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If you were among the precious few who were up past 2 a.m. today and had your viewing screens tuned to the Reds vs. Rockies contest, you may be among the many folks who reacted like this:

Every time you batted an eye, new milestones occurred:

Did those of us who stayed awake past 3 a.m. enjoy the benefit of witnessing the Phillip Ervin coming-out party? We’ll see. It’s been clear since his time with the major league club last year that the guy can punish the ball. Until this year, he just hasn’t done it consistently. He had a fantastic spring training, and in retrospect should have made the team out of Arizona.

Ervin got the start last night against Colorado lefty Kyle Freeman, but after Freeman was removed from the game and replaced by a righty, Manager David Bell had the opportunity to play matchups and pinch-hit Winker for Ervin. He did not, and the results speak for themselves. Ervin certainly has earned a chance to play every day, and he’s in there again today for the rubber match of the three-game series at Coors Field. Game time is 3:10 p.m. Eastern time.

Starting Pitchers

Name IP ERA xFIP K% BB%
Tyler Mahle 92.2 4.47 3.84 25.5% 6.4%
Antonio Senzatela 86.1 5.32 5.19 12.3% 10.9%

Mahle’s biggest bugaboo in 2019 has been his propensity to surrender home runs. He’s allowed 18 to date in 17 starts, and most of them seem to come at bad moments in close games. Mahle has done his job in keeping games close, but the long ball has done him and the team in. The Reds have won only three of Mahle’s 17 starts. The Rockies, on the other hand, are 9-7 in Senzatela’s 16 starts.

Bullpen

Wandy Peralta pitched two effective innings last night (this morning?) and may not be available. Neither Raisel Iglesias nor Matt Bowman nor Jimmy Herget has pitched in a week, so they should be rested and available for more than an inning if needed. David Hernandez needs to be limited to situations in which the team is way ahead or way behind. What the bullpen really needs is the return of both Amir Garrett and Cody Reed, because Bell is currently limited in his ability to match up against lefthanders.

Starting Lineups

Reds Rockies
CF Nick Senzel LF Raimel Tapia
RF Jesse Winker SS Trevor Story
3B Eugenio Suarez RF David Dahl
1B Derek Dietrich 1B Daniel Murphy
LF Phillip Ervin CF Ian Desmond
2B Scooter Gennett 3B Ryan McMahon
SS Jose Iglesias C Tony Wolters
C Kyle Farmer 2B Garrett Hampson
P Tyler Mahle P Antonio Senzatela

With all of the offense in last night’s game, this moment was probably the most critical:

That long ball put the Reds ahead to stay, after they had fallen behind by four runs early. Dietrich has had a flair for the dramatic this season, despite his inconsistency. He’s in the starting lineup today, as Joey Votto, Curt Casali and Yasiel Puig will start the game as reserves. All-stars Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado start the game on the bench today for the Rockies.

Additional insights into the statistical history of the players in today’s game are available all season long at BaseballSavant.com.

News and Notes

Today’s game is the MLB.tv Free Game of the Day. So if you don’t usually get to watch, today could be your opportunity for free to do so.

Perhaps the easiest win ever in a Reds pitcher’s won-loss ledger …

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