Opening Day isn’t until Friday, but today we get the first of two exhibition games against someone other them the Reds themselves. Tonight at 6:40pm ET and tomorrow at 6:10pm ET the Cincinnati Reds will host the Detroit Tigers in exhibition games as the two get ready for Opening Day on Friday evening.
For those of you who were wondering, yes, we will be able to watch this game. Initially it was thought to be radio only, much to the dismay of, well, everyone. But the Reds announced earlier today that the game would stream on Reds.com and MLB.tv. You can also listen in the Cincinnati area on 700 WLW if you are craving the voice of The Cowboy Jeff Brantley.
Detroit Tigers vs Cincinnati Reds Lineups
Detroit Tigers |
Cincinnati Reds |
| Niko Goodrum – SS | Shogo Akiyama – LF |
| Jonathan Schoop – 2B | Joey Votto – 1B |
| Miguel Cabrera – DH | Eugenio Suarez – 3B |
| C.J. Cron – 1B | Mike Moustakas – 2B |
| Jeimer Candelario – 3B | Nick Castellanos – RF |
| Christin Stewart – LF | Jesse Winker – DH |
| Cameron Maybin – RF | Freddy Galvis – SS |
| Austin Romine – C | Nick Senzel – CF |
| JaCoby Jones – CF | Tucker Barnhart – C |
| Dario Agrazal – SP | Nick Lodolo – SP |
The Starting Pitchers
Cincinnati – Nick Lodolo
The Reds are sending out their #2 prospect to make the start tonight. Nick Lodolo was the first pitcher taken in the 2019 Major League Baseball draft and is coming off of his professional debut that saw him post a 2.45 ERA between Billings and Dayton where he walked no one and struck out 30 batters in 18.1 innings before he was shut down for the season to protect his arm from more innings than the team wanted him to throw (he threw 103 innings at TCU last season before the draft).
The left-handed starter throws a fastball in the low-to-mid 90’s and locates the pitch well. Expect to see him lean on his slider the most among his secondary offerings, but you may also see a curveball and a change up mixed in to give hitters a different look.
Detroit – Dario Agrazal
The second year big leaguer, Dario Agrazal is entering his first season with the Tigers. Last year he made 14 starts and one relief appearance for the Pittsburgh Pirates – facing the Reds twice (7 earned in 8.2 innings between the two starts). The 25-year-old had his contract purchased by the Tigers last November.
The righty is a sinker pitcher, going to the pitch 55% of the time last year. He’ll also mix in a 4-seam fastball every so often – both pitches working in the 89-92 MPH range. Agrazal also mixes in a change up and a slider. According to the metrics at Fangraphs, all four pitches rated out as below-average last season.
Cincinnati Reds News and Notes
Roster Moves Galore
There’s a whole lot of roster moves/announcements made today.
Cody Reed, Josh VanMeter, Travis Jankowski, and Kyle Farmer were all informed that they had made the roster for opening day by manager David Bell earlier today. The entire roster isn’t yet known, but we’re getting closer to having the full 30-man roster figured out.
Cody Reed, Josh VanMeter among several to make the Reds roster
Another announcement was made, and that is that outfielder and Rule 5 draft pick Mark Payton has been returned to the Oakland Athletics organization after not making the Cincinnati Reds roster.
Michael Lorenzen is ready for a season of a lifetime
Who’s ready for the season of a lifetime? I know we are #cincinnatireds @reds 07/24/20 pic.twitter.com/9ThmPpj9k5
— Michael Lorenzen (@Lorenzen55) July 21, 2020