The Reds are going to be sending two starters to the mound this afternoon – but no, not at the same time. Sonny Gray will be getting the start and Trevor Bauer will pitch following that. With the off day on Tuesday they wanted to keep Bauer “on schedule”. Cincinnati will face new Los Angeles Dodgers left-handed starter David Price.
Cincinnati Reds (3-5) Starting Lineup
- Shogo Akiyama – CF
- Joey Votto – 1B
- Freddy Galvis – DH
- Jesse Winker – 7
- Aristides Aquino – RF
- Curt Casali – C
- Derek Dietrich – 2B
- Matt Davidson – 3B
- Alex Blandino – SS
- Sonny Gray – RHP
These guys are expected to pitch in relief today: Trevor Bauer, Lucas Sims, Josh Smith, Jose De Leon, and Ryan Hendrix.
Reserve players on today’s roster:
Pitchers
Catchers
Infielders
- Alberti Chavez
- Christian Colon
- Jose Garcia
- Jonathan India
- Gavin LaValley
- Alfredo Rodriguez
- Blake Trahan
Outfielders
Los Angeles Dodgers (6-3-1) Starting Lineup
- Mookie Betts – RF
- Max Muncy – 1B
- Justin Turner – 3B
- Enrique Hernandez – SS
- Matt Beaty – LF
- A.J. Pollock – CF
- Austin Barnes – C
- Will Smith – DH
- Gavin Lux – 2B
- David Price – LHP
Where to watch/listen/follow the game
The game will be live on the Reds on Radio Network. In the greater Cincinnati area the game will be available on 1360 WSAI AM. The game will be on television on Fox Sports Ohio and MLB.tv.
Reds links and news
Earlier today we took a little bit of a dive into Sonny Gray and the Cincinnati Reds providing him with “the cheat code” as he called it – helping him understand better what works best with his stuff, and helping him take what he can naturally do, and fine tune it to make it a little bit better. If you missed out on that one be sure to check it out.
John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer reported that Travis Jankowski has a hamstring strain, and that manager David Bell doesn’t anticipate him being back before a week. Jankowski, who came over from the San Diego Padres in an October 31st trade last year, doubled on Saturday – but tweaked the hamstring a few steps before reaching the bag. The outfielder walked off the field under his own power, but did leave the game immediately.
This isn’t a Reds story, but it’s a great baseball story. Alex Coffey of The Athletic wrote about Oakland Athletics bullpen coach, and former Major Leaguer Marcus Jensen and the story of his grandfather. His grandfather had played in the Negro Leagues in the 1930’s, but there’s no statistical record of him actually doing so for a lot of different reasons. The younger Jensen keeps a photo of his grandfather, along with his Toledo Bearcats team, on his phone at all times with the hopes that he can share his grandfather’s stories with as many people as he can to keep that memory alive. Go read it.
Outfielder Boog Powell has a right heel contusion. He’s on a minor league deal and got an invite to big league camp.
Final: Reds 6 – Dodgers 2
A good effort across the board led the Reds to the win over the Dodgers on Monday afternoon in Goodyear.
The Highlights
Sonny Gray gave up a run in 2.2 innings before Brooks Raley came on for the final out after Gray reached his pitch count. Trevor Bauer followed up with 3.0 shutout innings and picked up two strikeouts along the way. Lucas Sims and Jose De Leon both tossed shutout innings of relief.
Jesse Winker rakes. Remember that. The outfielder went 2-2 with a walk, two runs scored, and two runs batted in on the day. Curt Casali also picked up two hits on the day, going 2-3 with an RBI. Shogo Akiyama went 1-2 with a walk and a run scored. Freddy Galvis notched his first double of the spring, going 1-3 with two runs scored. Matt Davidson picked up his second double of the spring, going 1-3 on the day. Blake Trahan walked twice in the game and he added a stolen base. Prospect Stuart Fairchild went 1-2 with a double, and Jose Garcia went 1-1 as he raised his average to .417 on the spring. For the entire box score of the game you can click here.
Notes worth noting
Aristides Aquino was hit in the hand by a 98 MPH fastball and left the game. They showed him making a fist and flexing his hand when asked by the trainer – so if nothing else, hopefully that’s a good sign. As this is being typed, though, there has been no update provided on Aquino.
Trevor Bauer pitched in relief today because the Reds are off on Tuesday and the team would rather him go today than on Wednesday to better keep him on schedule.
Glad to see Votto back in there today. Hope he plays as much as possible this spring to get into a groove before opening day. Hoping to get to see Hendrix pitch as well. Never seen him pitch.
If you see Hendrix on the right day, it’s truly a treat.
I know its early spring but seeing Votto with a OBP over .500 is sure nice to see. Glad he got his first hit of the spring out of the way.
Jesse Winker get a hit off lefty Price….
Nice hit too.
Blandino tootblan
Well, unless Aquino starts hitting even a little bit, he might make the decision to send him back to AAA pretty easy. Don’t make it easy, Aristides.
Meanwhile, Joey finally gets his 1st hit as I type that! (Not that I’m worried about Votto… Aquino is on a different set of expectations).
Fairchild with a nice double and I think he had a homer in another game.
The OF crowded situation is clearing, guess a five-man is set with Shogo, Nick, Winker, Ervin and Senzel. Senzel may start the season in IL with Travis stepping in (if healthy). Aquino to minors, Payton returned and Schebler released.
I’d be fine and dandy with that right there.
I dont necessarily think its clear on March 3rd. Payton is having a decent spring and he could be a 6th outfielder. Both Nick’s can play in the infield in a pinch so Vanmeter and Blandino could end up in AAA. Long way to go here.
Interesting Jim Day interview with Detrich about Bauer using the warm-up signs for the pitches he was throwing, so that the batter knew what was coming.
Practicing for playing the Astros and Red Sox.