The Cincinnati Reds will look for the series win after a 4-1 victory guaranteed at least a split with the Atlanta Braves on Saturday evening. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10pm at Great American Ball Park.
Starting Lineups
Atlanta Braves
|
Cincinnati Reds
|
| Ronald Acuña Jr.– RF | Jonathan India – 2B |
| Freddie Freeman – 1B | Joey Votto – 1B |
| Ozzie Albies – 2B | Nick Castellanos – RF |
| Austin Riley – 3B | Tyler Stephenson – C |
| Dansby Swanson – SS | Eugenio Suárez – 3B |
| Abraham Almonte – LF | Aristides Aquino – LF |
| Guillermo Heredia – CF | Kyle Farmer – SS |
| Kevan Smith – C | Scott Heineman – CF |
| Kyle Muller – SP | Tyler Mahle – SP |
Starting Pitchers
Tyler Mahle
Today will be the 16th start for Tyler Mahle of the season. His ERA is down to 3.56 through 78.1 innings and he’s walked 26 batters with 98 strikeouts this year.
This season we’ve seen Tyler Mahle have reverse splits. Left-handed batters, who have been in the lineup nearly as often as right-handed hitters have been, are hitting just .193/.283/.293 against him with 17 walks and 55 strikeouts in 159 plate appearances. Right-handed hitters are doing a bit better, posting a .240/.301/.427 line with 9 walks and 43 strikeouts in 166 plate appearances. Mahle has also had rather big home/road splits, with a 6.93 ERA in Cincinnati and hitters with a .273/.327/.495 line against him at Great American Ball Park.
Pitch usage from 2021
| 4-Seam | Slider | Splitter | |
| Velo | 94.3 | 87.2 | 86.3 |
| Usage | 51.5% | 36.6% | 11.8% |
Kyle Muller
Today will only be the third big league appearance for Kyle Muller. He’s made one start and one relief appearance for the Braves this season. He threw an inning against Boston in his big league debut on June 16th and allowed two runs. This past Monday he allowed one hit and one run against the Mets in 4.0 innings. The lefty had a 4.60 ERA in 7 starts in Triple-A Gwinnett with 19 walks and 41 strikeouts in 31.1 innings this season.
This season, in both his time in Triple-A and MLB, he’s had right-handed hitters post a .263/.330/.465 line against him, while lefties have hit just .179/.360/.282 line against him. Lefties don’t get many hits and when they do get a hit it’s not going for extra bases. What lefties have done is draw walks 20% of the time they’ve faced him this season. Righties have been solid across the board against him this year.
Pitch usage from 2021
| 4-Seam | 2-Seam | Slider | Curve | Change | |
| Velo | 94.9 | 94.7 | 88.0 | 81.5 | 89.2 |
| Usage | 48.1% | 6.2% | 24.7% | 18.5% | 2.5% |
When and Where
- Game time: 1:10pm ET
- Where: Great American Ball Park
- Watch: Bally Sports Ohio, MLB.tv
- Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: 85°, partly cloud, 5% chance of rain
News and Notes
Injury Updates on Sonny Gray, Jesse Winker, and Tejay Antone
After having his rehab start pushed back two days, Sonny Gray took the mound for Louisville on Saturday night and threw 3.0 shutout innings. He allowed just one hit and he struck out four, but struggled with his control in the first two innings as he walked three batters and hit another one.
Jesse Winker is out of the lineup today, but may be available off of the bench.
Tejay Antone said he expects to return the first day after the All-Star break.
We’ve got a little more information on each of the three players here (updated this morning).
Rule 5 Draft Pick Mac Sceroler returned
The Cincinnati Reds got Rule 5 Draft pick Mac Sceroler back from the Baltimore Orioles after he cleared waivers. The Reds have assigned him to Double-A Chattanooga.
Max Schrock to begin a rehab assignment in Triple-A
The Reds announced that Max Schrock would begin a rehab assignment today in Triple-A Louisville. He’ll not be alone in that one this afternoon as pitcher Jeff Hoffman is making his second start for the Bats on his rehab assignment today, too.
NL Central Standings
Playoff odds via Fangraphs
| Team | W | L | GB | Playoff % |
| Brewers | 44 | 33 | 0 | 71.3% |
| Cubs | 42 | 35 | 2.0 | 26.1% |
| Reds | 38 | 37 | 5.0 | 12.9% |
| Cardinals | 37 | 40 | 7.0 | 3.5% |
| Pirates | 28 | 47 | 15.0 | 0.0% |
Someone’s playoff projection computer is still crazy in love with the Brewers. It is looking like maybe the Reds need to take matters into their own hands where the Brew Crew is concerned. Four games in Milwaukee leading into the All Star break and 3 vs the Brewers at GABP coming out of the break could leave the Reds sitting pretty or buried.
Why is Heineman in the starting lineup ! Ridiculous – he shouldn’t even be on roster much less playing . David Bell special – dude wouldn’t be playing anywhere else but here , mediocrity /below average at its finest .
His MLB slash line is .169/.247/.325/.572. His MLB OPS+ is 48.
Who even SIGNS a guy like this?
Agree with your assessment of Heineman! Said the same thing yesterday when he struck out for the 1,000th time!
Relax, guys.
All he does it hit home runs.
DB just can’t help himself. I also question why he’s playing CF over several other guys too.
Heinaman is such a poor choice. Could have walked but is too swing happy and has no plate discipline. Sure can hit lefties. Lol. Send him back down and let someone else take the hacks with RISP. Gee whiz.
The Reds made the Braves pitcher Muller look like sandy koufax they swung at so many pitches in the dirt on 3-2 count the whole lineup looked very bad.
No, I thought they made him look like a left handed Nolan Ryan. You are so right though. We can turn average schmucks into World Beaters.
Team chemistry looking good and can’t say enough about India and some other young players really stepping up. Although a lot of sloppy defense and baserunning at times I blame on a lack of discipline at the management level, David Bell does deserve some credit for the fight and spirit of the team. That being said, this Scott Heineman ordeal gets stranger by the day and gets favored again over Akiyama. If only Scott could pitch and have a 3 for 4 day to bring up his average to about .180 or so, he could be the reincarnation of Matt Davidson (if that’s what the analytics say we need).
Blame management all you want about the baserunning but 10 year old travel teams are better than this. These guys should know how to run the bases.
Need TM to be better than his last time out! Plus some early runs against the Braves young starting pitcher would be nice! Reds bottom of the batting order looks weak today! I hope I’m wrong and eating crow by the end of the game!
Please put Shogo in left, and Aquino in center or v/v, with Heineman in Louisville. There is no way that wouldn’t be a better lineup.
Should look into giving Jeremy Jeffress a call. Good career stats and very good 2020 stats. If he’s that much of a problem in the clubhouse, then you can just release him.
Naquin and Akiyama both have better splits against lefties than Heineman. He’s hitting .074 and starting for a team competing for a playoff spot.
Akiyama vs LHP: .286
Naquin vs LHP: .200
Heineman vs LHP: .091
Platooning only works if the numbers actually support it.
Everytime I point that stuff out before a game- the player(s) goes off.
See Max Schrock and Kyle Farmer memorial day
Blind squirrels and nuts
A broken clock is right twice day
Heineman is going to have a day.
Hey! He broke up the no-hitter with a scorching pop up single.
He ruined the ride by not hitting only home runs, though
I’ve often heard that the Reds can’t sit Votto or Suarez because they make so much money and there’s no one better to take their places.
That’s probably right.
On the other hand, Akiyama is surely making several million more shekels than Heineman and is probably a better all around player. So why isn’t he starting today?
I hope Heineman has a good day to justify this move.
I read today that, when considering his starts, Aki is on pace to make $170,000 per game this year. Personally I would have started Naquin to go along with Casty and AA.
I dont understand why Heineman is starting either. Any idea how he is better than Akiyama?
Folks that don’t like too much complaining against the manager point out that we don’t have all the info. They were recently vindicated by Sims going to the IL shortly after Bell was criticized for not using him.
What did I learn from that? Probably that Akiyama and Naquin are headed to the IL
If “logic” works for rationales to start Scott Heineman, it should also work for me in this instance.
13 MPH Right to Left. Mother Nature has found a way to bet in Vegas it seems. Luckly with the LHP on the mound we can overload on righties. Hope to see a lot of Ks from Mahle
Ok…I have to relay a little Tyler Mahle story. I went to the game yesterday with my son. In the past, because of Winter Caravan, Redsfest, numerous games etc. He’s acquired a number of Reds autographs including the aforementioned Mahle. He wanted seats in the outfield to catch batting practice…and I wanted seats next to the bullpen because I’d never had them out in center left. Of course, I bring some cards just in case along with the baseball gloves. Mahle did some work in the bullpen before the game yesterday along with Santillan. Great to watch those guys up close. Sure enough, the guys get hounded for balls and autos leaving when finished…my son, who already has TM’s auto, throws his glove, pen, and card down into the well of the pen…to which Mahle responds “What am I supposed to do with that?” Now my son, who has autism and has no real awareness of social cues (teasing etc.) basically (and Perhaps rudely) responds “Sign it!” Somewhere, Mahle found it in his good character to do just exactly that and toss the glove and card back up to my son…who probably didn’t deserve it. And then my son… gave the auto to a very nice young man who was a few years older and frankly much more polite…who just wanted to watch the pitchers…this very young man was genuinely moved…and as far as I’m concerned was just a fantastic baseball moment at the ballpark.
What a weak lineup for a Major League team today. Three good hitters 1st, 3rd & 4 th. Hope them and Mahle can pull us through. This is a Big game for us. Votto batting 2nd is a Joke!!!!
Good story!! Thanks for sharing!
That is just outstanding and thank you for sharing the story. That is the kind of experience that can make a boy a baseball fan for life.
And you made a Mahle fan here. Had Lake County Captains tickets for years, and one of the things that was enjoyable about minor league ball was how much the kids got to interact with the players. And almost all the players seemed to enjoy it too.
Yes!
Baseball must be like advanced calculus. My IQ won’t allow me to understand complex math nor why in the world today’s CF is filled by a sub .100 when Shogo is hitting over.260 in June. Don’t try to explain it to me…my head will explode.
SS market shrunk yesterday after former Red Freddy Galvis hits the IL for quad strain. Dodged a bullet not going out to get him. out 2 months
So he would have strained his quad no matter which team he was playing for?
Yeah had we signed Freddy and he went on the IL we would have been stuck with starting Kyle Farmer at Short.
Baseball needs more steals and guys trying to be aggressive on the bases. Thats action and baseball can be boring at times. So…..my rule change is simple. You touch 2nd or 3rd before the tag and you’re safe….just like scoring a run at the plate. Joe Morgan didn’t have to worry about running full speed and staying 100% on the bag back in the day. Its stupid. You beat the tag and you’re safe. Bring some action back to the game.
Oh man? We suck vs lefties with Winker in there so this lineup is beyond bad.
Votto .185 this year vs lefties with a .588 ops. A robust .178 last year
AA in Geno mode….waiving at trash and taking fb’s right.down.the.middle
Geno in Geno mode
Heineman so bad that he dreams of Geno mode
They’ll bring in Newcomb after this guy or another lefty. 2 runs at most for the Reds
So thru one at bat you give up? Wow.
This guy has good stuff. Maybe he walks some guys and Nick or Stephenson hurts him, but they’d be stupid to pitch to Nick. Votto’s not going to suddenly improve vs lefties. Only 2 in the league he could hit consistently. Freeland or whatever his name is with the Rockies that we scored like 9 runs on. I could hit him too! Or Doolittle and donothing is on Joey’s team.
Heineman? Mahle has a better chance!
Of course, I’ll be happy to be wrong.
Deep breath Mahle, lets keep it to 2.
That was a big strikeout, after a long AB.
Time to get to work on offense.
This is the best Reds lineup since the mid/late ’90s. It’s a fun, exciting team with young stars and guys who don’t wilt in the clutch. They are in contention, or at least over .500 in late June, simply because the talent can not be denied. That said, I think Bell has cost the team at least a half dozen games to this point with stubborn and frankly deranged batting orders. How many runs did Suarez leave on base when Bell left him at 4 or 5 for all those weeks? How do you justify all the two-out first innings when Bell had Suarez batting leadoff(!!!)? How does Farmer with his sub-.220 avg and average defense play EVERY DAY? But Heineman playing in CF over Akiyama is full-on INSANE. .286 (and excellent defense) vs .074 (and average defense)? Bullpen mismanagement is something else, but the way Bell has dealt with Akiyama is, by itself, a sign of willful incompetence. The sort of willful incompetence that over a long baseball season could/will cost the best Reds team in a generation a spot in the playoffs.
I agree with a lot of these points.
According to the TV, Reds are 8-5 against LH starting pitchers, 4thbest winning percentage in NL.
I would not have guessed that…
Thats not lasting with the Heineman rules. Farmer has to play every day too. Maybe we won pitchers duels those games? We did rough up Freeland on the Rockies and Anderson/Milw at gabp, but good lefties are going thru this team like a knife thru butter.
Naquin had a beautiful swing the other day in the 9th off their lefty closer. Their CF made a nice shoestring grab, but it was a nice swing. He could go up there blindfolded and hit better then Heineman.
FWIW, I agree, and I would also like to see Akiyama get at least some chances in these situations as well.
The problem is that IF Heineman is on the roster, this is basically where you to play him. He has to get in sometime. I assume when Atlanta pulls its openers, the lefties will get in the game.
And before I get killed, the word “IF” is doing a lot of work in this post.
@Steelerfan
I disagree that SH has got to get in sometime. He’s the kind of player you have on the bench because Senzel, Moustakas, and Lorenzen are all injured, in case one of the other players has a major medical emergency.
He does NOT deserve a start.
Ever.
Well, I’ll take it. Assume Heineman will too…
If Scott would have gotten picked off there.. oh boy.
Heineman obviously in there for his Jedi powers. First plays the “this is not the ball you’re looking for” mind trick with the Braves right side. Then uses his powers to force a WP and a walk to the Pitcher.
Bottom of the lineup comes thru. Top of the order’s turn.
Votto is starting to emulate Geno with the number of runners he’s left in scoring position! Too many strikeouts by Votto and others as well! Put the ball in play Please!
Yes, but he has 16 rbi in 18 games
Farmer swung at ball 4 and got ripped off on the 2-1 pitch being called a strike. India swung at ball 4. Bummer, but this guy does have a good breaking ball.
Hate to walk Alamonte. Troubling inning for Mahle
Mahle scuffling. Need to get through the bottom of the order.
Total aside, anyone heard any Reds trade rumors? Check the mlb trade rumors site, but haven’t seen anything reds specific in awhile.
Rumor has it that they could use some BP help and maybe a SS. Of course, a lot of teams could use BP help.
Where is the sarcasm font when you need it?
Now that’s funny
One of the primary tasks of a ML manager is to put together a lineup and structure the batting order to provide his team to the best opportunities to score runs! Today’s lineup is weak and will be lucky to score a single run against the Braves budding Cy Young! I hope they prove me wrong! If I were the Braves I would not give Nick C. anything to hit and have my pitcher throe strikes to everyone else and say “Hit it!”
Not disagreeing, but what other option are there? I think may of us have commented on Heineman, but letting Winker rest after the scare yesterday seems like a reasonable move. Not much else on the roster they can do right now.
Mahle pitch count up again! 70 pitches thru 4 innings!
I love Mahle and he has all the talent to be a great pitcher but his pitch count seems to be always up there. What is most likely out of these 3
1) Mahle throws a complete game
2) Akiyama hits a home run
3) Castellanos doesnt opt out
Answer: None of the above!
Akiyama is getting a homerun eventually
Shogo needs to actually play to get a HR.
Bell is brilliant. Heineman has the Reds only hit. Clearly, we’ve all been too critical of Bell and Heineman.
Sad but true! Can’t muster more than one (1) lousy hit against an inexperienced pitcher today!
Cy Muller today.If Casty gets anything to hit it will be a mistake.Way to many holes in the lineup to fill against a lefty.May need to sink or swim with Naquin and Tucker next time.Numbers day Votto struggles also as today verifies.
On a tee – terrible pitch
A 3-run deficit may be too much to overcome today! Looks like I’ll be switching to golf soon!
1 run deficit may be to much.
Through four innings, the Reds look lifeless against a pitcher with average stuff. Castellanos could use a couple days off…..
He just drove in 4 the other day?
If Acuna celebrated that way with the Cardinals and Molina they may have cried to MLB and Manfred.
Bring up Alejooooooooo.
Could have won all 4 games but we just can’t score unless we homer.Take a split and go on from here.Probably will be 6 out after today so do we sell at the deadline?Have to IMO
7 in a row vs Milw before/after the AS break. We’re going to be forced to win atleast 5 to hang around. Otherwise…yeah….firesale time
The “can’t score unless we homer” mantra has not been the case in 2021. The Reds are #1 in the NL in BA, #2 in OBP, and #4 in HR. That lament was much more accurate in 2020.
Buy at the deadline. Two relievers to add to Vlad, Santillan, and/or Hoffman.
Look at September’s schedule. This team is definitely good enough to win this division. Just need some bullpen help. Need to bring Alejo up as well. Definitely could use a .400+ OBP in the lineup. Switch hitter as well.
Too bad Alejo Lopez is not really a SS.
Absolutely. The negativity that abounds in this comment section is over the top. Good vibes!
Pirates put up 3 in the top of the first vs the whiny little birds. Man that starting pitching is hurting them.
Heineman HR? He’s due.
Keep running Heineman out there Bell – pathetic
Muller is good, but not pitch effecient. I feel that if we can get him out, and get some rightys in we can get back into this
Get Heineman out of here man..
The only reason Votto is in the lineup today is because of baseball economics, not because of current baseball performance. That is telling when base logic departs decision making.
I’m done. This guy has K’d like 6 guys on breaking balls in the dirt. Most of them on 3-2 pitches? India on a 3-1 in the dirt for a little ground out too. Combined no-no attempt if they didn’t gift Heineman a hit.
Aquino is like Suarez. Cant lay off that junk .
Heineman was overmatched there.
But— but how? He’s a right handed batter against a left handed pitcher?
What do folks think about not PH there? I know not a great option on the bench, and it is early, but we might get 1 more inning out of Mahle, and as scarce as runs have been…
50/50 call?
I was fine with it until the passed ball. Think Akiyama or Naquin should have hit with the 1-0 count.
I like it, Mahle has another hit in him, the Braves Pitcher is done. Give him an opportunity to gut it out and see if the Reds can mount a comeback against the Bullpen
With the game still within reach, Bell was saying he has more confidence in Mahle than in a middle-inning reliever to keep it that way.
I have to agree with that unfortunately.
+1 Tom,
And on that Bell and I agree
Use handed for lineup decisions but not Votto.
every 3-2 pitch…..slider down & in at the ankles….Reds keep swinging at it….he keeps throwing it….reds keep swinging at it …..
Mahle’s slider just isn’t very good. His splitter vs lefties is pretty good. Checking his splits now
6 out now. Almost time to fold up shop for 2021
6 out is nothing when we have to play the Brewers as much as we do still. Plus look at the September schedule. Think we play the Pirates 9 times from like Sept 15th from Oct 3rd or something like that.
Respectfully disagree. We’re not rolling thru Milw again. We’ll get Woodruff/Barnes 4 times instead of 0 times. They got Wong back too. He’s big for them. Maybe if they have a string of injuries, but that goes both ways usually. Reds are lucky Acuna missed game 1 or they’d probably get 3 of 4
Acuna hasn’t don’t much other than the one homer. That Brewers lineup is not a playoff lineup imo. Woodruff and Burnea have looked a lot more human lately and with the sticky stuff checks. The only thing they have that’s better than the Reds is the pen.
Yep, just like I thought. Mahle:
Lefties .576 ops
Righties .727 ops
Needs to work on offspeed to put away righties
Rockies’ bullpen has blown the lead in their last 3 games against the Brewers! Sound familiar?
I’m somewhere along the lines of realist/pessimist, but this division is getting away from the Reds fast. You just can’t keep putting out lousy lineups like today or trying to patch up holes.
Wong is dinged up again and out, but he’s 11 for last 27 with 3 doubles and 3 Hrs for the Brewers. I’m sure they’ll pick up another hitter too just like they picked up Adames while we do nothing. All they have to do is win 3 of 7 when we play them 7 straight and we’re buried imo.
Votto needs to sit against lefties. They really don’t face very many lefty starters but he just cannot hit them anymore. His overall decline in numbers the last few years is driven by that inability and it really just fell off a cliff. Can still do damage against righties.
But who would you play at first base? If you put Stephenson there, then you have Barnhart catching, who absolutely cannot hit lefties.
I mean any of the 3rd base types they have could move over. Honestly against LHPs Farmer is a better option. That’s how bad Votto’s splits are right now (and have been since 2019) against lefties.
I would be willing to see Votto sit when LHP only after Moose returns. He is the only equitable bat that could replace him assuming that Stephenson would be catching in said game.
I’m personally fine with Votto still playing against lefties. But hitting 2nd against a lefty? Nah. Move him down. Kinda like how I’d want Geno hitting 8th against a righty starter. If you’re getting 40+ homers out of your 8 spot, you should have a pretty good lineup. His solo home run potential looks a lot better hitting 8th.
There are only a half dozen teams that can close up shop today, Reds are not even close to being in that list.
People are weird. There’s so many divisional games left. The Reds don’t have to go out west anymore. The September schedule is almost cake.
I know, i mean we will be 500 today after the loss. not 17 out like Pit. or AZ or COL, or DET, MIA may be on the border and they are 11 under 500. One streak of 6 or 7 wins will pull us into the lead.
We play Milw 7 times before/after the AS break. They’ll throw Woodruff/Burnes/Peralta at us 5 times atleast. We got very lucky that we haven’t seen Woodruff or Burnes at all yet.
They’ll be a minimum of 5-6 out after that and you’re keeping Nick and not using that trade chip when we’re 6 out and in 3rd place with 70 to go? No…..he’s gone and its just playing out the string. Our front office does nothing but sign dead weight like Moose and waste $
Yeah the Reds are technically alive, but you watch. Milwaukee with pick up another bat and Wong is their India. He’s back and he’s raking! The Reds will run Farmer, Joey vs lefties, Doonothing, and Heineman out there well after the wheels already fell off.
I wanna see Alejo come up and play short for Farmer. As much as I don’t like Geno’s bat in the lineup so far this year, I think I like Farmers worse? Like.. you don’t have the occasional homer potential. Get that .400 OBP guy in Alejo to either get on in front of Wink and Nick or let him hit behind them to drive them in.
Today has been just a poor showing thus far. You have to wonder how much the line up construction has to do with it.
The Braves starter threw a slider that looked enough like his fastball that Reds batters couldn’t lay off of it. It was up and down the lineup.
Is there a reliable and legitimate way to measure how lineup construction has affected this game?
The eye test screams that it did, but many people want facts, figures, measurables, and trends
The lineup today says it all! See my earlier post regarding the job of a ML manager!
I am really liking Warren.
Could it be that we have a reliable reliever in Warren?
Saw him once and knew immediately he had a far superior arm to Romano, Bedrosian, Fulmer, etc. Shame we had to lose all those games with those scrubs. Terrible job of talent evaluation/
Votto, Suarez, Aquino, Farmer, Heineken. “Need I say more”. Another give away game!
Heineken would have been an improvement lol
I think saying a little more would be in order. 2 bench players, = give away? Should they sit Votto and start? What should the lineup be today?
Doolittle will soon close out this Sunday fiasco.
Warren might just be a good reliever. He might not be a closer or set up man yet, but in the 6th or 7th, low to mid pressure situations, he seems solid.
Oh we got our first MLB Foreign substance ejection
Let me in there and I’ll smear some on the jersey of Heineman and doonothing.
SEA Hector Santiago tossed after check, umps bagged up his glove CSI style.
Ok Reds!
The lefty with witchcraft pitching is out—go pummel the Braves’ relievers!
Ugh, had to bring cart out for Indians’ plagryer after collision. Good thoughts…
I tend to look at the bullpen as being divided between the guys you count upon in games that are close or you’re ahead, and guys who you use when you’re behind by three or more (like today). The current crew I have divided like this:
Group A: Brach, Warren, Garrett, Osich
Group B: Doolittle, Perez, Hembree, Hendrix
I adopted a High, Medium, and Low leverage outlook.
High,
Tough batters due up, (0 to 1) run margin in the 7th, 8th.
Any batters due up, (0 to 3) in the 9th
Medium
Tough batters due up, (2 to 3) runs up in the 7th, 8th
Easier batters due up, (- 1 to 2) run lead 6th, 7th
Low
Everything else
High – N/A
Medium – Brach, Garrett, Ossich
Low – everyone else
So we are trying WInker at short?
They’ll put Freeman there.
forgot about him
Philly starting a pitcher with a 5.59 era tomorrow. Another pitcher Reds hitters will have trouble with.
+1,000
Can we dispense with the theory that Bell is handicapped by the players and is really a guru? Letting Heineman bat with 2 outs is indefensible.
did Doolittle just pitch a slider?
Heineman actually took FOUR pitches before swinging in that AB. Must’ve threatened him to have him not swing until he had two strikes on him. Almost looked like a professional AB.
With Pitchers getting checked routinely, you have to be a special kind of stupid to have substance in your glove.
Of course you have to be a special kind of stupid to have the worst pitcher( Doolittle) and worst hitter( Heineman) in the league on your team.
There are guys on rosters currently who probably know that they are sunk without being able to use it. So they will probably try to get away with it as long as they can.
It’s kind of unbelievable the way MLB let’s players get away with drugs, steroids, substances, etc. and then all of a sudden act like they’re a terrible thing. Shouldn’t let it happen in the first place.
You can’t construct a line up like Bell did today where you have nothing but left handed hitters on the bench. Another issue the Reds have is that while people want to give some players days off, when you are in the position the Reds are in, standing wise, it is hard to not play your best players, especially with no depth.
If Winker is healthy enough to punch hit and play in the field, there is no reason he should have been sitting.
The Pirates Kranick is pitching a perfect game vs our favorite team. 5 IP, 50 pitches.
Crapola, rain delay.
The ump checked Dolittle for substances. He must know…there’s no way you got 3 outs legally.
Heineman and Freeman providing the offense and Doolittle putting up a zero.
Just like everyone predicted))
Must be backwards day or something.
That made me laugh!
And even Perez goes 1-2-3.
I think Perez will improve and if he does, could really help the BP.
What a contrast from yesterday’s game! Should have taken 3 of 4 from this Braves team!
Or….Acuna plays Thursday and we lose 3 of 4. The Braves are a flawed .500ish team and so are the Reds are the same so 2-2 is to be expected.
Perez pitching like he wants to stay this time.
The Reds have been living on the edge right around .500 for awhile. If they weren’t in such a weak division they would already be out of the race. Regardless, they are one bad week from being out of the race and this week with the Padres and Cubs could easily be that bad week. They need at the least a 3 and 4 week, that will at least keep them in the race a little longer. But as I watch this team, as much as I hate to say, it is just a matter of time until the wheels fall off. There are simply to many wholes in the line up let alone the bull pen. The starters have done a good job but with 2 rookies going the first 2 games against the red hot Padres it has disaster written all over it. Hope I am wrong.
I don’t want us ever to lose but you are right Mark and it may help this organization to make some very tough decisions at the deadline.This team has a new core ready to step in and go forward in a couple of years. Now is the time to look ahead and set the team up for that to happen.
Bad day for the offense and really a bad series.Scoring 11 runs in 4 games at home is not good at all.Of course unless they add on we only gave up 11 runs.Pitching was good enough to win all 4 games.Braves have a lot of lefty throwers including their closer so it was a bad match up for us as it turned out.I felt India,Casty,Ty Steve and AA would have to get it done and they didn’t so that’s that.Nothing against the other 4 guys but the numbers are what they are for 3 of them and Joey now struggles against lefties.You can only hide so many guys in your lineup.
What an odd game 2 hits, Freeman and Hienemen and the Bullpen was the bright spots. Just not a fun game to watch. With Padres and Cubs coming in they really need a win against the Phillies Monday.