck was Barnhart doing? Looks like he actively avoided tagging the runner on the close leg and lunged as far across the body as he could. I’m sure it’s very hard, but you should react and shove your glove at the closest part of the runners body. Bad play leads to a run. Runner was dead.
Barnhart is extremely overrated defensively. That one Gold Glove is going to sustain many Reds fans for five years of crappy play.
Yessireee!
That ain’t right! Good D by the A’s
Am I the only one still here?
Is it a given that Wood takes someone’s place in the rotation when he is ready? Really like our 5 right now.
Do the Reds get a say in starting the game at midnight Eastern time? I’d be pretty pissed since it was an A’s problem that caused the delay.
No hitter… wow… no hitter… no hits allowed by the A’s pitcher…. HE’S GOT A NO HITTER GOING!!!
nice try….hasn’t jinxed it yet though
Good news is that I’m not sure Fiers can finish it off with his pitch count.
Another solid start by Mahle. Two in a row. Might also lose 1-0 both times.
No no or no a small lead against the Reds when they are in one of their poor hitting games might as well be 10-0
Hope I’m wrong
Also why is it feast or famine with this offense
Looks like Reds cannot score any runs without a homerun, very poor approach at the plate. Still using Votto as leadoff, having Senzel already in the team, just doesn’t make any sense.
Well, Votto did have a HR stolen from him. I’ll give them a bit of a pass on this one. Traveled all the way to the West Coast only for the game to be delayed until midnight eastern time. Dumb schedule by MLB.
I really stayed up till 2:13 am. Fiers did a great job!!!