Cincinnati Reds 9, San Diego Padres 2 in Strat-O-Matic 2020 season simulation game 52

Three Cincinnati Reds (27-25) pitchers combined to limit the San Diego Padres (28-25) to two hits, and Michael Lorenzen was the star of the game despite not appearing in a pitching role. Final score: Reds 9, Padres 2 at Great American Ball 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!

Lorenzen got the start in centerfield from Redleg Nation commenter/manager James Owens, and the two-way player rewarded that faith. Lorenzen went 2-for-4 with a triple, home run, two runs scored and three runs batted in. In nine game appearances in non-pitching roles, Lorenzen’s slash line is a not-too-shabby .368/.435/.737/1.172.

Leading off the bottom of the first, Lorenzen smoked a triple off San Diego left-handed starter Joey Lucchesi, and Freddy Galvis brought him in with a sacrifice fly. The Padres tied things up in the top of the second, as Jurickson Profar hit his fifth homer of the season off starter and winner Anthony DeSclafani. But the sim Reds came right back to take a lead they would not surrender. In the bottom of the second, Mike Moustakas singled and Aristides Aquino doubled. Curt Casali then plated Moustakas with a ground out for a 2-1 Reds lead.

Lorenzen struck again in the bottom of the fifth, hitting a two-run homer that scored Casali, who had doubled. The sim Reds then piled on in the bottom of the sixth with five more runs, with the big hit being a two-run double by Casali.

DeSclafani allowed only two hits in six and one-third innings, but his control escaped him in the seventh. He walked three of the first four batters, and was pulled in favor of Lucas Sims, who then walked Tyler Gresham to force in San Diego’s second run. Further damage was avoided when Will Myers grounded into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded.

Aquino, who got the start in right field in his first game back after being recalled from the minors, also rewarded his manager. He went 2-for-4 with a double, run batted in and a run scored.

The sim Reds started what they hope will be another winning streak. The win, Owens’ third in five games as commenter/manager, means the red-hot Reds have won seven of their past eight and 10 of their last 12 games.

All of the NL Central teams except Milwaukee won today. The Brewers’ loss came at the hands of the Cubs, who remained virtually tied with the Reds for second place, two games behind division-leading St. Louis.

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

A-Pinch Hit For Johnson In 7th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Naylor In 9th Inning

B-Subbed Defensively (2B) For Sims In 8th Inning

Standings following the May 24 games:

The 2020 schedule as currently constituted has the Reds playing the final game of the four-game series against the Padres Monday at Great American Ball Park. Wade Miley will pitch for the sim Reds, while right-hander Chris Paddack pitches for the Padres.

How are the simReds performing?

Every day we link over to Strat-O-Matic’s simulated stats, but there’s a lot of information in these posts and you probably gloss over the links and don’t click them. Well, today we’re just going to share the stats here for how everyone is performing so you don’t need to click the link and it’ll be a bit harder to gloss over, too.

The Hitters

The Pitchers

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.

All players’ batting stats

All players’ pitching stats

Batting and pitching player stats by team

James Owens has priority for the Monday lineup since he won today’s game. 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’ performance based on statistics that their statistical experts project for each player in the 2020 season. 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.