The Short Version: Reds ride a strong start by Luis Castillo and a well-rounded offensive attack to a victory in the first game of an eight-game road trip. Against the Cardinals, which is always fun.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (28-32) | 4 | 10 | 0 |
| St. Louis Cardinals (30-29) | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| W: Castillo (6-1) L: Cabrera (0-2) S: Iglesias (12) | |||
| FanGraphs Win Probability | Box Score | |||
The Good
–Luis Castillo pitched six strong innings to notch his sixth victory of the season. One run allowed — thanks to a leadoff homer — on two hits and four walks, eight strikeouts…that’ll do, Luis. That’ll do.
–Jose Peraza was 2 for 3 with a double, a walk, two runs batted in and one run scored. Peraza has not looked good at the plate so far this year, so that was nice to see. He also made a really nice sliding catch in left field. Peraza has not looked good in the outfield so far this year, so that was nice to see.
–David Hernandez allowed a hit, but struck out the side in a scoreless eighth inning.
–Yasiel Puig hammered his 11th homer of the season. Jose Iglesias singled, walked, and scored a run.
–Every player in the starting eight collected at least one hit. Which is always a good thing.
–His first inning single marked twenty consecutive games on base for Joey Votto, who was 2 for 5 on the night. It’s the 22nd consecutive game against St. Louis that he’s reached base. The 20-game streak is Votto’s longest of the season; it also ties Nick Senzel for the longest by a Reds batter this season.
–Raisel Iglesias, in his new role as “closer who comes in when the Reds are leading by three runs in the ninth inning” picked up his twelfth save. Honestly, he looked pretty dominant in the process, but it wasn’t exactly a high-leverage situation.
The Bad
–In the third and fourth innings, Eugenio Suarez, Puig, and Curt Casali all hit balls very, very hard and all were loud outs. At least two of them would have been home runs back at venerable ol’ Great American Ball Park.
–Scary moment in the eighth, when Puig collided with the wall as he chased a foul fly ball that settled into the seats. He remained in the game after being checked out by all of Cincinnati’s top men and appears to be okay.
The Recap
–One hour, twenty minute rain delay before first pitch. First weather delay of the season on the road. Central time, rain delay…yep, that’s what happens when it’s my day to write the recap. But I couldn’t be happier, given the result.
–In the third inning, Votto tagged up and advanced from first to second on a fly ball to right-center field. Heads-up baserunning.
–Reds finally got on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth. Jose Iglesias led off with a single and Kyle Farmer followed up with a single one out later. Jose Peraza doubled in Iglesias, and the game was tied at 1-1.
Then, after Castillo grounded into a fielder’s choice, Nick Senzel doubled down the left field line to give the Reds a 2-1 lead.
–One inning later, Puig extended that lead when he murdered a solo homer to dead center. Later, with two outs, Curt Casali blooped a single to right-center. Farmer reached on a St. Louis error, then Peraza drove in another run with a first pitch single giving the Reds a 4-1 lead.
–The Runnin’ Redlegs can go ahead and wrap up a victory in this series in St. Louis with a win tomorrow night. Help us, Anthony DeSclafani, you’re our only hope.
Today’s Tweets
So, Joey is just gonna get 2-4 hits in every game forever now. That's the new standard.
— Jason Linden (@JasonLinden) June 5, 2019
Yasiel Puig (18) off LHP Genesis Cabrera (3) – 106.3 mph, 22 degrees (425 ft Home Run)
96.7 mph Four-Seamer#Reds @ #STLCards (T5) pic.twitter.com/Um6ZDCB9gO— MLBBarrelAlert (@MLBBarrelAlert) June 5, 2019
You would think that Fox Sports Ohio would know about Joey expressing his frustration by now after a strikeout and would be ready to mute the mic…. pic.twitter.com/NgOZVG5nC6
— Doug Gray (@dougdirt24) June 5, 2019
We'd like to announce that the Cincinnati Reds are our favorite baseball team.
— Redleg Nation Radio (@redlegradio) June 5, 2019
Good win tonight. The pitching staff continues to delight us with great performances. Joey heating up. Peraza had a nice night. 4 games under. 1/2 game behind Pirates. Please Redlegs….string together 5-6 wins and make a move up into 3rd place in the central and 2-3 games out of WC. This team is so fun to cheat for, but would love them to pull above 500 this week.
Great recap! I miss when it was always written in this format.
Let’s get a series win tomorrow.
Very important victory in the first game of this 8-game trip, and most important against the Cards. Good to see the offensive picking it up but Puig, not sure how much more DB will keep him hitting fourth with his .642 OPS. Tough decisions coming up if they want to keep a WC spot eyesight and trade line approaching, as six contract-year players remain in the roster (Puig, Gennett, Wood, Roark, Hernandez & Hughes). I’d say Wood and Gennett, coming from IL, are going nowhere; Roark, Hernandez & Hughes shall remain and lastly Puig is the only one that could be traded, but with those poor numbers it’s very unlikely to happen.
I’m happy Peraza had a really good game. His season has been disappointing this far, but I think most of the offense has been pretty disappointing. It’s been altogether too easy for many to forget he was a league average starting shortstop at 24 years old last year, which most teams and fanbases would be really happy with. Beat them birds!
He also led the Reds in hits last year which everyone seems to forget.
Matthew, I can tell you that the previous year and a half of production probably means more than the first two months of this year. The fact that he has a higher career OPS at 25 than Jose Iglesias does at 29 probably does as well. I’m not saying he should be starting over Iglesias, certainly not at the moment, but he is currently the best starting shortstop in the organization controlled through the next few seasons, and nobody else is really close. Until that changes, he is the future at shortstop, and should be getting regular playing time.
I’m talking about a full season where, FACTUALLY, STATISTICALLY, he was an MLB average starting shortstop. Preceded by a solid half season. That’s not a narrative, that’s reality. What you are saying ignores these facts. That’s pushing a narrative.
Nice win, Castillo continues to pitch as one of the top 5 starters in the National League. Hopefully Mahle shows progress remainder of season and develops into a solid second starter. With Sonny and Disco looking very solid and strong most of the time, this team can exhibit excellent pitching the next couple seasons – a real window of opportunity for rings.
Continued value signings will be key – Iglesias and Dietrich this year’s prime examples.
Not overpaying for inflated Great American Ball Park offensive statistics will also be key on the management front. As great a story as Scooter was the past couple years, the Reds will have to make a business decision along the lines of Billy Hamilton after last season.
For the remainder of this season, best to develop the offensive players that will be key for the next two, three years. That means playing Winker more often, giving Ervin opportunities, same for van Meter. On the pitching front, bring up Sims and Reed.
Your last paragraph should have been but never has been what this team will do.Still don’t know what to do with so many people and wont’ know any more after this year.A silly and basic fundamental flaw in any rebuild.Holding on to players past their prime and never giving others a legit chance.You mentioned some and there are so many more that have been in the organization for 3 or 4 years.Never have established if they are starters or releivers or bench players or starters.Front office never has gone all the way in because 70 wins is better then 65 and they measure success that way.As fans we want to compete for the playoffs and a possible trip to the world series.In their defense they have made some moves that could be perceived that they are beginning to get it but only time will tell and it will take just that time.The 2019 team is much better but it may not win any more games but I think its realistic to say they could win 72-77.
The winning of series is the key for the Reds to move up in the standings. A series win in St. Louis would be huge. Peraza is a free-swinger who comes to the plate ready to hit. Maybe he’s the key to stir up the Red’s offense to go along with the greatly improved pitching.
Any thoughts on Castillo’s AB with the bases loaded with one out. Swinging at pitch one and then GIDP on pitch two. Why not the ‘stop sign’?
I’ve seen enough from the Reds this year to be happy about this team going forward. They may not win the division or even make the playoffs, but they are now a good team that’s only going to get better for years to come. I’m going to have a post on it tomorrow.
Peraza had a great game and just like year and the year before I am good if he plays every day.Only problem is for me he is taking time away from Winker who should be given that same opportunity of playing every day.His numbers in the minors and last year were really good.Peraza lost his job at second and short because others were better and still has over 1700 at bats.Winker is now in a platoon after less then 700 at bats.Headline on the Reds site says speedster leads Reds.The Reds are just in love with speed guys,see Billy,that they will give them every chance regardless how they hit or for how long.
+1
Curious as to his MiLB platoon split. Not finding them on a quick search on my phone. Most LH hitters show a rather significant platoon split but Winker’s MLB line is worse than most. Not sure I’d be ready to deem him a platoon player in so fee PA against LHP unless he showed very significant split in the minors too.
Need to give Ervin a consistent chance. He would get the same numbers as Puig at worst while still being an unproven commodity.
Probably because he has a career 124 wRC+ in around 3k PA, compared with 200ish this year. Yes, everyone knows he’s severely struggling so far, but don’t act like he’s Billy Hamilton. Let’s see how June plays out.
I do agree that Ervin should be up, and if Bell insists on platooning Winker (which I dont agree with) that Ervin should be the primary beneficiary. Also, it’s a waste having Vanmeter sit the bench and not getting consistent abs in Louisville.
Well stated and true.
He gets rolling and he can play. Still one of my favorite all time Reds. It was right for the Reds to trade him though.
Small sample. Puig over his career (much larger sample) actually has hit RHP better than LHP.