| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Pirates (41-68) | 4 | 8 | 1 |
| Cincinnati Reds (58-51) | 7 | 9 | 0 |
| W: Gray (4-6) L: Crowe (3-6) | |||
| FanGraphs Win Probability | Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
The Reds entered play on Thursday night 7.5 games back in the NL Central and 4.0 back for the second wild card spot with 54 games to play. The one glaring sign for optimism when looking at the Reds remaining schedule was they had 13 games left against the Pirates. That represented 24% of their final schedule. The team the Reds are chasing in the NL Central, the Brewers, have already played the Pirates 10 more times and only have 3 remaining contests.
Reds fans were quickly given an injection of hope in the first of the 13 contests.
Jonathan India lead off the game for the Reds with a home run.
Eugenio Suarez was placed in the #8 spot in the lineup for the first time since 2015. He hit a 3-run home run in the second inning to push the Reds lead to 4-0.
Joey Votto put the game out of reach later in the second inning with a 3-run home run of his own. Votto became the first Reds player since Frank Robinson in 1962 to hit 10 home runs in 10 games.
Sonny Gray did not allow a run in the first four innings, but he had a tough luck fifth inning that chased him. The bottom of the Reds bullpen depth chart (Hoffman and Wilson) pitched three big scoreless innings. Mychal Givens finished off the Pirates for a 7-4 victory.
The Reds are seven games above .500 for the first time since July 13, 2014. The Brewers and Padres were both off tonight. The Reds are now 7.0 games out of the NL Central and just 3.5 games out of the second wild card spot.
Biggest Play of the Game
Source: FanGraphs
According to Fangraphs WPA statistic (winning percentage added), the biggest play of the game was Eugenio Suarez’ 3-run home run with 0 outs in the 2nd inning, giving the Reds a 4-0 lead. That play increased the Reds probability of winning by 14.3% (from 73.2% to 87.5%).
Positive
Jonathan India hit his 12th home run of the year. I don’t even want to think about where the Reds would be without him. India continues his strong case to be the Reds first NL Rookie of the Year since Scott Williamson in 1999.
Joey Votto hit his 22nd home run of the year. Votto joined Frank Robinson back in 1962 as the only Cincinnati Reds to hit 10 home runs in a 10 game span. It’s just incredible what the Reds 37-year old first baseman has been able to do. He put the Reds on his back when they needed him the most.
Eugenio Suarez hit his 22nd home run of the season as well. Suarez now has 4 home runs in his last 10 games. It seems inevitable that Suarez will end up on the bench a lot with Mike Moustakas back any day, but you hope that Suarez can continue to hit some bombs to provide a great bench bat/spot starter for the Reds. He could make David Bell’s job very difficult.
Sonny Gray pitched well tonight, he just could not get the results: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. The Pirates had just a .172 expected batting average. Gray had not allowed a run through four innings tonight. He was at a very manageable 65 pitches. The Pirates got two hits with a .060 and .140 xBA. One of those hits was a ball hit to Votto with runners on 2nd & 3rd base that should have been an out. Votto had the runner dead at the plate, but he retreated and Suarez forgot to cover third base (in fairness, it was a very unorthodox play into the shift). Overall though, I was very encouraged by Gray’s effort. He came out looking strong on the heels of a good start over the weekend against the Mets.
Kyle Farmer just keeps hitting. He collected 3 hits and is now hitting .265/.330/.415. He also had just another solid night in the field defensively.
Nick Castellanos returned to the Reds lineup and had one walk. His plate discipline was notably strong for a guy who hasn’t started a game in nearly three weeks. His presence in the lineup is definitely a big boost for the Reds.
Jeff Hoffman and Justin Wilson gave the majority of the Reds bullpen a big night off. Hoffman pitched two shutout innings, and Wilson gave the Reds one.
Mychal Givens helped the Reds set a new record. He became the 10th Reds pitcher to record a save (joining Tejay Antone, Brad Brach, Sean Doolittle, Michael Feliz, Amir Garrett, Heath Hembree, Michael Lorenzen, Josh Osich and Lucas Sims). The Reds previous record was 9 set in both 1959 and 1965. You can find the full record here.
Negatives
Tyler Stephenson left the game early. There was no official word from the Reds, but Jim Day mentioned that Stephenson had gone down into the tunnel with the trainer while the Reds were batting in the bottom of the 5th. He was then taken out of the game.
Tyler Naquin was robbed of a home run in the 5th inning by Bryan Reynolds.
Tyler Naquin vs Duane Underwood Jr.#ATOBTTR
Flyout ?
Exit velo: 104.3 mph
Launch angle: 36 deg
Proj. distance: 398 ftThis would have been a home run in 6/30 MLB ballparks
PIT (4) @ CIN (7)
? 5th pic.twitter.com/YLFWNc6Uxp— Would it dong? (@would_it_dong) August 6, 2021
Not so random thoughts…………….
The Reds are now 10-1 in their last 11 games vs Pirates dating back to 2020. The Reds are not going to win all 12 remaining games against the Pirates. The Reds will have a starter not have it one night, or one of the Pirates starters will just have a great night. Tonight’s game did make you question just how many games can the Reds rack up wins against the Pirates? You have to wonder if the Reds could do something crazy like go 11-2 in these final 13 games? If they do something like that, there is a really good chance the Reds are in the playoff hunt in the last week of the season.
The Reds complete dominance over the NL Central continues. The Reds are now 31-18 vs NL Central this season. They are an even crazier 38-19 against the division since 9/13/20.
The Reds are also just playing some great baseball overall. The Reds have won 7 of 9, and they are 36-23 (.610) in their last 59 games.
Up Next:
Pirates at Reds
Friday, 7:10 PM
TV: Bally Sports Ohio
Wade Miley (2.92 ERA) vs JT Brubaker (4.49 ERA)
When Winker and Castellanos go a combined 0-6 and you still manage to score 6 runs, I think that’s a good thing!
It’s an even better thing when you can score 7 runs in that situation. 😉
+1 for positive post-game write-ups, thank you Nick for your refreshing tone in this sea of negativity in general. All mods here are top notch.
Stephenson left with a hamstring cramp, per Mark Sheldon. Taken out as a precaution.
Once Gray Lost it.
Thought Lost this Game.
Shout out to Hoffman.
Job well Done.
Now onto tomm.
Go Reds.
Hoffman did a good job. I would like to see him more in relief as well as bringing up Santillan. When we get Sims and Antone back the BP should be in better shape. Doolittle, Hembree and Brach are all candidates for DFA.
I have been pleasantly surprised by Lorenzen’s effectiveness since his return but I’ll believe Sims when I see it because he left me nervous all along. Hoping Antone is back sooner rather than later at even 90% of the effectiveness he had before his injury.
I was thinking that Hoffman and Brach would be the next two cut. Hoffman did pitch well tonight. Still, I can’t see Bell keeping him over HH. Doolittle should be a candidate but I can’t see Bell giving up a LH. If either one of these moves happen I can see Bell not being happy and an internal fight going on about it. lol Brach is probably a definite but who knows? Getting close to decision time. Also, Moose is almost ready but Senzel is not evidently. Do they keep 14 pitchers, cut Freeman and go without a backup SS when Moose is ready? Or, do they cut another pitcher and keep Freeman? Krall said that Barrero is almost ready. Is he in the plans this year? Doesn’t seem so unless Senzel is left in AAA. Lots of questions. Bottom line. Just keep winning. I’m not so sure we can’t sweep the remaining 12 games against the Pirates. They are down and depleted by their own actions. I feel bad for their fans. There needs to be a minimum salary requirement for each MLB team. No team should be able to do what the PIrates ownership is doing to that city.
Also, from what I saw from Santi he would be a major asset to the bullpen, even more than AG but that’s not likely to happen is it? Wilson looks to be a keeper to me. He seems to be the best out of the three lefties.
At Jim Walker. Agree on Sims. He wasn’t that effective prior to his injury. Hopefully, the injury was why.
Is anyone is baseball slower at pitching than Heath Hembree? Miley Could throw 4 pitches in the amount of time it takes HH to throw one. It gives the advantage to the hitter, unless they fall asleep. I think his future is AAA or mop up man.
If the Reds will actually use Hoffman, he could end up being a solid member of the bullpen. In his three (now) relief appearances he’s allowed 4 H, 2 BB, 0 R, with 7 K’s. He’s definitely earned a chance to show he can do more. My only previous issue with him was his usage (only twice in 2 weeks) and the fact that the Reds are carrying 9 relievers. 9 is too many to keep all sharp and shorthands the bench. Pitch him more and let him prove he’s one of the top 8 relievers on our roster.
7 behind Milw
Wildcard:
7 behind LA
3.5 behind SD
Watch out on Phillies behind Reds, they’ve won their last 5
And Reds have 3 games with Phillies a week from now on Phillie.
A week from now *in* Phillie, not on.
I’d like to be able to say my brain or spell checker was in Spanish logic mode but the “i” and “o” keys are next door neighbors, so that might be stretching the truth. 😉
Agree with you on Simms. He might be better as a set up guy than a closer. He had control issues. I like Lorenzen closing myself.
The Reds are just fine at SS# with Kyle Farmer, he is hitting and his defense is solid. Suarez is the weak link in the infield and I am guessing Moose will be playing allot of 3RD base when he returns.
My 7-1 bet says Philly is going to win the division)). So no need to worry about them in the wildcard. If we play good enough to catch SD then the NL east losers aren’t catching us
The “problem” with the Phils and Braves is that much of baseball wrote them off ….. pre DeGrom injury. Now the Mets look mortal. And both teams seem to have been injected with new life. Not great news for the Reds as we play them both next week in Atlanta and Philly. Instead of a pushover against <500 teams, we are going to see teams battling for first place. And 3-3 will not be good enough to gain ground on the Brewers. I applaude both teams though as they did not throw in the towel at the trade deadline but each acquired multiple players for the stretch drive. Atlanta has 3 new starting OFs.
Am I the only fan who is worried once Moose gets back here that Suarez will shift to SS and Farmer will hit the bench? What do you do with Suarez? He really isn’t hitting
enough to be a PH and he doesn’t play good enough D to be a late inning replacement.
I would rotate him at best. He is all or nothing(Strike out) with the bat. He makes some great plays at 3B but then does something dumb like not covering 3B on the ground ball to Votto. He tends to not run hard out of the box when he does hit the ball. I hope Moose gets some time at 3B(at least for the short term) since they won’t give Lopez or Schrock a chance. Sometimes I wish we were a large market team where we would be able to eat a bad contract and not have to play the player if they don’t perform.
No need to worry. The Suarez SS experiment is OVER. Even Bell is smart enough to see that. Farmer has been one of our absolute studs the past two+ months! Moose and Suarez will likely platoon at 3B. Geno tonight kind of summed up his season–a HR and 3 Ks!
I think so too but boy the way he came across the 2B bag and cut loose that throw for the bang/ bang GIDP, it is understandable why someone would want to see what he could do at SS.
But we’ve already seen what he can do at SS. Does anybody know the current status of Farmer’s injury? He’s sure playing well for a guy who’s hobbled.
Totally agree Maloney. Suarez will not be playing SS# again.
He should be coming off the bench as a pinch hitter only.
You used the words “smart” and “Bell” in the same sentence! Not much evidence of that in a lot of games! In Bell’s defense the FO didn’t give Bell much to work with until recently when it came to reliable, effective relief pitchers!
Moustakas can be a 4-5 games a week rotating spot insert, giving India the occasional selected game or 2 off against the toughest RHP on those early matinees after a night game, spelling Saurez (who can still by necessity cover short occasionally giving Farmer some slack) a couple or three games a week and letting Votto grab his timely breathers along those same lines (“Hey Moose, buddy, this here LHP always gives me absolute total fits, so I’m gonna let you be a pal and take a few cracks at him for me this time, ok?”)
Maybe Bell is thinking the balanced option AKA platoon for Suárez/Moustakas at 3B as Farmer keeps hitting well…
No way in h*ll that Suarez should play any SS except a very occasional break. Farmer has won that position and that plus his hitting has kept the Reds afloat for the last month (in addition to India, Votto and Stephenson). If anything Barrero should be called up when September gets here as a backup and to play a few games, giving Farmer a break down the stretch.
No, you are not the only one. I have been worried about that for a while now. I see no easy solution. India has to stay right where he is. Farmer has been so good, how can you take him out of that role? Like you, I have come to the conclusion that it has to be Suarez who gets reduced playing time?
good stuff Nick. although I disagree with your last paragraph. I believe we can win out against the pirates the rest of the year. they are that bad and we are getting healthier and healthier. although maybe we will have the division clinched by the last series and then we can let them take a game or 2 lol
12-0? They just beat Philly 2 out of 3 and Philly has a lineup just as good as the Reds on paper atleast. Segura Realmuto Harper Hoskins Didi Cutch etc.
I’d be very happy with 10-2
Yeah. I’m not sure that the Pirates are as bad as their record, at least offensively. They didn’t miss by much a terrible come-from-behind win last night, and a poor hitting game by the Reds and/or a bullpen implosion could certainly happen in some of the remaining games.
The Pirates looked like they felt free of pressure at the plate. They were taking big swings and made some decent contact.
In their 4 run fifth inning, a couple of those dribblers/ seeing eye grounders were the result of big swings which were slightly off on timing or the ball just off the sweet spot of the bat.
They could be dangerous in any given game, especially if their opposition gives them free base runners then somebody runs into a pitch with multiple guys aboard.
Friday game up next with a team your expected to beat in a playoff drive. I smell a sell out tomorrow
Good write up Nick
Reds need a 9-1 streak to get within a game of the WC and 3 of the Brewers
Also getting close to when beat 26 need to be on the mlb roster
Im ok with greene and Barrero playing in AAA another 7-10 game but by late August its all
Hands on deck
Really not seeing what Freeman Akiyama doolittle brach and hembry are doing to help win
Give bell credit for holding back Hoffman and Wilson till today . They got outs .
Need Moose and Sims by friday
Agree on the 4 you mentioned. All 4 will be DFA soon (hopefully).
Why do you continue to say that Doolittle needs to be cut but never mention Garrett. His era is 2 runs worse than Doolittle. You guys are a dog on a bone here. Not saying that’s Doolittle is the best pitcher on our staff but he is better than Garrett in 2021 and he is still reworking his pitch strategy.
Garrett has not made one adjustment ever. I just don’t get it
Age. AG was good last year. Doolittle will be a one-pitch pitcher turning 35 next month.
That being said, I wouldn’t lose sleep if they cut AG loose. How many years has he had to get it together? He’s Cody Reed with better health
AG is young, cheap, and clearly has talent, plus he’s already had some success. The Reds would look like clowns if they release him.
A fair amount of Garret’s bad numbers date to the early part of the season when he was completely off the rails. He’s been better for a while, command issues not withstanding.
I wouldn’t lose sleep over Garrett being cut either. LIke someone mentioned, Garrett is younger with more raw talent although it doesn’t seem to be between his ears. Garrett was effective in the last few years also. So maybe he gets a little more rope.
Since June 8th Garrett has a 3.71 ERA with 10 BBs, 1 HR allowed vs 30 K’s in 17 IP. In that same time frame Doolittle has pitched to a 4.30 ERA with 7 BBs, 2 HR allowed vs 8 K’s in 14.2 IP. So for the last two months Garrett has out performed Doolittle, especially in K/BB department but has also allowed less HRs in more IP during that time. Garrett’s knocked 3 runs off his ERA while Doolittle has essentially stayed the same pitcher all year. Garrett is also younger. Garrett also has a better recent track record of success as he was better than Doolittle in 2019/20. For the season Garrett has allowed 35% of inherited runners to score while Doolittle has allowed 61% of inherited runners to score. These are the reasons people see Garrett as the better option of the two. If not for a brutal start to the season there’d be no debate at all.
Thanks Votto, Hard to argue stats, but even those you showed look pretty similar to me (3.7 vs 4.3) and it is a subset. I expect AG to be better than Doolittle, but to my eye, he is not. Doolittle is where he has been all year at 4.3. AG has gone from 9 era to 6.8 era, ok that is better but he is still a one pitch pitcher, and if you lay off of his slider, he is in trouble. I just watch AG in his last outing where he walked 2 and was nowhere near the strike zone vs the Pirates. He should be dominating that team. I would be interested in how many times he starts an inning and has to be relieved, just like his last outing against the Pirates.
If you had Mahle’s fastball with AG’s slider, we would be talking about Cy Young. But both pitchers are flawed and vulnerable to good hitters. It is why Vlad has passed Mahle in my eye as the 4th starter despite Mahle currently having a better era. Mahle cannot get out of the 5 th inning, the 3rd time thru the lineup because ML hitters can figure out one pitch pitchers. It is why Doolittle is trying to change the way he pitches and I appreciate that. this is a game about adjustments. Unfortunately, Mahle and AG were brought to the bigs as one pitch pitchers. Mahle is trying to change. when his spliter is working and he can get his breaking pitch anywhere near the plate without being hittable, he is lights out. If not, refer to Old Jim’s state where he went to 2 strikes on 19 of 21 hitters and could not put them away.
I like the fact that the Reds are taking their time with Greene right now and making him make adjustments at AAA. tempting to rush him and 100+, but even he has seen if that is all you throw you can get hit and hit hard. He is learning how to pitch at AAA and he needs to finish that task or risk being a Mahle or AG at the big leagues
No problem Reaganspad. Hopefully the stats highlight how each is trending as we continue further into the season. I’ll agree AG isn’t the ideal reliever, just probably the better bet of the two to perform better than his stats show. Of course, if he had more than one pitch he’d probably been kept as a starter longer.
Reds need to gain two games by time they face Milwaukee at end of month. 5 out and then a obvious must sweep would put them 2 back going into September with the pressure all on the Brewers.
Not that I would ever want anyone to get covid 19 but the Brewers currently have 5 players on the Covid IL. That can’t be helping them any.
Also the crew starts a series against the wonderous Giants this weekend. That’s going to be a tough series for them while we play the Pirates.. I like our chances of getting closer in the standings this weekend.
Looks like only Hader from their bullpen is still out. I’d love to see SF put a real taxation on those bullpen arms this weekend
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/bullpen-usage.php?team=MIL
I can’t recall ever being so on pins and needles with a 3 run lead during the regular season as I was tonight after the Reds escaped that misbegotten 5th with “only” 4 runs allowed. That mess had all the earmarks of a historically bad inning people talk about years or even decades later.
And yet the only really poor play in the inning was Votto not taking the out right in front of him. Even when he started moving toward home, all he had to do was go to the foul and run at the hitter coming toward him to get his out and hold the runner.
I really think people are really misunderstanding this play. He did what anyone would do when they catch the lead runner straying too far and either make the throw home or get him going back to third. You look the runner back for that play then get the out, and he was all the way down the line towards home so Votto thought he had him. Geno decided to stand there on the play even with a man at his base and another guy right behind him, thats the only thing that made no sense to me. The shift is no excuse, they play out of traditional position constantly so he should be prepared. If Joey just goes to tag the guy the run probably scores.
Definitely a strange play but I didnt see anything wrong with Joey’s reaction. Completely understandable, wouldve prevented that guy from scoring and ended the inning sooner if Geno just covers his base.
small correction – I thought it was 2nd and 3rd but it was runners on the corners.
which actually makes me wonder if there was a double play to be had there. If theres any real argument that Joey messed that play up, then maybe thats the best route.
Votto had the runner dead at the plate then ran towards him when he stopped like he should have. Suarez didn’t cover until it was too late and the runner was already back to third. After that there was no other play to be made.
@2020> The batter ran by with Votto standing 10-15 feet off the line. The batter was still 30 feet down the line toward home from Votto when the play on the guy off 3B went sour. Votto had plenty of time to step over to the line and tag the runner, instead, he basically became a spectator.
At the end of the inning, after catching the throw for the final out, Votto disgustedly spiked the ball into the dirt. He knew he had misplayed the situation.
No way he had time, hes not 10-15 ft tall, so its not “just a step” to get a guy sprinting down the line
Joey would probably tell you he shouldve gotten an out there if you asked fwiw. How he reacted was understandable to me, unless he had it in his head he was going for the batter 100% i dont think it was that easy a play, i think the only proper argument here is he should have spun and gone to 2nd.
I don’t see how Votto could have tagged the runner out when he was 10-15 feet away from him. The play at 3B was right in front of him and had Suarez not been standing and looking it would have been a very easy play. It was a play to keep a run from scoring. It was a no brainer in my view. Suarez had no reason to be standing at the SS position. Once he saw where the ball was hit his immediate reaction should have been to cover his bag. He blew it.
When you’re up 7-1 then you take the out right in front of you. If you pump your arm once while you’re closing the gap between you and the hitter then he’ll go back to 3B while you get the out. It ended up costing the Reds 2 runs
Joey has a front row seat watching the Reds BP. Was that in his head trying to prevent the run?
Suarez standing around was the problem, Joey did everything corrrectly.
Part of the issue was that Saurez was shifted over to almost a normal SS position. As @IRM commented above, Votto had successfully looked the guy back toward 3B, now just take his out. Instead, it turned into a Little League play with the 3B runner daring Votto to throw and Votto daring the runner to break for home. Meanwhile, the batter ran by not 15 feet from Votto.
He wasnt at normal SS position, pretty sure farmer was even 3rd base side that play.
Yep, farmer was 3rd base side. once Votto started to run at the runner, saurez broke for third and jogged there arriving at nearly the same time, so all he had to do was cover the base initially. Vottos reaction was to take the out with the lead runner and his teammate was napping.
I really wish Bell would think outside the box with the last game of the series. Push Mahle back a day and let either Santillan come up to make the start Sunday. I would say let Greene come up to make his debut, but he pitched today so that’s not happening. This would give us Road Mahle vs. Cleveland instead of Home Mahle vs. Pirates. Would line up Castillo, Gray, Miley vs. Atlanta, then Guti, Road Mahle, Castillo vs. Phillies. Road Mahle is way better than home Mahle and Santillan is definitely good enough to beat this Pirates team. This is the one time a 6 man rotation for one period would make sense imo. It’s not gonna happen, but would be nice.
Who are you sending out instead? I guess either Brach or Doolittle (each of whom I think are likeliest to go when Sims/Antone are back) could be argued, but that leaves your pen short for a few games while Santi rests. Also not much of a vote of confidence for Mahle to just say he can’t pitch at home as his manager.
I generally like outside the boxness however, I wouldnt be fully against it if it happened.
Mahle just doesn’t fit with GABP. Unfortunately we could see a similar case to Disco where the Reds let him go and he becomes a border line All Star. His road/home splits this year are night and day and he knows that. And yeah, I’d just DFA one of the guys they planning on getting rid of anyway once Antone and Sims are back. Or even Moose and Senzel for that matter. Santillan has better bullpen stuff then some of the other guys anyway.
im confused, Disco was great in a Reds uni. not sure your point there, Mahle has a ways to go vs RHB to match Disco. going to reinforce the fact that you would never pigeonhole a player and publicly show a lack of confidence in them unless they deserve it. if in 2 years his home/road splits are still there then maybe, otherwise youre just throwing your player under the bus and tossing a wrench in the other starters routines and the bullpen for a small perceived benefit.
Idk if great is the right word. I’d say he was average at best. His best year was 2016 and idk if I’d even consider that a great season. Definitely above average, but idk about great.
I wondered if the Pirates bullpen is so good to shut out Reds for 4 frames and a lot of Ks last knight…
Castellanos had a 0 for 3 with 2 Ks, walk. He is a little bit out of beat maybe. Hopefully tonight he could hit harder…
Actually the Reds didn’t score after the 2nd last night. That used to signal an offensive dry spell almost every time, but this team is different. Before when they’d rank high offensively it was 14 runs one night and 5 total in the next 2 games, but this team has put up 5+ runs in 12 of their last 13…..and thats without Nick of course. Pretty impressive!!
I jumped on Reds Over 4.5 tonite although Brubaker can be good at times. He throws strikes!
Relief pitching came through. I’ll be surprised if India is not the ROY.
Probably between India and Trevor Rogers.Last I knew India led mlb in errors by a 2b so that could hurt
A point in his favor – he has been a virtual Iron Man at 2B. That should count in his favor for ROY, and might ameliorate his error numbers – he has more errors because he has had more chances. Also recall – the dude was a 3rd baseman until March, 2021. Got to expect a few miscues moving to a new, and I think more demanding position.
I suspect I value a player’s defensive ability more than most people – maybe because I was a pretty good defender who couldn’t hit a lick. But India has been acceptable at 2B, and his offense has been nothing short of outstanding. He has been an on-base / run scoring machine and the spark for this offense. If he had the ability to steal a few more bases, he would be a darn near perfect leadoff hitter.
Guys like that don’t just grow on trees. Give him the ROY
I’d love to see Lark work with him on stealing in the off season. Whit Merrifield can run, but he’s no burner and yet he’s 29-1 on steals this year. I get that the Reds can wait on long balls in gabp, but no reason they couldn’t hit-n-run more with Wink or Nick at the plate. Not to many guys have fastballs that are going to get swing-n-misses off those 2 and its hard to throw someone out when you’re reaching for a breaking ball. Heck you have Delino Deshields right there too. No reason India couldn’t steal 18-20 bag a year atleast.
Trevor Rogers ERA is climbing every month and was over 4 in July. He had some back spasms and missed a start then another 3 inning start and then a missed start for family emergency. India is also number 4 in WAR in the NL at 2b and other 3 aren’t even playing 2b. Kronenworth SD is at SS now and who knows what the Dodgers are doing. Muncy is at 1b and Taylor is in the OF but both on Fangraphs as top 2b, yetMookie Betts played 2b last few games. India wins in a landslide.
MLB statcast sprint speed: I had to look it up
India = 88th India at 28.5 feet/second at full stride
Merrifield = 69th at 28.7
India is tied with Yelich and Marcus Semien
India is ahead of Cain, Michael Taylor, Albies, Marte, and Tim Anderson
The kid can run a little bit when he’s healthy!
Funny stat: Sadak mentions it 9 times a game when we play the Cards, but Tyler O’Neill is 14th and tied with Billy Hamilton. That fire hydrant with legs can really run!
I see a lot of complaints about Mahle, but he was our best pitcher earlier in the season. IMO Mahle will be a successful starting pitcher in MLB for another 10 years. Don’t give up on him yet. I do think he is better with Stephenson catching him. Tucker moves around too much for a guy with less than perfect command. Every time Tucker stands up, Mahle throws it 2 feet over the strike zone. Same think with in and out. He should dust off the curve ball over the winter. Big leaguers cannot hit curves.
Tucker is a very quiet receiver behind the plate, not sure what youre saying….
The return of Moustakas (from espn)
India
Winker
Castellanos
Votto
Moustakas (3B)
Farmer
Naquin
Barnhard
Miley
Let’s see