Toronto Blue Jays 5, Cincinnati Reds 0 in Strat-O-Matic 2020 simulated season game 6

The Toronto Blue Jays (2-5) roughed up Luis Castillo for four runs in the second inning, and rode the stellar pitching of Chase Anderson to a 5-0 shutout of the Cincinnati Reds (2-4) in the rubber game of a three-game series at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

That was the result today as Strat-O-Matic games of Glen Head, N.Y., continued its announced plan to simulate the entire 2020 Major League Baseball season on a day-by-day basis for as long as actual game play is on hold.

The loss was the Reds’ second straight, and the first time they have been shut out in the simulated season.

Help set the lineup, batting order for the simulated Reds:

Have you ever dreamed of your opportunity to “manage” the Reds? Now is your chance. Learn more below!

Three Toronto hits, combined with two Castillo walks and a balk, scored four Blue Jays runs in the bottom of the second inning. Castillo avoided further damage in the inning by inducing hot-hitting Bo Bichette to hit into an inning-ending double play. Bichette later hit a solo homer off Tyler Mahle in the seventh to round out the scoring.

The only inning in which the Reds threatened was the second, when both Nick Castellanos and Freddy Galvis singled. It was the only inning in the game in which the Reds had more than one runner on base. Shogo Akiyama was the only Red with two or more hits, and he reached base a third time on a walk.

As in recent “actual” seasons, the Reds are stumbling out of the gate, losing four of their first six.

Here is the box score, as provided by Strat-O-Matic:

A-Pinch Hit For Winker in 8th Inning

Standings following the April 1 games:

If you have not seen it yet, please check out Wesley Jenkins’ randomized simulation initiative. This will be coming out once a week, starting on Thursday.

The 2020 schedule as currently constituted has the Reds traveling to PNC Park in Pittsburgh for the Pirates’ home opener on Thursday. Sonny Gray gets the start for the Reds, and righthander Joe Musgrove gets the start for the home team.

Help set the lineup, batting order for the simulated Reds:

Have you ever dreamed of your opportunity to “manage” the Reds? Now is your chance.

Strat-O-Matic has agreed to allow Redleg Nation to submit the Cincinnati Reds’ lineups for each day’s simulated game. We want all of our readers who want to participate to get involved.

Here is how it will work:

• In each wrap up of that day’s simulated game, Redleg Nation will post the opposing starting pitcher for the next game. You will know who the pitcher is and whether he is left-handed or right-handed, and you can use that information in creating a lineup for the next game, and submitting it in the comments below. “Splits” such as performance vs. left-handers or right-handers are replicated in the Strat-O-Matic game algorithm, and therefore should be considered.
• We will accept lineups from every reader who wants to submit one. The lineup that will be submitted to Strat-O-Matic each day will be the one that receives the most positive replies (in effect, “yes” votes) from readers other than the submitter. In case of ties:
  • First tiebreaker: Lineup submitted by the reader who has had the fewest number of opportunities as a “manager.”
  • Second tiebreaker: Lineup submitted earliest in the comment thread. (So get your lineup in “early” each day.)
• What is “early?” Redleg Nation posts these articles daily between 5 and 6 p.m. Eastern time. Strat-O-Matic’s deadline for us to submit a lineup for the next day’s game is midnight. On most days, we’ll do this before “bedtime,” which is typically between 10:30 and 11 Eastern time.

Have fun with this! If you have any questions, please post them in the comment string below.

About Strat-O-Matic

Strat-O-Matic has been in the sports simulation business since the 1960s. A USA Today article contained this explanation:

Strat-O-Matic and other baseball simulations use statistics from the previous season to create “cards” for each player on a roster. The team managers select the batting order and the starting pitcher. From there, a series of dice rolls and calculations determines the outcome of each at-bat.

Strat-O, as it’s known to longtime players, first gained its immense popularity as a board game. The company has since expanded to a downloadable Windows version and one that’s played online. A few years ago, it introduced Baseball Daily – a new iteration that combined the player cards from the previous season with statistics from the real season being played at the same time.

Unlike many video games, the Strat-O-Matic results are based on algorithms that account for players’ actual past performance. It’s not a game played with a joystick that relies more on the skill of the person with the video game controller in his or her hand.

The simulation software will keep comprehensive statistics for all teams for the season, so we’ll be able to track year-to-date leaders in many statistical categories. Our current plan is to provide statistical leader summaries here at Redleg Nation each Sunday. You can follow the season at Strat-O-Matic.com, where they plan to post the results from each day’s schedule at 2 p.m. Eastern time.

News/Notes from around baseball

One of the things we would have during the season in the game threads was a section comprised of news and notes for the day. While there’s a lot less going on these days in the baseball world than usual for this time of year, there still are some things that are worth highlighting. When there are, we’ll be adding them to these daily simulation threads.

Matt Bowman on crafting his cutter

David Laurila of Fangraphs spoke with Reds reliever Matt Bowman about how he developed his cutter. It’s a rather interesting story that involves Roy Halladay, Mariano Rivera, and a television program. Go check it out.

Matt Bowman, Chaz Roe, and Justus Sheffield on Crafting Their Cutters and Sliders

One Players Union representatives look at why they cut down the draft

The 2020 and 2021 Major League Baseball drafts have been dramatically cut down. One player rep, Nick Ahmed, spoke about what he felt happened with regards to the association agreeing to cutting the draft down to five rounds this year and limiting undrafted player signing bonuses to just $20,000 for the next two drafts. Over at RedsMinorLeagues.com I wrote about the situation, just how little money is actually saved by each team with this plan, and more.

Hearing from one MLB Player on dealing away amateur player rights

Speaking of not-Major-League-Baseball stuff, former Cincinnati Reds outfielder Shin-Soo Choo is donating $1000 to each player in the Texas Rangers farm system. Players in the minor leagues are getting $400 per week, through May 31st (or the start of the minor league season if it comes sooner).

According to a report in Naver Sports, #TexasRangers OF/DH Shin Soo Choo will be donating 1K to each 190 minor league players in the org to help them get thru this difficult time. Not sure if donation is the right word, but the total giving comes out to 190k. #mlb

— Daniel Kim ??? ? (@DanielKimW) April 1, 2020