Cincinnati Reds 6, Pittsburgh Pirates 4 in 2020 Strat-O-Matic season simulation game 8

Behind a starting lineup constructed by Redleg Nation grand poobah Doug Gray, the simulated Cincinnati Reds (3-5) snapped a three-game losing streak in beating the Pittsburgh Pirates (4-4) by a score of 6-4 at PNC Park.

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.

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!

The simulated Reds broke a streak of 22 consecutive scoreless innings in the top of the third against Pirates righthander Trevor Williams. Curt Casali led off with a single, and winning pitcher Trevor Bauer then reached on a two-base error by first baseman Josh Bell while attempting to sacrifice bunt Casali to second. Josh VanMeter, making his first start of the year, followed with a walk to load the bases, and Joey Votto’s single scored Casali and Bauer for the Reds’ first lead in several days. However, the heart of the order — Nick Castellanos, Eugenio Suarez and Mike Moustakas — was unable to deliver any more runs that inning with two on and nobody out.

In the top of the sixth, Moustakas led off by drawing a walk, and then Nick Senzel deposited one over the wall for his first homer. The Reds’ scoring was capped in the eighth when the first five batters reached, but only two runs scored. Two Reds runners were thrown out at the plate on what Strat-O-Matic described as “web gems” by Pirates catcher Jacob Stallings.

Bauer earned his first win of the season with five innings of four-strikeout baseball. One walk by the Reds pitching staff was the lowest one-game total of the simulated season. Reds batters drew seven walks, including three by Moustakas and two by VanMeter.

Despite the win, the Reds remain in the early Strat-O-Matic NL Central Division cellar, three games behind the 6-2 Cubs.

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

C-Pinch Hit For Lorenzen In 8th Inning
D-Subbed Defensively (RF) For Winker In 8th Inning
E-Subbed Defensively (LF) For Vanmeter In 9th Inning

A-Subbed Defensively (RF) For Williams In 6th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Burdi In 7th Inning
F-Pinch Hit For Feliz In 9th Inning

Standings following the April 4 games:

The 2020 schedule as currently constituted has the Reds playing their third straight rubber game of a three-game series, this time against the Pirates on Sunday. Starting pitchers are Anthony DeSclafani for the Reds, and righthander Mitch Keller for Pittsburgh.

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.

Major League Baseball has loosened up some of the restrictions that had been put in place three weeks ago with regards to scouting. Teams still aren’t allowed to have in-person scouting, but can go about acquiring video, data, and information from players (and their agents, coaches, etc.). With the draft being quite different than ever before, teams now have a better idea of which players to focus in on more than ever.

The Reds can get back to scouting in a limited fashion

In case you missed it earlier here at Redleg Nation, we published two pieces already today. The first was just having some fun with the distances on home runs hit by the Reds last season. The other was about a plan that Major League Baseball is considering that would include quarantining the players in either Arizona or Florida and attempting to play the season at empty spring training facilities.

MLB is considering games at empty spring training parks

Joe Posnanski has been counting down Baseball’s Top 100 Players of All Time over at The Athletic since the winter. On Friday we arrived at the #5 player on his list, and I’m guessing that a large number of readers have never heard of him. But even if you have, you should take the time to go read Posnanski’s piece on Oscar Charleston. While you’ll probably learn something baseball related, it’s also a fantastic piece of writing outside of baseball.