This is fun.
The Reds beat down the team with the best record in the American League to get back to .500. It is the first time the Reds have been at .500 since they were 5-5. It’s the first time the Reds have been .500 in September since 2013. Soak this in Reds fans, you have waited a long, long time for this. Enjoy the ride of the final 8 games of a real playoff chase.
The Reds win on Friday night came behind a gusty performance from Tyler Mahle: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 8 K. Mahle looks like he solidified getting at least one more start this season. Joey Votto had 3 hits, and he hit one of the four Reds homers on the night (Winker, Castellanos and Barnhart).
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago White Sox (33-18) | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Cincinnati Reds (26-26) | 7 | 8 | 0 |
| W: Mahle (2-2) L: Stiever (0-1) | |||
| FanGraphs Win Probability | Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
Biggest Play of the Game
According to Fangraphs WPA statistic (winning percentage added), the most important play of the game was Jesse Winker’s 3-run home run with 2 outs in the 3rd inning. That play increased the Reds probability of winning by 11.9% (from 82.8% to 94.7%).
Positives
How about Joey Votto? The “washed up” first baseman now has an .800 OPS on the season.
Now that's some elite company. ? pic.twitter.com/xVFjR1NZSs
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) September 19, 2020
Jesse Winker hit a big three run bomb. He needed it too. Winker’s last hit came on 9/4 (0 for his last 23 before the homer).
Are you kidding me Tucker Barnhart? He entered play with a 1.185 OPS in September. Pretty cool for a guy that literally every single one us were begging to be benched.
Nick Castellanos hit his 13th home run of the season. That is a pace of 41 homers in a 162 game season.
Tyler Mahle now has a 3.97 ERA/3.97 FIP on the season. That will certainly do for the guy who was your #6 starter entering summer camp.
Negatives
Lol……come on, there is nothing here tonight.
Not so random thoughts……….
The Cardinals swept their doubleheader today, so unfortunately the Reds are 0.5 back in the NL Central #2 spot (and they lose the tiebreaker). The good news is the Phillies and Giants are both losing as I type this. If those scores hold, the Reds would be tied for the #7 NL wild card spot (and have the tiebreaker with the Giants), and both teams would be 0.5 ahead of the Phillies.
Up Next:
White Sox at Reds
Saturday, 7:07 PM
TV: FOX National
Trevor Bauer (1.71 ERA/2.83 FIP) vs Dallas Keuchel (2.19 ERA/3.16 FIP)
The Redlegs are red hot
Hotter than the hood of my 91 Mustang!
Best win of the season. It’s not who you play it’s when you play them. Great job!!!
I think the Reds are tied with the Cards for 2nd.
Reds 26 – 26 and the Cards 24 – 24.
The Cards lost yesterday, and the Reds did not play
The tiebreak is head to head which we lose out on. We have to finish with a better record than them to be ahead.
Tomorrow night’s game on a national telecast. Bauer vs. Keuchel. A win tomorrow night will get a lot of attention. Bauer has a chance to propel his Cy Young Award candidacy with a great outing.
Good start by Mahle, but when he loses his command he loses it in a hurry. I really hoped he could get 7 full innings in.
Happy yes, but not giddy. The Reds beat up on a rookie tonight. They have to face a crafty veteran lefthander tomorrow. One who has 1 CYA already and is in the running for another. A win tomorrow will be huge on several levels. It will be a RH heavy lineup tomorrow. Maybe we see Tyler Steve at least DH in this game.
2020 has been a mess, just leave it at “it is fun” and enjoy the ride
The ups and downs of baseball come and go, similar to the news cycle.
This has been amazing! I gave up a long time ago. They were just so lifeless, but pitching is the name of the game and they have plenty of good ones.
Guys we are on a 6 game winning streak. In the thick of a playoff race and playing our best baseball of the season. If you can’t enjoy this then I suggest you find something else to do with your time.
Keuchel will be a tough assignment. Especially considering we are a heavy lefty hitting lineup. Trevor wil need to throw another gem.
+1000
+50
Trevor is a competitor. He has a lot to work for tonight.
Well you certainly seem determined to find the negatives! Jeez.
Come on Sliotar. Is there no way you can enjoy this? Votto has stunk on the road and there won’t be any GABP playoff games. But you know what else? Two starts ago Luis Castillo hadn’t won a game and had been mediocre at best. Then he made an adjustment and tossed two gems. A week ago the Reds were all but dead, then they found another gear and reeled off 7 of 8 including the last 6 in a row. And don’t say those were all against weak teams – three of those 7 wins were against the Cardinals and the White Sox. And don’t say it was a weak rookie pitcher last night. Mahle, maybe the Reds 6th starter, had to face a really strong offense and he got it done.
Maybe the Reds won’t make the playoffs, or if they do maybe they’ll be out in 2 games. Or maybe they’ll surprise you. Again. I for one plan to enjoy every game along the way. It might be fun – you should keep an open mind. Go Reds!
+100
Thank you CFD3000. I was starting to think the Reds were back in last place.
I’ll admit, this has been fun lately. Let’s hope they can keep rolling.
I’ve seen a number of articles touting the 6 game win streak and 7 of the last 8. I think a better picture is the 11-5 record since the 16-2 humiliating loss to the St. Louis Cards (Sept. 1st). That makes them 11-6 for the month of September. Only the White Sox, Dodgers, and Padres have a higher winning percentage and none have won more than 11 games. Looking over some of the box scores, it seems that Bell isn’t substituting, at least during the game, anywhere as frenetically as he did previously. Maybe getting stomped by the Cards knocked some sense into their heads. They still need to hit better. Swinging for the fences isn’t always as successful as last night.