Game two of the four-game weekend series against the St. Louis Cardinals begins today at 7:10 p.m. at Great American Ball Park. The Reds are still holding on to a sliver of hope that they can right the ship and start winning key games against the teams that are in front of them in the playoff chase.
Starting Pitchers
| Name | IP | ERA | xFIP | K% | BB% |
| Adam Wainwright | 120.0 | 4.35 | 4.28 | 22.7% | 9.4% |
| Luis Castillo | 143.2 | 2.69 | 3.53 | 29.5% | 10.5% |
Thirty-seven-year-old right-hander Wainwright is in the twilight of his career, serving as a starting pitching innings-eater for the Cardinals. He’ll have his moments where he flashes the savvy and effectiveness of his past, and other moments where opponents get to him. He’s about a major-league-average pitcher at this point in his terrific career. What can you say about Castillo? He’s capable of throwing a gem every time out. He’s reached the point where excellence is expected instead of hoped for.
Bullpen
After writing in yesterday’s game preview thread, “You can rent a large neon arrow and point it at the bullpen as the culprit in what is now holding this team back,” they really did the job Thursday night. Four innings of one-hit, one-run work was key in Cincinnati’s 2-1 win. There’s been a lot of shuffling of the bullpen deck recently, so for the record, here is who is currently available:
Raisel Iglesias
Michael Lorenzen
Robert Stephenson
Lucas Sims
Matt Bowman
Joel Kuhnel
Kevin Gausman
Of course, Amir Garrett will rejoin the bullpen as its sole southpaw when his suspension has been served. It will be interesting to see when Manager David Bell will bring in Kuhnel for the first time – close game or non-pressure situation?
Starting Lineups
| Cardinals | Reds |
| CF Dexter Fowler | CF Nick Senzel |
| RF Tommy Edman | 1B Josh VanMeter |
| 1B Paul Goldschmidt | 3B Eugenio Suarez |
| LF Marcell Ozuna | RF Aristides Aquino |
| SS Paul DeJong | 2B Freddy Galvis |
| 3B Matt Carpenter | LF Phillip Ervin |
| C Yadier Molina | C Tucker Barnhart |
| 2B Kolten Wong | SS Jose Iglesias |
| P Adam Wainwright | P Luis Castillo |
Joey Votto is out of the lineup for the second straight day with an ailing back. Surprisingly, Jesse Winker is also out of the lineup against a right-handed pitcher. No word on whether or not an ailment is involved.
Additional insights into the statistical history of the players in today’s game is available all season long at BaseballSavant.com.
News and Notes
Bet you didn’t realize this …
With Hughes getting claimed, everyone on the #Reds active roster except Votto is under 30.
— John Fay (@johnfayman) August 15, 2019
This was encouraging for a pitcher who has had a pretty rough season …
Cincinnati #Reds prospect Vladimir Gutierrez struck out 10 batters and he hit a home run last night for the Louisville Bats – more on that, as well as notes on Randy Wynne and Andres Falcon doing some cool stuff for Greeneville and the AZL Redshttps://t.co/kuUuvF815K pic.twitter.com/6Mbcl8g0as
— Doug Gray (@dougdirt24) August 16, 2019
Jared Hughes, class act …
The @Reds family was beyond welcoming and supportive over the past two seasons. Thank you, Cincinnati, for the love. I greatly enjoyed my time donning your jersey and pitching my heart out in it.
— Jared Hughes (@locatejared) August 16, 2019
Billy Hamilton was designated for assignment by Kansas City …
Royals Designate Billy Hamilton https://t.co/jo83B4Qnn4 pic.twitter.com/2QcawBnuaS
— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) August 16, 2019
The Reds announced all kinds of news around the celebration of Marty Brennaman’s final month of his career as the broadcaster of our favorite team.
The Cincinnati #Reds have announced all sorts of plans to celebrate the final month of Marty Brennaman's final season as broadcasterhttps://t.co/9ViUFeHd5e pic.twitter.com/QjVzhBfc0t
— Redleg Nation (@redlegnation) August 16, 2019