Redleg Nation has had moments of high hopes in 2019 – a sweep of the Houston Astros, and shortly thereafter winning five of seven against the Cubs and Brewers. And then, there have been moments like Friday night, when David Hernandez surrendered a late lead in Denver, leading to a third consecutive Reds loss.
Former Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens owner Art Modell once described one of his primary roles as owner as, “I sell hope.” As Reds fans, we actually do have some hope in July for the first time in many a moon. So losses like Friday’s sting a bit more than ones that occur when your team has no pitching to speak of and is double-digits in games behind. They sting when you begin to believe that your team has at least two starting pitchers that are of “ace” quality, but that your team seems unable to capitalize on that good fortune.
The Reds try to come out of this particular dip in the season when they face the Rockies in the second game of a three-game set at Coors Field in Denver. Game time is 8:10 p.m. Eastern time.
Starting Pitchers
| Name | IP | ERA | xFIP | K% | BB% |
| Tanner Roark | 92.1 | 3.51 | 4.42 | 23.2% | 7.6% |
| Kyle Freeland | 59.1 | 7.13 | 5.36 | 18% | 9.2% |
Roark has been surprisingly effective for the Reds this year, at least compared to his recent seasons with the Nationals. It appears that he is fitting perfectly into Manager David Bell’s strategy of having a quick hook once the starting pitcher starts through the batting order for the third time. Or, perhaps Bell’s strategy fits Roark’s strengths and limitations like a glove. He has been mentioned as a possible pre-deadline trade candidate, but it seems unlikely that he would be able to attract enough of a return in prospects to motivate Dick Williams and Nick Krall to surrender one of their starters – at least, if they remain in the playoff race prior to July 31. Lefthander Freeland has struggled mightily this season after what appeared to be a breakout season in 2018.
Bullpen
All hands should be available tonight. It will be interesting to see for how much longer Manager David Bell believes using David Hernandez in high-leverage situations makes sense. Friday night would have been the perfect moment to use Raisel Iglesias against the All-Star-laden top of the Rockies order in the eighth inning – in the high-leverage, non-save role that Iglesias has filled on a handful of occasions previously this season.
Starting Lineups
| Reds | Rockies |
| CF Nick Senzel | RF Charlie Blackmon |
| 1B Joey Votto | SS Trevor Story |
| 3B Eugenio Suarez | CF David Dahl |
| RF Yasiel Puig | 3B Nolan Arenado |
| LF Phillip Ervin | 1B Daniel Murphy |
| SS Jose Iglesias | LF Raimel Tapia |
| 2B Jose Peraza | 2B Ryan McMahon |
| C Curt Casali | C Chris Iannetta |
| P Tanner Roark | P Kyle Freeland |
Additional insights into the statistical history of the players in today’s game is available all season long at BaseballSavant.com.
News and Notes
Those were the days, my friend …
Today in Reds history, 1976: Johnny Bench, Dave Concepción, George Foster, Ken Griffey, Joe Morgan, Tony Pérez and Pete Rose appear in the All-Star Game in Philly. They combine for 7 H, 4 R and 4 RBI. Foster (HR, 3 RBI) takes home MVP honors in the NL’s 7-1 win. #BigRedMachine pic.twitter.com/VcuqaQQBOH
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) July 13, 2019
Interesting, but not surprising …
Sonny Gray’s 7 IP, 1 run start last night was the 47th game this season a #Reds SP has limited the opposition to <=2 runs.
They are only 29-18 in those games.
— OnBaseMachine (@RedsFan_Brandon) July 13, 2019