| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Reds | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 18 | 0 |
| Cardinals | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 0 |
The Cincinnati Reds (38-39) used another big inning on Saturday to pull out a victory of the St. Louis Cardinals (41-35).
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 Reds got on the board in the top of the 1st with a quickness – Shogo Akiyama singled to lead off the game and Joey Votto followed up with a 2-run homer. The lead didn’t last very long on a bullpen day, as closer Raisel Iglesias made the start and gave up two runs of his own in the inning. Cincinnati grabbed the lead back after a Michael Lorenzen double was followed up by a Tucker Barnhart single, making it 3-2. The Cardinals got the run back when Nate Jones started the 3rd inning by giving up a solo homer to Tommy Edman. Cody Reed came on for the 4th inning and gave up four hits in the inning, leading to two St. Louis Runs and watching the Cardinals jump ahead 5-3.
But it was the next inning when the Reds pulled away. Mike Moustakas led off with a double and was followed up by back-to-back singles by Eugenio Suarez and Nick Castellanos. Michael Lorenzen came through with his second double of the day, and after a ground out by Tucker Barnhart, Phillip Ervin and Freddy Galvis also doubled to put a 5-spot on the board for Cincinnati as they took an 8-5 lead. Three singles in the 6th inning led to an insurance run. Eugenio Suarez capped off the Reds scoring with a solo homer in the 8th inning that made it 10-5. Matt Carpenter crushed a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 8th against Lucas Sims to cut into the lead, but 10-7 was as close as the Cardinals would get.
Here is the sim Reds box score, as provided by Strat-O-Matic:
Standings following the June 20 games:
| NL Central | WON | LOST | PCT | GB |
| Cardinals | 41 | 35 | .539 | 0.0 |
| Cubs | 41 | 36 | .532 | 0.5 |
| Brewers | 39 | 36 | .520 | 1.5 |
| Reds | 38 | 39 | .494 | 3.5 |
| Pirates | 32 | 43 | .427 | 8.5 |
The 2020 schedule will see the Reds take on right-handed pitcher Carlos Martinez and the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday. Today’s Redleg Nation winning commenter/manager Gonzo Reds will be setting the lineup. Wade Miley will take the mound for the Reds.
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.
Spring Training 2.0 in the home city
Assuming that we get baseball going again, teams are going to be holding their spring training in their home city and not their spring training facility according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Most teams were already planning on doing this, but it seems that everyone is now on board with that plan.
Every #MLB club has now decided to have their spring-training camp in their own home cities with the recent surge of COVID-19 in Arizona and Florida.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) June 20, 2020
Speaking of getting a season going….
The #MLBPA executive board, consisting of an 8-member subcommittee and 30 team representatives, are meeting today but there will be no vote taken on the #MLB 60-game proposal. That vote will likely be Sunday.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) June 20, 2020
The NFLPA suggests no group workouts
A message to players from NFLPA Medical Director, Dr. Thom Mayer: pic.twitter.com/4IGlEBhRr9
— NFLPA (@NFLPA) June 20, 2020
If you were curious about how the NFL was going about things, it’s not great news.
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.
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:
| Commenter/ “Manager” |
WON | LOST | PCT |
| Jon Davis | 6 | 3 | .667 |
| Peter Onte | 2 | 1 | .667 |
| BK | 9 | 5 | .643 |
| James Owens | 3 | 2 | .600 |
| Gonzo Reds | 6 | 4 | .600 |
| Redsfan4life | 5 | 4 | .556 |
| RedsEuphoria | 1 | 1 | .500 |
| Tomn | 1 | 1 | .500 |
| Doug Gray | 1 | 1 | .500 |
| Melvin | 1 | 4 | .200 |
| Don | 1 | 4 | .200 |
| AirborneJayJay | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| Jeff | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| Mark Moore | 0 | 2 | .000 |
| VaRedsFan | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| Tom Mitsoff | 0 | 2 | .000 |
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.
Current Roster
(* = player has NO options)
(+ = LHP or LHB)
(^ = Switch Hitter)
Our current 26 man roster is:
C – *+Barnhart, *Casali
IF – *+Votto, *+Moustakas, *Suarez, *^Galvis, *+Dietrich
OF – +Akiyama, Lorenzen, *Ervin, *Castellanos, +Payton, +Winker, Senzel
SP – *Desclafani, *Gray, *+Miley, Castillo
RP – *+Reed, Iglesias, *+Garrett, *Sims, *Strop, *R. Stephenson, Lorenzen, *Jones, Kuhnel
DL – *Bauer (Can return 6/24)
Guys on the 40 man roster not on active roster
C – Stephenson(Can Return 6/28), Farmer
IF – Garcia(Can Return 6/23), +Vanmeter, Blandino
OF – Aquino, +Jankowski, *+Schebler
SP – Mahle(Can Return 6/24), Santillan, DeLeon, Antone
RP – Hendrix, Shafer, +Smith, Bowman(Can Return 6/23)
Finally here is a list of relevant non 40 man players
C – Chris Okey
IF – India, Davidson, Colon, Rodriguez, Trahan
OF – +Friedl, +Powell, Barnes, Fairchild, +Hannah, +Siani
SP – +Lodolo, Greene, Gutierrez, +Naughton, +Raley, Solomon, Lillie, +Sanmartin
RP – Thornburg, +Biddle, Romano, +Finnegan, Carpenter, Alaniz, Powers
Another great win for Gonzo and all of us sim Reds guys! Awesome! Looks like Lorenzen rewarded you Gonzo with going with your gut feeling. One step closer guys. 🙂
Gonzo, my “gut feeling” lineup for tomorrow should it help you in any way during our “crunch time”.
Akiyama RF
Votto 1B
Moose 2B
Suarez 3B
Castellanos LF
Lorenzen CF
Barnhart C
Miley or whoever you choose P
Galvis SS
Thanks for all the help guys on helping me work through things and of course Jon’s roster update early each day is really invaluable.
Well, don’t have to think about the starter at least today, it’s Miley and hopefully he’ll cool off the red hot Carpenter who hits .200 against the rest of MLB and .400 against us each year it seems!
As for the lineup… I don’t see too much reason to make a change today. Thought about Winker as he can work a walk and Car-Mo does tend to give up the free passes but in the end keeping Lorenzen out of the pen seems like a no brainer and I think he hits alot better lower in the order like I had him yesterday.
Aki – LF
Votto – 1B
Moustakas – 2B
Suarez – 3B
Peyton – RF
Lorenzen – CF
Barnhart – C
P
Galvis – 2B
Winker/Ervin/Casto pretty solid pH core. See it put Casali in late at 1B. Really would like to move Deitrich out maybe for Bauer when he returns?
Gonzo, keep the string going
Today was Lorenzen 13th game with 3 PAs, he has to get to 20 before he is a two-way player.
We will have to send a pitcher down for Bauer this week, cannot send a position player and still be in the limit of 13 pitchers.
By the way, Lorenzen’s hitting
In games with a righty Starter he is 4-26
In games which a lefty starts he is 11-27
Looks like it will have to be Jones down for Bauer correct guys? Thanks for the info about Lorenzen and two way status. Thought he was closer. Still, when he gets enough we can add Bowman.
I went through all the games a week or so ago and this is the list of Lorenzen starting games with 3 ABs, what he did at the plate, starting pitcher. I do not think I missed any as at the time I came up with the same number Tom had.
4-19 – Yankees 2-3 (J. Happ) – L
5/2 – Nats – 0-3 (J. Ross) – R
5/16 – Brewers 1-4 (B. Anderson) – L
5/24 – Padres 2-4 (J. Lucchesi) – L
5/26 – Pirates 2-5 (D Holland) – L
5/30 – Cubs 2-4 (J. Quintana) – L
6/1 – Cubs 1-3 (Y. Darvish) – R
6/4 – Cubs 1-4 (J. Quintana) – L
6/6 – Cubs 0-4 (Y. Darvish) – R
6/7 – Cubs 1-3 (J. Lester) – L
6/9 – Dodgers 0-4 (W. Buehler) – R
6/10 – Dodgers 0-7 (D. Price) – R
6/20 – Cards 3-5 (Hudson) – R
I’m sure you didn’t miss any games. You’re very thorough. Certainly not disputing your findings just seemed like more. He sure was valuable against RHP today wasn’t he? Not just his defense.
Farmer up Dietrich down? Farmer can backup SS and C (Casali can backup 1B, Senzel 2B/3B).
If we think that Farmer up will help us win more now in cruch time I’m all for it. You know I’ve been a big proponent recently of adding someone like Garcia or Rodriguez in order to greatly improve our range when needed. One thing to consider about Farmer is do we want Strato using him to pinch hit? One of the other two guys just mentioned would probably get rare chances.
Both have limited PA’s, here are there stats
Farmer – 8-41, 4 2B, 2BB, 17 Ks
Dietrich – 5-21, 1 2B, 3 BB, 5 K’s
So far Dietrich is slightly better offensively (neither are great) and is striking out a lot less so the ball is at least being put into play more. The numbers say to keep the lefty on the bench as a PH for a few more PAs and see what happens.
With your lineup today there are 2 LHB and 3 RHB on the bench which to me is a good balance.
Garcia can be brought up on the 23rd at the earliest as he was sent down on the 13th when Votto got off the IL.
You always have good stats. Do we need to ask ourselves is Dietrich helping us right now more or hurting us more? He did get a pinch hit recently but for the most part is not filling that role well. Strato likes to use him first a lot of times in a game and did again today. Would it be better bringing up someone (a defense first guy) who’s farther down on the list of pinch hitters in order to use more of our good hitters first? Would Farmer be that much of an upgrade to Dietrich if we want to keep one of the two? What does everyone think?
I would not read into the order of the pinch hitter usage as something that the strat-o-matic thinks that hitter is the best pinch hitter. I would have to think it is more complicated selection than that, it has to be situational.
When Dietrich pinch hit, it was for a relief pitcher on a bullpen day whom probably was done pitching even if he was not going to bat, it was the top of the 4th inning, 1 out, game tied 3-3, right handed pitcher.
Situation when other pinch hitters were used today
Castellanos (for Payton) – 5th inning, team down 5-3, no outs, runners on 1st and 3rd.
Ervin (for Reed) – 5th inning, – 5th inning, team up 6-5, no outs, runners on 1st and 3rd. , 1 outs, runners on 2nd and 3rd
Winker(for Stephenson) – 7th inning, team up 9-5, 2 outs, bases empty
When Dietrich pinch hit the choice was probably Dietrich or Winker and the program was saving Winker for a possible more critical time.
If Winker is the only lefty on the bench he may have been used then.
To look at this another way, the average number of runs that have historically scored for each base state/number of outs
Dietrich – 1 out, no runner = 0.24
Castellanos – 1st & 3rd – 0 Outs = 1.65
Ervin – 2nd & 3rd – 1 out = 1.27
Winker – 2 out, no runners = 0.09
Casali and Senzel were not used
So Castellanos and Ervin were given the most critical pinch hitting ABs
I see. Well that’s good work on your part. Thanks. It’s very hard to understand Strato as they’re not always consistent. I really don’t think they want us to understand too much. Bottom line is what everyone thinks will help us right now the most, that’s the move or moves we need to make. No reason to wait if there’s something we need to do now and it’s feasible of course. Time is running out for us to takeover 1st place. 🙂
Sounds good buddy.
I meant that comment towards your lineup.
Until Lorenzen reaches two way status, provided that is the way we want to go (seems like it), we still could use another arm in the bullpen. Has anyone thought more about the idea of telling Strato that we want to use Miley as a reliever, that we’re going with a four man rotation, and that we’ll use a BP day when needed?
I like this idea.
Hi James. Is that something we should vote on ya think?
Hello, gentlemen! I have returned from my trip to the Wisconsin north woods. I’m so excited about the wins over St. Louis! Doug has reassigned the GM duties to me, so I’ll be sending Gonzo’s lineup tonight.
Good to have you back. Doug did a great job of putting up with us but I’m sure he’s happy you’re back too. Hope you had a good time. 🙂
We did, thanks! I was sure hoping that we’d have an agreement for real baseball by today, but not yet. 🙁 Sim baseball will have to suffice for at least awhile longer!
Okay, guys, I am sending Gonzo’s lineup. With the results of the first two games of the series, Sunday becomes the biggest game of the sim season to date. Go sim Reds!