Cincinnati Reds 2, New York Yankees 0 in Strat-O-Matic 2020 season simulation game 21

Trevor Bauer was brilliant in perhaps the most dominant pitching performance in the young sim season for the Cincinnati Reds (9-12), as they recorded a 2-0 shutout of the New York Yankees (13-9) in the Bronx. The Simcinnati Reds avoided a three-game sweep by New York with the win.

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!

Bauer went seven innings, striking out 11 while allowing only five hits and two walks. Amir Garrett and Raisel Iglesias finished the shutout with stellar relief work over the final two innings. It was a day for strikeouts, as Yankees starter J.A. Happ whiffed 14 Reds in his seven innings.

Strat-O-Matic quoted Bauer as saying, “The important thing is that we won. If I get 20 and we lose, what good does it do our team? But, on the other hand, since we won it feels great!” In a more private moment, Bauer dedicated his dazzling performance to his Redleg Nation manager of the day, James Owens, who announced via the Redleg Nation comments Saturday that he had become the father of a baby boy that very day. Bauer said he was motivated by his hopes that his manager’s son might be named Trevor Bauer Owens, but conceded that there may be other factors being considered for the baby boy’s name.

The sim Reds offense continued to be spotty at best, but two runs were enough on this day. Solo home runs by Eugenio Suarez in the fourth and Nick Castellanos in the sixth were all Cincinnati was able to muster against Happ. Michael Lorenzen, who got the start in center field, played the entire game there and went 2-for-3 at the plate.

There was good news for the Reds in the divisional race, as well. First-place Chicago, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh all lost their games, so Cincinnati leapfrogged the latter two teams and now sits third in the NL Central, behind the Cubs and St. Louis. The three-game series at Busch Stadium which starts Monday, therefore, takes on some added significance. A sweep of that series would move the Reds ahead of St. Louis.

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

A-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Sanchez In 7th Inning
B-Pinch Ran For Ford In 9th Inning

Standings following the April 19 games:

The 2020 schedule as currently constituted has moving on to St. Louis Monday for the first of a three-game series against the Cardinals. St. Louis took two of three from the sim Reds in the season-opening sim series. Anthony DeSclafani pitches for Cincinnati, and righthander Carlos Martinez will go for St. Louis.

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.

Because James Owens was a winning manager today, his lineup will be chosen for Monday’s game if he opts to submit one. If not, the Monday lineup will be determined from among other submissions according to the steps outlined immediately above.

Have fun with this! If you have any questions, please post them in the comment string below. Here are the “managerial records” of our Redleg Nation participants to date:

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.

MLB could furlough, reduce salaries of employees in May

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred will suspend Uniform Employee Contracts on May 1st according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Essentially, that’s anyone who isn’t a player – including managers, coaches, scouts, minor league managers and coaches, as well as many – but not all – front office employees.

Effective May 1, Commissioner Rob Manfred will suspend Uniform Employee Contracts, enabling teams to furlough employees or reduce their pay, according to major-league sources. Teams would not be required to take such measures, but baseball’s decision would provide the possibility of relief for clubs facing the most significant financial duress as the 2020 season remains on hold.

The Best Relief Season on the Farm of the last decade

Rounding out the Season of the Decade on the Cincinnati Reds farm system, Doug Gray handed out the award for best relief season to Donnie Joseph’s 2012 campaign. He would be traded late that season in the deal for Jonathan Broxton before going on to spend a few years in the big leagues with the Royals. That season saw him post a 1.72 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A.

Reds Farm System Season of the Decade: Donnie Joseph’s 2012

Photo of Trevor Bauer by Erik Drost. Photo has been edited. License can be found here.