After what was probably the best win of the season on Friday afternoon, the Reds will try to make it four straight wins against the Chicago Cubs (29-20) this afternoon. First pitch from Wrigley Field is set for 2:20 ET.
Starting Pitchers
| Name | IP | ERA | FIP | xFIP | K% | BB% |
| Tyler Mahle | 51.1 | 3.51 | 3.46 | 3.27 | 26.00% | 5.30% |
| Yu Darvish | 48.0 | 5.06 | 5.11 | 4.2 | 28.60% | 16.60% |
After a rough April, Tyler Mahle has rebounded well in May. In four starts this month, he has a 2.31 ERA and a 3.00 FIP, with 28 strikeouts and only four walks. The difference from April to May might be in the frequency of pitches that he’s throwing. This month, Mahle has thrown less of the four-seamer and more curve balls and split finger pitches. It’s showing in his strikeout totals too, as he’s already surpassed the 26 strikeouts he had in April and May isn’t quite over yet.
Javier Baez and Kyle Schwarber have had the most success off Mahle in limited at-bats.
It’s not been a good season for Yu Darvish, yet in his outing against the Reds in Cincinnati last week, he was dominant, striking out 11 in 5.1 innings. He has given up a lot of runs this season, but he hasn’t lost his ability to strikeout batters.
His K% is almost 30%. In 48.0 innings, he has 62 strikeouts (though the Reds contributed to this numbers in a big way last week). He’s always been a strikeout pitcher, racking up more than 200 strikeouts in a season three different times. Darvish’s real problem in 2019 has been control, or lack thereof. He’s already walked 36 batters, and it’s only a little more than a quarter of the way through the season. He’s well on his way to breaking his career record of 89 walks set during his rookie season with the Texas Rangers.
Lineups
| REDS | CUBS |
| 1. Nick Senzel (CF) 2. Joey Votto (1B) 3. Eugenio Suarez (3B) 4. Jesse Winker (LF) 5. Yasiel Puig (RF) 6. Derek Dietrich (2B) 7. Jose Iglesias (SS) 8. Tucker Barnhart (C) 9. Tyler Mahle (P) |
1. Kyle Schwarber (LF) 2. Kris Bryant (3B) 3. Anthony Rizzo (1B) 4. Javier Baez (SS) 5. Jason Heyward (RF) 6. Victor Caratini (C) 7. Albert Almora Jr. (CF) 8. Addison Russell (2B) 9. Yu Darvish (P) |
Derek Dietrich is 3-for-6 with a home run off Darvish. The only other players who have more than four at-bats against him are Eugenio Suarez and Joey Votto, who are a combined 3-for-17 against him.
News and Notes
How balanced is the NL Central? The Cincinnati #Reds are in last place, 6.5 games out of 1st, but have outscored the opposition by 26 runs. The five other last place teams in baseball have been outscored by a combined 317 runs.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) May 24, 2019
Cincinnati #Reds Minor League Game Review: 5/24/19
Tyler Stephenson had 3 hits for the Chattanooga Lookouts on Friday nighthttps://t.co/vUbLUp5a1Q pic.twitter.com/XvFM1DYsdU
— Doug Gray (@dougdirt24) May 25, 2019
Congrats to No. 4 Reds prospect IF Jonathan India, No. 29 LHP Packy Naughton, C Hendrik Clementina, 2B Alejo Lopez and LHP Ryan Nutof on their All-Star selections! ? #RedsMiLB https://t.co/VdDJVfgd6V
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) May 24, 2019
-I remember this game. I think I watched until the bitter end because as a college student with no early classes, I could stay up all hours of the night and sleep in the next day.
May 25, 2011: The #Reds battle the Phillies for 19 innings over 6 hours and 11 minutes. It remains the longest game in Reds franchise history. Carlos Fisher tosses 5.2 innings in extras before surrendering the winning run in a tough-luck loss. #OTD pic.twitter.com/M1DY2eBd0X
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) May 25, 2019
Tweet of the Day (Well, Yesterday)
Hey Cincinnati what do you say… the Reds got the win today?
— CountOnAG (@Amir_Garrett) May 24, 2019
Final Thoughts
Please enjoy these photos of Eugenio Suarez celebrating his home run yesterday. They are wonderful.
A mood in four stages. #BornToBaseball pic.twitter.com/310QohADGA
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) May 24, 2019