The Cincinnati Reds will be looking to avoid the 3-game sweep at the hands of the first place Milwaukee Brewers this afternoon. First pitch is set for 2:10pm ET. The game is available as a Free Game of the Day via MLB.tv (out of market) and MLB Network.
Starting Lineups
Cincinnati Reds
|
Milwaukee Brewers
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| Jonathan India – 2B | Kolten Wong – 2B |
| Tyler Stephenson – C | Omar Narvaez – C |
| Nick Castellanos – RF | Christian Yelich – LF |
| Joey Votto – 1B | Avisail Garcia – RF |
| Aristides Aquino – LF | Rowdy Tellez – 1B |
| Eugenio Suarez – 3B | Luis Urias – SS |
| Tyler Naquin – CF | Jace Peterson – 3B |
| Jose Barrero – SS | Jackie Bradley Jr. – CF |
| Sonny Gray – SP | Brett Anderson – SP |
Starting Pitchers
Sonny Gray
Something funny happened the last time that Sonny Gray took the mound…. he started throwing a cutter. A lot. There had been two pitches that were classified as cutters by Gray this season. But he threw 20 of them in his last start, cutting back usage on his curveball and other two fastballs a little bit. And did that plan ever work – he allowed one hit in 7.0 shutout innings against the Marlins.
Gray has dominated left-handed hitters this season, holding them to a .203/.289/.328 line this season. Righties have found more success, hitting .274/.347/.437 against him. Gray has also been better on the road than he has at home this season. Away from Cincinnati his OPS against is 94 points lower (.650 on the road) and his ERA is 3.38 in eight games (4.75 at home).
Pitch usage from 2021
| 4-Seam | 2-Seam | Cutter | Slider | Change | Curve | |
| Velo | 92.4 | 92.5 | 84.8 | 82.1 | 88.0 | 79.5 |
| Usage | 24% | 30% | 3% | 16% | 4% | 24% |
Brett Anderson
The Brewers lefty has a 4.15 ERA this season in 19 starts that have covered 82.1 innings. His 60% ground ball rate is 4th best in baseball among pitchers with at least 80 innings this year. Anderson doesn’t miss bats, but he doesn’t walk many guys, either. Nor does he pitch deep into games, averaging 4.1 innings per start this season.
Anderson has had mixed results against Cincinnati this year. IN May he held them to two runs in 5.0 innings. Then on June 9th the Reds touched him up for five runs in 3.0 innings. But he faced them again the next week and allowed one hit in 7-shutout innings that included nine strikeouts – his only gave all year with more than FOUR this season. He’s only had three games with more than three strikeouts this year.
Lefties don’t get many opportunities to face Anderson. He’s only had 74 plate appearances against lefties this year compared to 276 against righties. But the lefties who do get to face him have fared well, hitting .303/.356/.424 against him this year. Righties are hitting .257/.308/.423 against him this season. He’s been better at home, posting a 3.13 ERA (5.00 on the road) while holding batters to a .716 OPS.
Pitch usage from 2021
| 4-Seam | 2-Seam | Cutter | Slider | Change | Curve | |
| Velo | 88.6 | 89.1 | 85.8 | 81.7 | 82.4 | 76.2 |
| Usage | 1% | 47% | 9% | 9% | 23% | 12% |
When and Where
- Game time: 2:10pm ET
- Where: American Family Field
- Watch: Bally Sports Ohio, MLB.tv, MLB Network (out of market)
- Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: It’s a dome.
News and Notes
Tejay Antone to undergo Tommy John surgery
This morning Tejay Antone broke the news on twitter that he would be undergoing a second Tommy John surgery on Friday. If you want more details about that we covered it here.
NL Central Standings
Playoff odds via Fangraphs
| Team | W | L | GB | Playoff % |
| Brewers | 78 | 49 | 0 | 99.9% |
| Reds | 69 | 59 | 9.5 | 62.8% |
| Cardinals | 64 | 61 | 13.0 | 5.3% |
| Cubs | 56 | 73 | 23.0 | 0.0% |
| Pirates | 46 | 81 | 32.0 | 0.0% |
Suarez and Aquino in the line up. Two of the worst hitters in the entire League. Why? Oh, it is a lefty.
2 automatic outs back-to-back in the 5th & 6th spots in the batting order! Essentially negating any chance to score if the top 4 get on base!
Dennis couldn’t agree with you more, all year long he’s been doing this .if he feels the need to start the 2 worst hitters on team at least split them with Naquin, if for no other reason late in game stop brewers from having easy decision on bring in a righty or lefty
Well, you’re wrong about Suarez for this game. A hit and a walk so far.
David Bell special !! Lineup construction always an issue with this guy , ALWAYS !!!!!
What is so hard about it Bell ????!!!!!!!
Common sense decisions are NOT his specialty , never have been .
TA can’t catch a break! In fact a broken bone would have healed faster! Need to finish this 3-game set with a win as the Dirty Birds are playing the Pie Rats in the first of a 4-game series! Oh! And thank you Dodgers!
Actually from the 4-7 slots, AA is the best hitter against LH’ers. He’s batting .224 followed by Votto at .222. Naquin is at .204 while Suarez? Suarez is hitting a staggering .126. Farmer on the other hand hits .278 against LH’ers. Starting him at 3rd seems more logical if one is really paying attention to numbers Alas L/R matchups seem to trump performance statistics..
I like to look at pitcher/batter results when I bet my totals. I don’t know what Bell does to determine lineups but its not P vs B?
Brett Anderson:
Aquino 0-6, 3 Ks
Farmer 2-15, 1 double, 2 Ks
Moose 4-9, 3 doubles, 2 Ks
Stephenson 2-9, 2 doubles, 1K
Suarez 3-20, 1 double, 2 Hrs, 5 walks, 6 Ks
Votto 4-23, 1 double, 1 walk, 3 Ks
Based on that I think I’d give Joey the day off for Moose and maybe Farmer in LF for AA
I can see that. The lineup doesn’t scream success but let’s hope it works out. The Reds need a win. They can’t count on the Dodgers doing everything.
Farmer is getting a day off. So he’s not an option. And without Farmer, this is probably the best possible lineup the Reds can put out there. So I’m not sure why everyone is complaining about it. I have no complaints with today’s lineup, nor giving Farmer a well deserved day of rest.
Luke, complaining about the lineup is daily sport here. It gets old.
If the Reds win this game today with the lineup submitted by Bell I will personally nominate him for membership in MENSA!
I’m a fan of this lineup and with giving a worn, injured Farmer a day off for an early game after a late game last night. With Farmer resting, this is probably the most potent offense available.
Get ready for nomination night…LOL! India with a 3 run jack!
We’ll hold you to that, Dennis.
That’s Mr. MENSA to you, sir!
India just keeps on ticking. The guy is a rock.
Alright going to be in and out today…. DOdgers came through again yesterday. Time to start relying on ourselfs and not other teams. Nice Sac Fly Vottto
If Castellanos opts out his replacement is not on this team. If people think Aquino or Shogo is going to replace him they are fooling themselves. There are basically no outfield FA’s this year that are even close to Castellanos. Front office needs to wakeup and sign him to an extension now because if he opts out , he isnt coming back. Reds will get out bid. Their best chance is now. We all know what’s going to happen though.
Suarez walks…. Ill take it
Nick’s career numbers (.811 ops) are not overwhelming. His road stats this year are not overwhelming (.770 ops). He might get a huge offer from someone, but gabp is a great fit and our lineup has young talent so personally I’m sure he’d like to stay. He might get a $25 mil/year offer, but I hope not.
Still nobody is going to replace him in the Reds system and there are average at best FA’s this year. Conforto? 29 and having a terrible year. Marte? 33 years old. They will have to trade somebody to upgrade for sure.
It would be a blow. The only way they wouldn’t take a big step back is if Barrero turned into India and Moose and/or Geno had big bounce back seasons. Winker would have to play 145 games too. Maybe the DH would help there?
Looking the park effects, I can’t imagine that Castellanos actually wants to leave. He just wants more green. So give it to him within reason. He’s not Mookie Betts. I just don’t see anyone signing him at $30M/yr, especially given the splits. Or even Chicago vs. Detroit stadium effects.
sorry do not know why that replied to you rather then start its own thread
Hey Suarez walked. I was just as excited.
Someone said last night that our bullpen doesn’t match up with the big boys and thats true to a certain extent. Especially with Antone out again, but, Sonny could be an X factor. He could come in and go 3 innings if the starter gave up some early damage.
Talking about playoff situation beyond the 1 game
SO glad we got that Berreros Double play there… at least Suarez walked.
The guy hasn’t played in a week after tearing up AAA.
Check the box scores; his name appears more often than weekly. This is his third start since call up, plus a couple of pinch hitting appearances. Lots of players tear up AAA and do not set the world on fire when they hit the majors. Apparently MLB pitchers don’t read the AAA stat lines.
@Doc I didn’t mean for my comment to be taken so literally. I don’t know when his last plate appearance/pinch hit was and quite frankly I’m not looking it up. My point was that he hasn’t had enough at bats and he has had enough starts. Next time I’ll try to be more precise in my comments to meet your exacting requirements.
*hasn’t had enough starts…
Random rant: If EVERY game today is the MLB.tv “Free Game of the Day,” then why do blackouts still apply? Even if I pay for the service, I would never be able to watch Reds games — home or away — from where I live in southwestern Indiana. That is considered both the Reds and Cardinals markets, and any games involving those two teams are instantly blacked out here no matter what.
MLB: Fix this. Not right. Let people watch your games! Isn’t that the point?
Its rediculous. You paid to watch the games. I live 6 hours from Yankee stadium and they black them out here but I can watch the Mets games. I dont get the Ranger hockey games either.
Whatever the radius is for blackouts, they should shrink it. They want people at the park, but they also need to use common sense, when it comes to miles from the park
Ahh our boys in blue miss another obvious call at first.
Sonny Gray is just cruising along. 2 IP, with only 23 pitches. Hope the baserunning doesn’t detract from his strong start to the game.
Gray can put an end to this mini slump
Ugghhh. India waited out the low stuff and made him get the ball up, but didn’t get any lift on it. Launch angle stuff does help
To many double plays as of late, bunts and hit and runs might avoid that. Bell needs to make things happen instead of just sitting back and waiting.
Maybe Bell could bat leadoff next couple of games?
8 pitches in a walk to Bradley. Bradley’s average? .174
Gray seems to be hurt…..
Right hamstring tightness?
I wonder if they can put a wrap on that hamstring.
Since the inning is now over, I’m sure he’s getting attention for it. Whether it’s his hamstring or a cramp, I don’t know. I’m guessing he’ll come back out next inning, but I wonder about his effectiveness from here on out this game. Hope he’s able to pull through — but I also want him healthy, so I hope he doesn’t make it worse.
Soft tossing lefties just eat us up.No clue what to do with a guy like is pitching today.Reds are so aggressive he just teases us in to swinging at junk.
Weird thing is they always have..I mean going back to the 1990s.
This Milwaukee pitcher is running thru the reds like he’s Cy Young
Probably putting the cart before the horse on this, but what are the match-up scenarios for the playoff. Specifically, assuming the Reds are the WC, and play @ Giants/Dodgers in the WC Game. If they win, who would they play in round 2, assuming they have a better record than the NL East Winner (probably Braves)?
They would play the team with best record.
Unless the Reds go the other way he will continue to be Cy Young.He got Nick and AA swinging on stuff away and on Nick it was way way away.No need for him to come inside just to show it cause we are trying for the 3 run homer and trying to pull everything.
Barrero? Kid has to bring some confidence with him from AAA. Horrible 0-2 pitch right down the middle and he took it. He’s got to play to get better though
Swing the bat ! You can’t take !!!
He looks a lot like that SS the Reds had last year, Garcia.
No outs guys at first and third and Barrero stands there looking at strike 3. Really???
I can see why people think he’s the next Barry Larkin
SMH
Really! Swing the bat! If you are gonna strike out at least make an attempt to hit the ball! Reds have to be leading all of MLB in strikeouts, RISP abandonment, TOOTBLANS, etc.!
If Barrero does not hit well he is not to get confidence from Bell and likely going to stay on the bench everyday
There we go!!! ROY picks the boys up big right there!
Even better than the HR to me is that he took it the other way. India is such a pleasant surprise this season. He is only going to get better.
Finally, a breakthrough!
Big hit by India,mans was that needed.
Like I said earlier, India is a Rock. You want to hit him? He’ll make you pay.
Way to go Rook!
It is what India has done… hits well and kills the oposing pitchers so he is not gonna be benched at all
That was huge. India is having one heckuva year
India shows Brandon Larson jr how it’s done
Yep, 81 career MLB PAs a career makes
I must admit I did not think India (and Stephenson and Gutierrez) would leave Senzel in the dust. Baseball.
No one did. So much for hype.
If Senzel ever stays healthy he will join them.
I agree. There is still time for Senzel but India is turning out what we thought Senzel would be.
Let those young guys play.Barrero set when he came up.Put him at short and let him play the rest of the way.Use Farmer at third and if he can in left at times and lets play
We are on a pennant race. Barrera can start next year as the everyday SS. Right now The best chance to make the playoffs is to try to get either moose or Suarez to revert to form. If we fall out of the race he can start then. Not fair to him or the team to put him in a a very pressure situation. Right now he can help the team by making the most of hos opportunities
Like I said last night after he struck out on 3 straight change ups,he would be back today.ROY for sure.
Castellanos! This game so much better (thus far) than the last two….
just got out of class…. I see India has increased his chance for ROY. Suarez making the most of an opportunity. Hopefully, Castellanos is starting a hot spell.
Suter who hasn’t pitched in 4 days grooves 2 sub 88mph 4 seamers to Casti … that’s batting practice. Counsell brings in 2 LH relievers when he’s got all RH batters in the Reds lineup? This is thumbing his nose at the Reds. Go to mlb .com and look at Castellanos’s face on the ‘HR’ trot … he knows
I have no problem walking Yelich there. The man has been red hot the last two weeks.
Of course, Garcia has been even hotter. Probably why Gray was trying to induce a swing by Yelich.
Slam that door!!! What a job Sonny did today!!
Does he have another inning in him this afternoon?
Yes indeed.
No. Thats enough
Cheeseburger time Rowdy ! Have a seat !
Hope Sonny at least gets a chance to start the 7th! Of course there’s alway AG! Just kidding!
Slowest team in mlb I think
Only 26 stolen bases and caught stealing 22 times. ROY India leads with 8 stolen bases and Naquin has 5. Four players have 2.
With India’s shoulder why would you risk injuring him now sliding into bases? Stolen bases are operated anyway. This team would just be giving up outs that would cut into runs scored with the longbail with men on base. 3 best OBP teams in the NL have 27, 46 and 47 SB last time I looked. SD steals bases a lot but their park is huge
*overrated
@beelicker
I disagree. Running the bases is still part of the game. When teams that can’t run rely too heavily on the HR, if the HR doesn’t come, then they can’t score (or have difficulty scoring). It’s difficult to beat good pitching with station-to-station baseball.
One reason why the Brewers are in 1st place is because of their speed, especially with Wong and Adames. They have pitching and defense but their speed puts pressure on the opposing team. We need to quit making excuses for the Reds lack of speed. It is what it is. But just because we don’t have that element doesn’t mean we should push it aside as being irrelevant.
@beelicker
I was just relaying the Reds stolen base numbers. I never said India should steal more. If anything I compliment him for being the team leader in stolen bases.
Also, the ‘slowest team’ comment by Indy Red Man was after Naquin was thrown out at 2nd, not India.
Tony S in the Bullpen…. Farmer pinch hits.
correction shogo
What a waste of 7 million – Shogo can’t hit a lick !!! I mean a lick !!!!
AA now hitting .191
Shogo hitting .203
After the main starting 3 the Reds don’t have an outfielder that can hit a lick.Worst front office in mlb
Oh please.
Winker, Senzel, Castellanos, Naquin. Yeah, what a terrible hitting OF
We have 3 ROY candidates so scouting ain’t bad and thats part of the front office. Plus a bunch of other young guys with big potential like Barrero
Hard to include Senzel. His last game with the Reds was over 3 months ago and even then he only hit about .250
Why is Barrero given a pass for not being able to hit without regular playing time but Shogo is castigated for same?
Get somebody up now !!!!!
Bell could have gotten another inning out of Gray.
Givins and ML are rested. WIlson also rested. No excuses
No excuses for what? We had a 5 run lead. If you ain’t going to use Tony here for a inning he doesn’t need to be on the team
I started and deleted several posts about PHing for Gray as this BP can burn a lead fast. Ugh, hopefulky just the one donger. Go Reds!
*hopefully
If Tony wants more high leverage situations he has got to shut them down. That HR rattled him
Get him out – he’s all over the place !!!
So sick and tired of these relievers freaking walking people !!!! It’s ridiculous !!!!
Jeff Brantley said that, in the last 5 Reds – Brewers games, all Brewers wins, the Reds have allowed 24 runs ….. in the 7th inning or later. That’s nearly 5 runs per game from the bullpen.
We have a 5 run lead and 9 outs to cover.
Whoops! Make that a 4 run lead and 9 outs to cover. Sure hope they can pull it out this time.
It’ll be nip and tuck
I’ve been griping about for a month, but thats why you can’t have a 9 man pen.
Tony S. only 1 inning this week….hard to stay sharp that way. Its almost impossible
I don’t expect Wilson to be sharp either, but he is a vet compared to Tony S.
Bang!!! Bell needs to start using Wilson more. He’s been good with us!
dont expect that 2 pitches and DP out there either then.
I agree as well. He has gotten the job done and I would use him in a big game over the rookie. Use Santillan against the Miami’s.
Wilson can be the Miley of the relief core.
Look I understand about staying sharp but if you want innings you’ll got to get people out when you get a chance.
Thank you Wilson !
As Tom Hanks shouted in Castaway: WILSON!!!
Its one thing to get beat and the best lose 60 in a season but when you walk guys you end up beating your self.Can’t walk guys.Just can’t walk guys and expect to close out games.Big pitch by Wilson.
Looks like we are going to get Mikey Biceps for the 8th and Givens for the ninth unless we play add on
Barrero may not end up as a great baseball player but he looks the part! Its like a 6’4 220 lb WR that runs a 4.4. He’ll have to prove to me that he can’t play rather then the other way around.
He’ll get his chance. It just may not be as quick as some would like.
Aquino needs to sit – lost at the plate
His hands don’t look good. He’s holding the bat too tight.
Terrible strike call on AA.
That was a horrifically bad call. Aquino could have given him the finger and not been thrown out it was that bad
Then the next pitch to Suarez was in the same location but little higher and called a ball. Good grief
On the called third strike to Aquino. The ball looked like a strike as it was coming in, but then it went down sharply. It was clearly a ball, but I believe the umpire lost sight of the ball. The shadows might have had something to do with it. Not excusing the bad call, just saying I think the umpire lost sight of it as it came in to the plate and called it a strike based on what he initially saw.
Gotta love the traditional 6u oftb end of game double play
Great win and the BP produced. Let’s keep it up going forward.
Ok, that ranks up there with one of the most bizarre calls I’ve seen to end a game.
Guess that ump didn’t want to be late for dinner.
It was great to have a .360 hitter in the middle of the lineup today….if you add the averages of Aquino and Suarez. Nice win though. Go Reds!
Lol….thats not out of the baseline, but we’ll take it. We needed this one for confidence and momentum!
Nice win. Salvaged something, at least. Good riddance Brewers — unless, possibly, perhaps, just maybe, we meet again sometime in October …..
Quick poll: How many here honestly thought that with 5 weeks left to go in the season, the Reds would already have 70 wins?
Certainly not I!
The series finish 10-9 to the Brewers playing 10 at Milwaukee, it was very closed… maybe the opener of this 3-game-set was the difference… Now, The Reds should get the job done at Miami though I think is very hard to sweep the Fish again it is not impossible but taking 2 out of 3 would be good and return to GABP with a 3-3 road trip record at least…
So far good day fro the Reds = Reds win, Cards lose, Padres trail 4-0. However in the real world today has been an awful day, pray for our service men.