After winning last night’s game, the Cincinnati Reds will try to do the same thing this afternoon and salvage a series split against the Chicago Cubs. Mother Nature, though, could come into play as scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected in the area throughout the afternoon in the area. The Reds are sending Hunter Greene to the mound to match up against Justin Steele. First pitch is set for 12:35pm.
Starting Lineups
Here are the lineups for this afternoon’s NL Central contest:
Chicago Cubs
|
Cincinnati Reds
|
| Christopher Morel – CF | Nick Senzel – CF |
| Willson Contreras – C | Brandon Drury – 3B |
| Ian Happ – LF | Tommy Pham – DH |
| Seiya Suzuki – RF | Joey Votto – 1B |
| Frank Schwindel – DH | Tyler Stephenson – C |
| Patrick Wisdom – 3B | Kyle Farmer – SS |
| Alfonso Rivas – 1B | Aristides Aquino – RF |
| Nico Hoerner – SS | Albert Almora Jr. – LF |
| Jonathan Villar – 2B | Matt Reynolds – 2B |
| Justin Steele – SP | Hunter Greene – SP |
Starting Pitchers
| Pitcher | IP | ERA | WHIP | BB | K |
| Hunter Greene | 39.1 | 5.49 | 1.48 | 22 | 50 |
| Justin Steele | 33.0 | 3.82 | 1.42 | 17 | 38 |
| Links: Hunter Greene’s Stats | Justin Steele’s Stats |
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Hunter Greene
Since his disastrous start in Milwaukee on May 5th when he allowed eight runs on five homers in just 2.2 innings, Hunter Greene has been lights out. In his three starts since that day he’s allowed just four runs in 18.2 innings (1.93 ERA).
On the year, Greene has been rather dominant against left-handed hitters, though he has walked plenty of them. Right-handed hitters, though, have had plenty of success as they’ve hit nine home runs in just 94 trips to the plate against him and are slugging .602.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 94 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 24 | .265 | .340 | .602 |
| LHH | 85 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 26 | .194 | .318 | .375 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-Seam | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 98.6 | 87.5 | 89.6 |
| Usage | 53.4% | 40.8% | 5.8% |
Justin Steele
The lefty has some strange splits so far this season. Against left-handed hitters he hasn’t allowed an extra-base hit, but they are hitting .290 and they have a .378 on-base percentage. Right-handed hitters aren’t doing a whole lot against him, posting a .600 OPS against him with just one home run against him. That’s been one of the biggest things for Steele this season – he’s simply not allowing any extra-base hits and the opposition has a .299 slugging percentage against him on the year.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 101 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 23 | .214 | .297 | .303 |
| LHH | 45 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 15 | .290 | .378 | .290 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-Seam | 2-Seam | Slider | Change | Curve | |
| Velo | 92.4 | 91.6 | 81.7 | 87.0 | 78.0 |
| Usage | 54.5% | 9.6% | 27.6% | 1.3% | 7.1% |
When and Where
- Game time: 12:35pm ET
- Where: Great American Ball Park
- Watch: Bally Sports Ohio, MLB.tv, MLB Network
- Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: 72°, scattered thunderstorms, 70% chance of rain
News and Notes
Nick Senzel is good at defense
Most outs converted on flyballs with a catch probability below 50% among MLB outfielders:
Jake Marisnick, Max Kepler (4)
NICK SENZEL, Lorenzo Cain, Trent Grisham, Myles Straw, Michael Taylor, Jackie Bradley Jr. (3)
— Matt Wilkes (@_MattWilkes) May 26, 2022
If it gets played, at least this represents about the best defensive outfield we can offer based on the current roster. And we have a Kyle Farmer sighting!!!
Without trying to analyze Bell’s intentions, I like the lineup today. You could argue that only the middle (4,5,6) of the order is nearly certain to be on the team next year while the others have significant work ahead to be part of the 2023+ core. All get a decent chance today and that is what it’s all about. Maybe Drury at 3B will get more looks and having an Almora/Senzel/Aquino simultaneous play in the OF will bring additional clarity over time.
I wish Drury had been guarding the 3B line with 2 outs. That double allowed Happ to score all the way from 1st, giving the Cubs an additional run.
Not watching today, but I see the Cubs got 2 in the 1st again. Hunter has a special arm, but a 2 pitch repertoire isn’t going to cut it. Maybe if he had Lance Lynn movement or something, but his heater is straight.
Hung a slider
FB up in the zone and on the hands to to lefting at 98 working
Very slider heavy
Where does this false narrative come from that Greene’s fastball is straight? Statcast clearly shows it has tons of horizontal movement (and it’s obvious watching it as well). It’s so strange how often this is stated here and elsewhere even though it’s incorrect. I think people just assume that because he throws hard and gives up a lot of homers that it is.
Tommy Thrall just said it’s flat on the radio broadcast. That’s where I heard it
Senzel showing some serious speed and hustle
If Senzel can stay healthy, he’s a leader the Reds need.
I like this line up. Now if we could only get India back.
Well, he’s not sharp today. And the Stupid Cubs have a bushel of chips on their shoulders as well. Not a good combination.
The Reds carry a few chips also.
Another band box homerun. Would of been a fly ball out in other parks. Again joke of a park. When it comes to the fences.
This is not reassuring, He is not getting beaten around but he is also not sharp. Giving this a few more innings before declaring this over
U sure
And Farmer infact confirms that this game is not over
Lol
+100
Welcome back from wherever you were, Mr. Farmer. Thanks for that little boost.
Farmer feeling better….glad he’s back….2 run tater
then THAT happens 🙂
I was hoping that ball off Farmer’s bat would land in the gap but it cleared the fence. I can’t believe it.
Aquino!
Almora has to move him over and get this run in to tie game
Nope. He swung at a high pitch and popped it up. Not good fundamental baseball there.
How many MLB lineups have had back to back AA’s in the order?
The Reds with 3 hits in a row? Whats going on?
Yeah, you gotta commit on that like AA did. Usually, you score. Sometimes … 😮
I agree…. it wasnt like Happ was going to catch it anyway…. and by the time house got to him, its already too late
Nope. Not sharp. They are sitting on the first pitch fastball just like Cowboy is saying. Results are predictable. Pitch count climbing.
A rain delay means Greene is done for the day. Best outcome would be we get a postponement to another day and get a chance to reset.
At least, that’s how I see it right now.
That depends on Cinci weather as far as i know it is sunny in Durham
memories of SIms… in the previous seasons April game where the Umps force the reds to continue pitching during obvious rain delay times
It’s just plain stupid. And we get a “pre-delay” trying to get a supply of balls that aren’t exactly dry but aren’t too wet … yet 😮
but i guess it already lightened up
So they are saying. And the end result of that AB was acceptable.
Now we see what really happens. Cowboy was saying water is pooling on the dugout roofs.
Big inning in the works
The Rain changed the game alert
B.s. not letting AA bat.
Pham was right on his butt … ran through House’s stop sign.
Whole new ballgame here. Now we hope it plays out or, at least, we get to the bottom of the 5th with a lead.
Pham is a smart player. He saw the outfielder deep, and not charging. Read it perfectly
other than Almora, some quality Ab’s.
Nobody on this team that I’d rather have up there than Ty Steve in that situation.
Thinking the same thing VaRedsFan.He can hit and that is a fact.
Really, once India is back and replaces Reynolds, this roster/lineup isn’t too bad.
Who are these guys???
Disagree with this move
and justified
Chance for Almora to show his mettle.
And he delivers big time! Got to love that. Walk Naquin thinking he’ll squib it at best and give up another 2 runs.
and he did
I don’t know about you, but the sun is burning through the clouds over by me.
And then THAT happens!!!
When Joey is hitting all is right with the world.
Wow, I am starting to like this team. I realize there record but…. lol
The Reds are really running the bases well today. Taking advantage of Happ’s arm.
Almora….a little revenge knock.
So it was. But the follow-up hit was even better. Poor Happ … 😮
Time to head north stupid cub fans
Yep. Beat the traffic up I-75 to the Toll Road.
Be alert for some HBP’s incoming from Ross.
Nick 2 for 2 with a walk…
Thrall reminding us we’ve not seen a dinger this inning. Just a bunch of great fundamentals. Everybody contributing to the mayhem. Senzel 2x to this point.
Gonna get overturned? That’ll really PO the Stupid Cubbies.
Could have gone either way. Nice effort by Nick anyway.
Bunting to advance runners in scoring position followed by timely hitting and attempted steals and a 10 spot with only 1 home run and Senzel hitting it the other way to RF for a single? What in the name of Turner Ward is going on here?
+500
Wasted challenge. Saw he was out on 1st replay.
FBI Contacted. I was under the impression Revenge killings were illegal
Not in the Queen City on a Thursday afternoon. Then they are completely legal. Similar rules to the entire state of New Jersey, only the revenge killings are ALWAYS legal there without any restrictions.
Nice, quick inning by Greene. That also helps, especially when he sat for so long.
Greene response on point
Right with you Bet on Red.Wanted to see how Greene responded after we put up 8 runs.That right there tells a lot about a pitcher and what he can become.Goes right after them and gets them on 8 pitches.Maybe more pleased with that then the 8 runs.
Gotta love 8 runs without a HR. You’d hope that approach would resonate into other games. Hard to replicate I guess, with different pitchers on the mound. But it’s a mindset to commit to that approach regardless of the outcome.
Well said,
Critical half-inning coming given the possibility of “weather”. Nail them down here and we can relax just a little bit. Of course, I’m not looking at the weather forecast in that area. Still, another solid inning by Greene would feel pretty good. Especially since I have a meeting at 2:30 so I’ll have to mute the sound.
+500
Rain is back, lets get through this and then call it as official
Question, Reds have a TBA for their starter tomorrow. Would it be Ashcraft? As it would be his day to pitch.
Ok this is not going to work, Greene needs to get it under control so he can get the win
OK, time to stop that nonsense. Can’t let them get back in it that way. Have to make them earn it the way we did. Start throwing it at them if you have to.
I know Hunter Greene is a power pitcher but he has to try to get the ball down and induce some ground balls. Take a page out of Graham Ashcraft’s book. Let the defense play behind you.
+250
It is time for the Reds to give Happ the Barry Bonds treatment and just walk the guy.
Contreras just turned 30, a FA next year and a good catcher who can hit. How much would he cost per year and for how long? I really like a potential infield of McClain 3b Barrero SS India 2b and Ty Steve first base for a long time.
He’ll get a haul. So far, next offseason is going to be full of SS candidates. He’s a rare bird and will get his due reward.
No thank you. They had a sold catcher and wouldn’t pay him.
OK, minimal damage in the big scheme of things. Let it pour now. Send the Stupid Cubbies back to Chicago.
Kyle Farmer says, “Not on my watch!”
Or maybe, “Hold my beer …”
Time to go on mute.
Are we sure Farmer took Cortizone…. and not a shot of AWSOMENESS!!!
+500
Yep if you are going to give up 5 in 5 innings its best if your team has 10.Contreras hit a hanger and Happ nailed 99 right down the middle.Hunter will learn you don’t get away with those at this level.What a future though for Greene if he stays healthy and gets some confidence in a change up.I would lock him in a room with Castillo or invite Soto to help with that pitch.
Down 10-3 Contreras acting like he tied the game or something. Dude, ur down 10-3 at the time. Put ur head down and trot.
That wouldn’t of worked 10 or 15 years ago.
Delay, can someone in cincinnati (or even Ohio) tell me an estimated time that this is going to last.
A lot of good swings by both teams in this game. As a pitcher, you don’t want live in the zone too much in this one. One strike per batter near the heart of the plate is probably enough.
Greene is out and its time to cut the grass here in Sanford North Carolina.Hopefully the pen can get it done.Enjoyed it Nation.
My grass is still too wet over in the Greater Youngsville area. Good thing I went short the last time I cut it.
DraftKings already paid me on Over which I never understood because if I bet Under 8.5 then I’d want my money back if it didn’t go 9 innings.
I wonder what the stats are for businessman specials at Gabp? Feels like they were 7-5 even when we had Cueto, Latos, Bailey etc
Just checking in on the game. AA is 1-1 and pulled for a pinch hitter? Was he injured or is Bell just being Bell? If the latter, it’s another example of mismanagement. In an 11-5 game, there’s no reason for gratuitous substitutions just to demonstrate how smart he is.
Lefty/Righty stuff. Naquin took over and was walked IBB style.
As Tom pointed out recently AA actually hits better against righties in his career.
At the time it wasn’t 11-5, however yes you are correct it is Bell mismanaging.
Bell really needs to read up on the psychology of peak performance. He wouldn’t fare well in a corporate 360 review.
Sidearming righthanded pitcher. There is not a shred of doubt in my mind that Bell knows more about Aquino’s strengths and weaknesses than you guys do. Reds kicking butt and all you can find to talk about is how bad Bell is. This is a good season for experimenting and I would seriously–I mean seriously–love it if you had a chance to manage the Reds for 5 games. I hope you’d do it. It might open your eyes.
Sorry but pinch-hitting for a guy who has been on fire since coming back up after one at bat because the other team put in a pitcher with the same hand is micro-managing at its best. Due to the DH, it hasn’t happened as much this year, but multiple times last year he pinch hit for some of his best hitters in the middle of the game to get a lefty-right matchup only to get burned later that same game when that spot in the order came up in a key situation.
Bell is a bad manager period. You can dress it up however but the evidence is clear. He wouldn’t last in the real world.
Matchups are real, and Bell is far from the only manager who pays attention to them. The move also worked out. It might not have you say? Right. Of course, Aquino might have hit into a double play. You never know. And yes, LDS: Bell doesn’t make the decisions you would make, so the evidence is, indeed clear: You think he’s a bad manager.
@greenmtred, look at the history. It’s not the first time he’s made these types of moves. Yes, AA could have DP’d. But at the time, he was 1-1 w/a double. It’s about player development. Bell routinely punishes success. If you were given a project, completed it early and under budget, and then were “benched”, what would you think?
LDS: It’s not the first time he’s made those decisions, no, and other managers make similar decisions all of the time, particularly managers with flawed rosters. Your theory about Aquino rests on spurious logic: He was 1 for 1, so he was more likely to get a hit than Naquin was–Naquin, who is left-handed and hitting well. If your reasoning were correct, we’d see guys going 4 for 4 all of the time. Aquino’s hit came off of a different pitcher, and this one had an unusual sidearm delivery. I very much hope that Aquino has actually turned a page–he brings a lot to the table–but in the midst of this good but relatively brief stretch of good hitting, he has still shown some of his known weaknesses, and that pitcher would very possibly have exploited them. As it was, the Cubbies wanted no part of Naquin and walked him intentionally. He went on to score.
No @greenmtred, you misread again. It’s not about AA having a higher probability of getting a hit than Naquin, though that may or may not have been the case. It’s about performance and how to promote it. And baseball is no different than the real world, other than perhaps the egos are more fragile. A good manager never punishes success. Bell does it routinely. Everyone making excuses for him because of the roster are not being objective. As I posted a couple of days ago, nearly every established player on the team is underperforming their career averages. That’s a problem. Whether it’s morale/the Reds approach/manager, it starts with Bell and he has to go. If the Reds were a serious organization, he would have been gone years ago, certainly after failing to score in the post season against Atl. St Louis fired Shildt with a .559 winning pct and a playoff appearance last year. Bell’s winning pct is .492 and sinking. If he wasn’t an insider, he’d be gone already.
@ LDS
At the risk of lobbying you a softball, David Bell as a manager is 203-227 if you count the 2 post-season losses to the Braves.
That’s a .472 winning percentage- not .492. In the same neighborhood as Jerry Narron(.467) and Ray Knight(.477).
He’s still safe from Vern Rapp(.431), Russ Nixon(.435, Dave Miley(.433), and Bob Boone(.444) territory and everyone’s favorite Bryan Price(.419).
Did the Reds really hire Ray Knight as our manager? Ugh.
LDS: I think a problem is your equating using a pinch-hitter with punishing the guy for whom he’s hitting. It’s not: It’s baseball. Many–most–managers besides Bell situationally pinch hit, often because of a pitching change. OK–the rare team like the BRM might not have needed to do that much. And Old-School: the mangers’ records are meaningless without knowing how good their rosters were. I won’t bother again with The Tigers’ record under Sparky in 1983.
@ GMR
I’m not going down the fire Bell rabbit hole. I’ve said I’m comfortable with him managing the remainder of 2022 and see what things look like as we approach the end of the year. Bell has had some really good players in his now 4th season so cumulative wins/losses and performance are fair game.
I did want to lob LDS a softball though since he overstated Bell’s W/L record.
Thanks, old-school. Typo I guess. As for situational PH’ing? Yes, all managers do it and sometimes it’s warranted. Bell pulled AA in the 3rd inning, with no idea how the game was going to unfold or what he’d need later. Since Senzel was on base 6 times in last night’s game and Bell stated that the Reds were a better team when Senzel was on the field, I’d not be surprised to see him sit today or at least bat further down in the lineup. Who knows maybe Bell will surprise me. After all, he’s turned the Reds around and they are only a week or two away from taking over the division lead. David Bell is just that good.
Weather Channel radar has several bands of “wet” coming through, lasting until early evening at least. We may be done for the day at this point.
any update…. is it worth doing a shoping run?
Never mind, three thirty start up time
Interesting … looks a little dicey going forward.
And the MLB.tv servers are fouled up …
Anybody else having that problem?
It’s back … but the game isn’t … yet
My feed is back.
Same
Cranking it back up. Hoffman to the mound for our Queen City Redlegs.
And he airmails what should have been an easy throw 😮
Minor redemption there. No damage done.
Thrall asks if the weather is clear. Cowboy says, “Oh no …”
Reds batters seem to start right back up where they left off
Senzel certainly looks that way. And let’s remember, his “injury” this season hasn’t been the same as before. It was the non-descript COVID list. We really don’t know what that meant. But he does look like he’s dialing it in now. His glove hasn’t suffered any.
Another oppo that ALMOST did the trick.
Cowboy’s asking for a 3rd HR. Thrall mentions “greedy”. I’d take it or anything else that finds green space.
Reds Really just out here committing felonies
We’re into “Slaughterhouse Five” territory. Stupid Cubbies need to pack it in and head for home.
Tommy Pham says, “Why not?” Just kept on trucking and hoped for the best.
I think Kuhnel just didn’t have a handle on that one. Still, umpire needs to warn everybody. Then he should pray for the rain to come.
Ross is a little less passionate today.
Now Thrall is saying Ross got the thumb … anybody confirm that? Kind of looks that way. Maybe he wanted to head for home … had an earlier flight.
Somebody pass the video of that around the horn DP to other potential 3B’ers in the Reds dugout. Pretty close to textbook.
Ross was tossed. 2 games in a row
Just catching up on the game. Why was Aquino pulled? Injury?
Nevermind. Saw the discussion above.
All good. I’m just here talking to myself for the most part … 🙂
Righty/Lefty thing way earlier in the game. Nothing more. Naquin took his spot for an IBB.
Senzel on base five times is great to see. Really need him to stay healthy and show his talent to add another piece that can be counted on for the future. Right now that consists of Stephenson and India that are young and productive to be counted on.
I know that there was no way to tell at the time But Aquino was done dirty today by bell. It was a bad pull at the time and now that it is out of control, Aquino could have had a day like everyone else
Or he could have been the lone K for Simmons … 🙂
Wasn’t a bad pull. He is going to be platooned with Naquin. After starting the season the way he did I think it is fine. Let’s see if one can win the position outright.
Now they have a player pitching
I had tickets but didn’t go since was supposed be thunderstorm today in Cincinnati. I wish I did go to the game now knowing they played and see them crush cubs today. I watching on TV in the 8th inning
But would you have stayed to watch the entire beat down we’re seeing?
Tip of the cap to Simmons for taking one for the team. Somebody had to do it. Figure he just raised his hand and said, “Sure, Skip. I’ll go look mostly foolish for an inning.”
Almora has looked good out in LF
In Almora I think the Reds have found an outfielder with good defensive skills who can hit.
Who does Day interview today?
Farmer I guess. Maybe Pham.
Farmer. Pham gets a VERY honorable mention for the baserunning hustle today. Hard to go wrong with almost any of them today.
A big split series with Los Cubbies in a game that will probably be the offensive highlight of the Red’s 2022 season.