The Cincinnati Reds will look to salvage something from the series and avoid a sweep at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers this afternoon. First pitch is set for 1:10pm.
Starting Lineups
Milwaukee Brewers | Cincinnati Reds |
| Jace Peterson – 2B | Jonathan India – 2B |
| Luis Urias – 3B | Jesse Winker – LF |
| Christian Yelich – LF | Joey Votto – 1B |
| Willy Adames – SS | Tyler Naquin – RF |
| Rowdy Tellez – 1B | Eugenio Suárez – 3B |
| Tyrone Taylor – RF | Tucker Barnhart – C |
| Jackie Bradley Jr. – CF | Shogo Akiyama – CF |
| Manny Pina – C | Mike Freeman – SS |
| Corbin Burnes – SP | Sonny Gray – SP |
Starting Pitchers
Sonny Gray
Fresh off of the injured list, Sonny Gray will look to keep his strong season going. He has a 3.19 ERA in 12 starts this season. The righty has 80 strikeouts and 23 walks in 62.0 innings.
He’s held lefties to a .203/.282/.322 line this season. Righties have had a much better time at the plate against him, posting a .273/.338/.438 line.
Corbin Burnes
One of the best pitchers in the National League, Burnes has a 2.36 ERA in 15 starts. Over his 87.2 innings he has a 0.91 WHIP, 128 strikeouts, and he’s walked just 15 batters.
Righties are hitting just .189/.225/.264 against him this season. Lefties are doing a bit better, but still having plenty of struggles with a .213/.267/.299 line. Burnes is also better on the road, holding hitters to a .513 OPS and his ERA is 1.98 in six starts.
When and Where
- Game time: 1:10pm ET
- Where: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati
- Watch: Bally Sports Ohio, MLB.tv
- Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: 77°, party cloudy with a 1%
rain
News and Notes
Alejo Lopez optioned to Triple-A
In order to activate Sonny Gray today the Reds optioned switch hitter Alejo Lopez to Triple-A Louisville.
NL Central Standings
Playoff odds via Fangraphs
| Team | W | L | GB | Playoff % |
| Brewers | 55 | 39 | 0 | 89.8% |
| Reds | 48 | 44 | 6.0 | 14.3% |
| Cubs | 46 | 46 | 8.0 | 4.9% |
| Cardinals | 45 | 47 | 9.0 | 2.2% |
| Pirates | 36 | 56 | 18.0 | 0.0% |
Freeman gets a start
His streak is on the line once more
Need the streak magic to stay alive….Don’t tell Sadak
Good luck Alejo, we barely knew ya.
Lopez sent back down. Hope he takes this learning experience and keeps improving himself. Even if he doesn’t have much power, a player with his kind of OBP skills could be very useful.
Except, apparently, for the big-league club in Cincinnati.
I feel like they could’ve utilized Lopez little better while he was here. Played him against righties and got Geno some reps at SS. Makes me think they plan on putting Moose at 2B if he comes back in place of India. And the reason will be, well, India has never played this many games before. He’s sure to hit a wall.
I certainly would’ve liked to see more of him, too!
better Lopez get an opportunity to play every day and be available in case of an injury. Should be back, but should only be brought back if there is an opportunity to play every day. Reds have an opportunity to play a “game 7” today
Game 7 must win today. Hoping Sonny is lights out.
Well Sadak just jinxed the Reds.
Jinxes aren’t real.
Lol, I know. It just seems like he brings up streaks, and they are immediately ended. I realize it’s just the laws of averages kicking in, the longer the streak the more likely it is to end.
Need to invoke the magic
I take it back, the jinx is in full effect!
DON’T SAY THAT DOUG!!!!
>>>Well Sadak just jinxed the Reds.
That’s the only thing he’s good at. He is the quintessential JINX, if there ever was one!!!! It’s plain, the baseball gods don’t like knuckleheads like Sadak.
Sadak last night: Hembre hasn’t allowed 1st batter to reach in “X” straight games.
Batter: Base hit
Right, jinxes and superstitions are just a fun way of dealing with the realities of baseball’s ups and especially downs. Most fans and players realize that, and don’t need it pointed out to them.
No doubt about it. Sadak is a verbose jinx!!! I wish someone would stuff a sock in his piehole.
Either sonny is trying to get all the HBP back or something is wrong
These things can happen when you don’t pitch for 1o days
wow 26 pitches, 16 strikes
Set himself nicely vs 8-9-1 next inning at least lol
Vibes so far not so good.
Captain Obvious: Gray doesn’t have it today thus far.
High pitch count already.
Vibes improving. 🙂
You’re welcome, I put my hat on inside out, and sat on the left side of the couch, so we should be good now.
+100
When I was younger, I was very much into wearing certain clothes or sitting in certain chairs for luck for my team. Then I remember hearing an interview with Anthony Munoz when superstition was the topic of discussion. Paraphrasing what he said, it doesn’t matter what anyone in the stands or at home is wearing, eating, etc. The only thing that matters is what the people in uniform on the field are doing.
Giving up only one there was huge. Great job by Gray to buckle down. That could have gotten ugly quickly.
Hope Wink snaps out of his funk soon. With Castellanos out, we really need him.
Sadak cant stop talking about Burnes walk ratio. India walks. Jinx is real.
+500
My question is Bell plays Suarez everyday hoping he will run into one, now with Castellanos hurt why not do the same with Aquino. Shogo is giving no offense at all.and this team need it in the worst way.
Mets news: DeGrom placed on IL
and Lindor
Oh yeah, forgot about that.
I know it’s early, but I am not feeling the vibes here today.
The Reds are only 3 and 8 when Doug Gray says “Jinxes aren’t real.”
So it’s Doug’s fault? I’m good with that.
Akiyama still refuses to take charge on fly balls….looks like he broke back early, causing the late break
It did look very weird. Freeman went a mile for it. Shogo probably makes the catch, but Freeman got there first and wasn’t called off. Out and avoided a collision, so that’s a positive.
The Reds need Senzel or someone else to step up in CF soon. Maybe give Aquino an everyday job out there for a few weeks. Naquin has been Suarez-level bad for about two months now. Since June, hitting .235 with 3 homers and 16 RBIs. Why does he get a free pass from fans?
Not sure AA is the answer, but I agree it’s becoming an “iffy” spot for us all around.
I’m not either. I just threw his name out because of his offensive “potential.” His defense would scare me more than anything.
He’s becoming much better at being selective. I still worry about his chances of success against righties with good breaking stuff.
And just because I made the comparison, Suarez during that same span is .197/6HRs/26RBIs. Not ideal when they hit back to back a lot.
I have to agree on Naquin, he is not giving enough for a staring center fielder.
Over the last month (since 15 June) Winker and Naquin have been 2 peas in the same rotten pod offensively
Winker OPS=.573, wRC+=58;
Naquin OPS=.583, wRC+=59;
Geno needs to give himself a big birthday bash here.
This is going to turn into a bullpen game much too early.
I usually take my blood pressure reading at about 2:30. Maybe I should turn this game off before I blow out my
sphygmomanometer in a puff of smoke.
Probably a good plan
114/69 at the moment. Could be the complete lack of offense lulling me to sleep on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Up to 120/74 after India K’d
I’d love for Aquino to emerge, but right now, let him face lefties or fastball heavy righties…he is Todd Frazier bad against any soft-tossing righty with a medicore slider
Suarez reverting to his own ways, rightfully getting booed for his garbage ground out. Expect louder ones next time if the same result
old ways*
This looks like a team about to go into a slide.
Good pitching will do that to you
Good for Gray to have a low-pitch-count inning.
He needed it in the worst way
Burnes is looking sharp. Not good.
On the plus side, Gray looks to have settled into a groove after that wobbly start. Could be very close game…bullpens might be a factor again (sigh). Need to get some hits and a few runs!
New here, and enjoy reading everyone’s comments.
truly amazes me this team is in second place and in playoff picture. The bullpen while good stretches, has been awful. I used to get upset with Bell, then realized he is using who he has. Not his fault management traded away two quality bullpen guys for nothing. Sad too as this offense in my opinion can compete with the best of them.
Could not take advantage in the 1st inning.
Now Burnes in a groove.
Day saying Senzel being made into the 2nd coming of Ryan Freel? Could that be a possibility?
Senzel been taking grounders at SS. What a concept! Where were the decisions in Spring?
Lopez reported he had been talking live grounders at SS too, I think anybody here with an infielder’s glove does this now … for potential ’emergency’ versatility
Finally, the organization is not going around “so and so cant be a SS” and start training people to be SS. Re. Senzel
Indeed. Might be the only place to put him right now.
I’m not a rep of the org…but Suarez can’t be a SS.
But I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
it’s different when you try it for a sustained time and it doesn’t work, rather than not try it at all. I too slept at a Holiday Inn Express last night
Don’t see that happening unless Doug has heard something different. A guy just coming back from knee surgery doesn’t sound like a great candidate for a high mobility position. Probably just a slow, careful start to getting him back in the game.
Gray started the game with his pant legs pulled up to his knees. That inning they were pulled all the way down. Maybe he was trying to stop some sort of bad luck or ……..Jinx?
Reds have their first hit! Keep it rolling!
Sadak: The Reds have no base hits today.
Votto: Base hit
So we just need Sadak to say, “The Reds haven’t scored today” and we’ll be all set. I’m good with that.
Doug Gray?
I wish he would mention they haven’t won the World Series in 31 years
Sadak’s a jinx,..plain and simple. Plus,..he’s annoying.
>>>So we just need Sadak to say, “The Reds haven’t scored today” and we’ll be all set. I’m good with that.
Yes,..that might very well work. It’s sure worth a try. We couldn’t do much worse.
Just following this thread and ESPN for scoring updates until Bell calls upon The Arson Squad aka the Reds Bullpen. At my wits end with Reds management and I don’t mean Bell. Hello! McFly! The BP needs help! Now!
Suarez strikes out. Imagine that.
Burnes is to good for a right handed hitter like Suarez to touch. It would have been a great day for Lopez to play. Oh well I can dream.
That and he’s on the road to L’Ville
He may not have left yet, could be hanging around waiting for Lorenzen to IL and depending on whether they send another P like Santillan out for Hoffman and they were/are waiting to see if Gray melts/ed down before doing so
Grunting = better pitches? Whatever works, guys.
Looking at the stats over the last few weeks, Winker, Suarez, and to a slightly lesser extent, Naquin, aren’t hitting anything. Give them all some bench time. Stephenson, Barnhart, India, and Castellanos have hit well with Votto close behind. Give the guys like Aquino and Akiyama more time on the field. The lineup just isn’t holding up. And Winker has collapsed. He needs some adjustment time.
Just tuned in and I see Castellanos is out again. Craig Belechik….I mean Counsell put together a solid game plan for this series.
Hit Nick in the wrist early in game 1. They instantly go from 1000 ops to 500 ops and a guy that couldn’t homer on a tee ball field. If he goes on the IL thens that all the better for us. I got my look of dismay ready when the camera pans over. I worked on it last week when Hader hit Suarez after he went upper deck the day before.
Get a fake injury ready for Boxberger so he can cheat the 3 batter rule. He already went Friday so 1 guy on Saturday and he can be “injured” until Tues or Wed
Of course our pen could’ve changed the story, but the garbage they’ve pulled is unacceptable either way.
Brilliant, Indy!
(psst … are you Q.?) 🙂
Defense has been a let down.
Need to Pick that up for sure.
Cannot let speed make our defense panic.
But that is what speed can cause.
Aside from the obviously struggling bullpen, and the offensive struggles of Suarez and Farmer, it seems to me that the glaring deficiency of this team is speed. It affects their defense (which is generally sub-par) and their ability to manufacture offense. I’m not saying they are slow, but ….. you time reds hitters going home to first with a calendar, not a stop-watch. When they get a runner to second base, it takes a triple to score him.
Plate ump sucks
Can’t do any better than this please get automated strike zone – ridiculous !!!
Sadak: “gray is due up forth next inning” Pretty bold of him to think that the reds will get 4 batters to the plate… or is it another Jinx
Grey from one extreme to the next ain’t helping either ….
Hendrix warming….the games is too close for Santillan
Don’t want to PH for him either, so as to let him finish the game after next inning
If the P spot bats next inning, then TS
Gray’s 99th pitch comes the full meltdown
Broken record time:
Hendrix throwing in the bullpen.
IS TONY SANTILLAN DEAD???
One of your best SP prospects turned into the last man in the bullpen. Sounds about right for the decision-making in the front office.
Clete …
+1
Ballgame- swept at home – same Reds
different day
That sound you hear is the Red’s front office backing up the truck
With the money they spent on Shogo and Moustakos, the Reds could have actually filled the positional hole at SS with a more than solid option. Seems like the Reds underestimated the time that Barrero needed in the minors as well as the impact that India could have at 2B. We already know they don’t think much of Aquino who would have been a more than adequate fill-in for the times Senzel was on the DL.
Ut oh
Well Gray doesnt have it today,
No excuse to be this bad at home – -None
But again , Big Bob don’t care …..
By time we get to the trade deadline it will be too late. Bring in help now or this team is going down. They have been playing too good in June and July and they are coming back down to reality of what this team really is. a .500 ballclub.
The worse hitter in the league triples. That’s all you need to know.
Wow after coming out of the All-Star break the brewers are just playing way better than the Reds are. The drive we had in the previous series with the Brew Crew I just don’t see anymore in the players. I see the oh darn attitude that we saw with this team in may… We will be out of the race in no time the way this team is playing.
A sweep is not the end of the world but they have to start playing better against New York and St. Louis this coming week. I can’t even watch the rest of the game. Just Ugg…
In truth, Milwaukee’s 1st inning run may have been enough on this day. The Reds *could* have prevailed the first 2 games here as well … snakes were biting, crap happened and the bullpen also spit the bit, hard. No margin for error, but they’re making the Brewers look better here than they are too
Well, 7 back and simply not playing well. The rest of this home stand has now become make or break, must win 4 of 6. Not a good performance by Gray when it was badly needed.
I mean he is coming off some injuries so I’ll give Gray some breathing room. the hitting has not been good in this series though, with the exception of a few surprising guys..
And a good chance of being tied with the Cubs at the end of the day. This team just isn’t very good and largely abysmal with Castellanos out and Stephenson on the bench.
All the good feelings about this team at all-star break are out the window in one 3 game series…..reality: bullpen stinks, Winker can’t buy a hit, questionable moves by the manager (what’s new) , best player hurt, Suarez decline continues, owners don’t care…..any questions?
Burns is more worried about his hair than his pitches …..
Gotta give the Brewers some credit. One of the worst hitting teams in the league, but they always seem to get the hit needed to plate just enough runs. Yelich went from a top 3 player in the league to nearly league average and they have barely missed a beat.
Yeah, it’s amazing what a decent manager and a serious FO can accomplish, isn’t it? Need a shortstop? Go get Adames.
Let’s keep running Freeman out at SS
instead of Barrero
Wouldn’t expect anything else out of this pathetic front office … got the wrong guy at AAA
Gray was doing well and had 2 outs there before the wheels fell off. He tried to gut it out probably because he knew he was a better option than the garbage in the pen. Cant blame him and you know it goes through their head how bad the pen is. Reds have basically 2 relief pitchers in the pen that you can count on. Garrett,Osich,Hendrix,Doolittle and Perez are awful. Lorenzen is hurt. That leaves Santillan and Hembree. Thsts not good.
Perez warming up now. What exactly does Santillan need to do? Even the most die-hard Bell fans have to question his use (or lack thereof) of Tony. This seems like the perfect spot to give him some innings.
or It might just mean Perez is the gone guy tomorrow, instead of TS
use ’em and lose ’em lol
This is the team without Nick C. Not good, really need him back in the lineup for the Mets series
This umpiring crew is making a strong case for automated calling of balls and strikes. The home plate ump is making some really bad calls, like the pitch to AA that was 2-3 inches outside, yet called a strike.
I know, I know – that’s not why the Reds are losing. But it sure ain’t helping matters.
So I see Hoffman is starting the Wednesday game. I think this organization and management is the worst in baseball.
Would have to agree with this take. Not sure what they see that makes them think Hoffman is a better option than Santillan as a starter.
The only explanation I can think of is that Hoffman was playing injured through the early part of the season. Giving him a look-see start with a short leash is not the worse idea. He is not replacing anyone in the Rotation just giving them extra rest. can move him later if he isnt good
The Pittsburgh Pirates exist in this universe.
Perez goes 1-2-3. That automatically puts him as a go to guy now. That’s how bad the pen is.
The team I have watched this weekend is a 4th place maybe .500 team. The fans are going to get very frustrated if things don’t change.
Come on Jesse, your team need you right now!
Not quite what I had in mind, lol
I really need to find something else to occupy my time on the weekends and evenings…..
Follow the White Sox they are a fun and exciting team to watch or Perhaps Toronto Blue Jays. They are at least trying to win with the management teams.
Playing Flat since Nick got hit.
looks Ugly for sure.
But only 3 Games.
Hurts vs Brewers though.
3 games Won before break huge now.
Brewers Infield on Left side stands out.
How more athletic than we are.
Barrera and Senzel if healthy can help there.
Not sure If have the guts to Bench Suarez though.
They don’t. Suarez is a permanent fixture in the line up. He could strike out 500 times/year and never knock in a single run, and he would still be in the line up every day. It’s way beyond my understanding why that is the case. That’s why I think he has to have something on someone. Complete insanity, and/or blackmail would be the only two possible explanations I’ve been able to come up with when I ponder it. He’s going to lead the league in strike outs AGAIN!!!! It’s the only thing you can bank on when it comes to the Reds.
The money in his Bank account reason why.
Which do not agree with.
I see give him some leash.
Since he was Good before.
Think it is far past small sample size range.
need a change. Does not help Winker in funk.
All flaws showed up in this series.
What happened to Winker this month? Ever since he found out he was starting in the All Star Game, he hasn’t hit.
Someone pointed it out earlier. His avg. has fallen 50 points in the last month. Not easy to do 250 AB’s into the season!
Easy enough to find his recent 7/15/3o game splits
https://www.mlb.com/player/jesse-winker-608385?stats=splits-r-hitting-mlb&year=2021
last 3o = .202/.300/.316
Alot of hype going into this series. Reds just didnt have it this weekend. They got to regroup and get after the Mets tomorrow. One game at a time. The bullpen thing has gone on to long.
….and just like that Perez remembers who he is. Frustrating.
Heartbreaking. Me and my baseball buddy at work are converting a co-worker into a baseball fan. He started getting into more the last month with all the wins.
We really hyped up the Reds coming into this series….. all of their short comings have come up in this series. I still love them though. There is a good foundation here. Just too many guys holding them back right now!
Feel sorry for Votto, and to a lesser extent, guys like India and Stephenson who are stuck here for the foreseeable future. What an awful ownership group this team has. If the Reds don’t turn things around by the deadline, Castellanos will be gone, either this month or this winter.
A Reds loss today and a Cubs win, puts the Cubs one game behind the Reds.
Who are the real buyers and sellers?
An absolute travesty from a leaderless ball club. Nobody steps up and ever attempts to take on some leadership regarding the level of play, just disgusting to watch a team that lacks urgency and drive.
The manager is a disgrace to keep playing Freeman, he literally is the closest thing to a robot manager on the field.
Agree Freeman should not even be a bench player. Suddenly Bell is making bone head decisions again.. Errr… So frustrated with this team. That’s the nature of this season its like a roller coaster up and down up and down… I guess we are going down the hill for the time being, and by time the team gets help, if they get help at all it will be too late.
Perez actually looked half decent there. Yea there was the mistake to Yelich but otherwise he still struck out three in 2 innings and worked around some baserunners
Just think how different things looked just one week ago.
+ Infinity
What a difference a week makes. We expected five and it will be seven out as the Mets and Cards come in for a total of 6 followed by 4 at Wrigley.
This blows
The Brewers pitching is very good. Without Cast out there it was going to be tough to score runs.
Sucks to get swept. Reds are better than the Mets and Cardinals though and hopefully they can win both series and rebound. I am not giving up on the team yet even if it can be a frustrating watch at times. They are good. Maybe not good enough. We will see.
I wouldn’t label them “good,” more like average with an occasional hot steak.
I think that’s the best assessment.
Garbage strike three call on Stephenson there. After two passable days of behind the plate work the umpires are returning to the norm
Well there is some bright news…. Just hit the over
So the Reds are really turning one of their top SP prospects into the last guy in the bullpen? Unreal.
he is a top-pitching prospect but the Reds themselves never viewed Tony as a long-term rotation piece. Now back end of the bullpen, no I think he is better then much of the Bullpens RHP and think that he should be in bigger peices.
Can’t blame the BP when starters give up five in five.
Lack of hitting today. Can’t win when you don’t score. And I know — easier said than done with Burnes on the mound. Good teams find a way to scratch out some runs.
Just a pathetic effort today. At least the Brewers are finally out of here. Guess we are going to do this the old fashioned way
They came into this series needing at least 1 win, anything but a sweep and that is what happened, season is possibly going down the tubes. We all sure hope not.
The next 13 games will tell the tale if the Reds are still competitive for the NLC title or if the August/Sept. swoon has set in.
Tuned back in just in time to see Suarez strike out with bases loaded. At some point, Reds fans, management, and FO have to come to grip with the fact that the Reds can’t win depending on this guy. Bench him or trade him.
Nope, Reds fans defend him all day long cuz he has 18 HR’s
By now fans should realize that there’s much more to the game and winning than HRs.
Feeling sorry for Votto ? Say What??
Votto Is a Big problem!!! These last 3 big games he did have One hit, I am surprised, usually in big games he has O fers Yes, next year Nick will be gone and we will be Stuck with Votto again
Votto and Suarez have been the monkeys on the Reds’ back for many years now. We’ll never win until those two are gone. Votto is a miniscule amount better this year as compared to last,..but he’s still a hindrance to the team’s success. And Suarez is Suarez. He’s the MLB’s strike out KING!!! He does not change. Nice guy, but he has a hole in his bat.