A Justin Smoak double capped a 3-run, 4-hit rally by Milwaukee that put the Brewers (36-35) ahead for good in a win over the Reds (35-37) on Sunday afternoon.

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!

Joey Votto led off the game with a single and a stolen base, then came home to score on a Shogo Akiyama double to put the Reds in front. The Brewers stormed back in the bottom of the inning getting a run of their own, and then they took the lead the next inning on a Justin Smoak solo home run. In the 4th inning Cincinnati would tie things up with a bit of help from the Milwaukee defense, leading to an RBI ground out from Joey Votto. That would be the last time the Reds would score on the day.

It was not a tie for long, though. In the 5th inning the Brewers went to work, going single (Cain), strikeout, single (Yelich), and single (Hiura) before running Anthony Desclafani from the game. Cody Reed came on and got a ground out, but then Justin Smoak capped his big day with a double that put the game out of reach and put Milwaukee ahead 5-2. The Reds offense threatened a few times, but couldn’t put together the big hit to get any runs to come across the plate.

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

Standings following the June 14 games:

The 2020 schedule has the Reds off on Monday before returning on Tuesday against the San Diego Padres. The Reds will send Luis Castillo to the mound and face off against right-handed pitcher Chris Paddack.

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.

The Players want the season set and to get going

We wrote about it last night here at Redleg Nation, but just in case you missed it, the players turned down the most recent offer from the owners and told them to set the schedule length and tell them when and where to show up. They’re tired of the back-and-forth that has seen the owners make the exact same offer four different ways and just want to get the season started.

MLBPA: Tell us how many games and when to report

Former NFL Quarterback trying to make it as a pitcher

Christian Heckenberg, who played college football at Penn State and then in the NFL with the New York Jets is trying to give baseball a go as a pitcher. The right-hander is reportedly already throwing 90 MPH. ESPN reports that he was a reliever in high school, and had some velocity, but had little clue where it was going as he walked 40 batters with 33 strikeouts in 25.2 innings.

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

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.