The Cincinnati Reds are hitting up the American League East tonight as they begin a 2-game series with the Boston Red Sox. Cincinnati will send Luis Castillo to the mound to take on one of baseball’s best offenses. The Red Sox will counter by sending Michael Wacha to the mound, who has historically pitched very well against the Reds (2.81 ERA in 23 games). First pitch is set for 7:10pm.
Starting Lineups
Here are the lineups for tonight’s interleague contest:
Cincinnati Reds
|
Boston Red Sox
|
| Tyler Naquin – RF | Enrique Hernandez – CF |
| Brandon Drury – 3B | Rafael Devers – 3B |
| Nick Senzel – CF | J.D. Martinez – DH |
| Joey Votto – 1B | Xander Bogaerts – SS |
| Tyler Stephenson – C | Alex Verdugo – LF |
| Kyle Farmer – SS | Trevor Story – 2B |
| Mike Moustakas – DH | Franchy Cordero – 1B |
| Albert Almora Jr. – LF | Kevin Plawecki – C |
| Matt Reynolds – 2B | Jackie Bradley Jr. – RF |
| Luis Castillo – SP | Michael Wacha – SP |
Tommy Pham was originally in the lineup, hitting 3rd and playing left field. But he was a scratch just after 5pm due to calf discomfort. Nick Senzel was put in the lineup in the 3rd spot and Albert Almora Jr. was moved from center over to left.
Starting Pitchers
| Pitcher | IP | ERA | WHIP | BB | K |
| Luis Castillo | 20.2 | 4.35 | 1.11 | 5 | 18 |
| Michael Wacha | 35.0 | 2.83 | 1.09 | 14 | 24 |
| Links: Luis Castillo’s Stats | Michael Wacha’s Stats |
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Luis Castillo
After missing the first month of the season, the first start back for Luis Castillo was a bump in the road. Since that debut, he’s made three starts and posted a 3.94 ERA while throwing 16.0 innings, walking just two batters, and striking out 13.
This season right-handed hitters have not been able to do much so far against Castillo. Lefties, though, have put up MVP-type numbers so far. They are hitting for average, have gotten on base at a high clip, and they are slugging the ball against him. Even if we remove his season debut, lefties are still hitting .308/.333/.500 against him.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 46 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | .156 | .174 | .222 |
| LHH | 38 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | .324 | .395 | .588 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-Seam | 2-Seam | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 95.8 | 95.7 | 85.8 | 87.1 |
| Usage | 17.5% | 34.8% | 18.4% | 29.3% |
Michael Wacha
Through May 25th, Michael Wacha had only allowed six runs all season. But in his last start the White Sox tagged him for five runs and he didn’t make it out of the 5th inning for the second consecutive start. Over the span of his first five starts he had only allowed three extra-base hits, but in his last two starts he’s given up six of them.
Left-handed hitters haven’t gotten many hits, but they have walked as often as they’ve struck out against him and they’ve been hitting for power when they do get hits. Righties aren’t doing much of anything against him this season so far.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 74 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 14 | .217 | .257 | .319 |
| LHH | 66 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 10 | .161 | .288 | .339 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-Seam | 2-Seam | Cutter | Change | Curve | |
| Velo | 92.9 | 92.8 | 88.6 | 84.8 | 75.1 |
| Usage | 30.1% | 13.3% | 13.9% | 33.0% | 9.7% |
When and Where
- Game time: 7:10pm ET
- Where: Fenway Park
- Watch: Bally Sports Ohio, MLB.tv
- Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: 58°, cloudy, 10% chance of rain
News and Notes
The Reds are abysmal against Boston*
The Reds are 1-12 all-time in interleague play against the Red Sox, their worst regular season record against any franchise ever.
— Joel Luckhaupt (@jluckhaupt) May 31, 2022
Prospect Joe Boyle is having a crazy good start to 2022
This morning Joe Boyle was named the Midwest League Pitcher of the Week. He’s spent the first two months of the season with the Dayton Dragons where he’s made seven starts. Opposing hitters are hitting .058/.242/.068 against him on the season. You read that correctly – through seven starts his opponents are slugging .068 against him. I wrote more about his season at RedsMinorLeagues.com if you wanted to read more about his season and the dilemma the Reds may be facing with regards to keeping him in Dayton versus promoting him to Chattanooga.
Jake Fraley is in a walking boot
Jake Fraley will see a foot specialist, David Bell said. He’s in a walking boot after injuring his toe on his rehab assignment.
— Bobby Nightengale (@nightengalejr) May 31, 2022
My sons and I just arrived in Boston. Going to see if we can bring home a couple of wins. We are staying at The Verb literally right across the street from Fenway. Lots of Reds fans on our plane.
I loved the Verb last time I was there. You saw a good one Jim. Thanks for the win!
So where is Senzel? Injured again? So either Bell didn’t mean it when he said the Reds were better when Senzel was in the lineup or he’s choosing to play a weaker lineup?
He’s in the lineup now after Tommy Pham was scratched. But sometimes match ups mean someone isn’t going to play every day. “Nick Senzel in the lineup makes us better” is a general statement. It’s not a statement that applies to every single game, though.
There’s a lot to criticize Bell for when it comes to bending the truth to the public…. this isn’t one of them.
Maybe a Pham trade? Bends when the truth would serve him better.
Senzel is in the line up
Larry – Senzel was not in the original lineup. When Tommy Pham was scratched from the lineup because of his calf muscle that’s when Senzel was put into the lineup.
TBH – one of those Fenway wins was more important than the others.
Never forget it. My brother was a Red Sox fan.
I’ll happily trade those 1975 wins for a run of regular season futility.
I was in college during the ‘75 series. When Fisk hit that home run, the guy a couple of dorm rooms down tossed his color TV out the window. He had a new TV for game 7. I’m not saying alcohol was involved…
Calf discomfort? Hasn’t Max been “riding” that injury for nearly 2 months now? Well, even after some early enthusiasm I wouldn’t mind seeing Pham on extended hiatus as he pretty much threw himself under the bus. But, of course the team just wastes another large paycheck for nothing. (There is a good competition for all 3 outfield slots even without Pham). It was noted that the Reds have the 4th oldest lineup but the other 3 teams are all playoff competitive. What will it take for this team to stop pretending to be competitive and just play their youngsters and then prepare to spend significant sums to fill holes once all the dead wood goes green in a year or two?
Too bad about Fraley. That kind of stuff does happen.
Time to see if we can score early and often against Wacha in the storied confines of Fenway. Hope Almora can handle whatever the Monster deals back to him. Hope our guys bash balls up against it all night long.
Buckle up, friends. It’s time to Kick this Pig!!
Must say I’m a bit surprised Bell didn’t let Pham cool his jets a little bit before starting him again, particularly with how the Almora / Senzel D has been performing. Divining Bell’s shuffling lineup card is about as fruitful as seeing a drunken Tarot card reader. “Jake Fraley in a walking boot after injuring his toe…..” During his rehab assignment for a bum knee. You can’t make this kind of stuff up.
“Drunken Tarot card reader” 🙂
I love that phrase. I think that’s way better than my use of “Tinker” by a wide margin.
+1,000 for the smile and excellent turn of a phrase.
Ken “The Toe” Henderson missed several months with a similar injury
What was the lineup with Pham in it. I like fenway park, watching this one more for the park rather then the game
Pham in Senzel’s spot. Almora in CF, Pham in LF. No other changes.
ok, on a side note, I did look it up, and i am also black out for Baltimore game
The Reds make an infrequent visit to Boston. It used to be a common occurrence for the Reds to play at Braves Field when the Braves were in Boston from 1871 to 1952,
Oh I almost forgot. I believe that the Royals Dropped under us to become the worst team in Baseball.
meet the new umpires…. same as the old umpires
I swear I cannot stand watching yet another game where the HP umpire is nearly clueless about a proper strike zone. We suffered through three straight games of this crap. Aren’t there any umpires who show consistency anymore and actually care about the true strike zone?
C’mon, man!!!
Senzel great at bat, plate discipline, and umpire misses it bad,,,then wants to escalate. As one flawed great Red used to say..”A ball is a ball is a ball”.
Fraley in a boot. Dunn, acquired with a pre-existing injury. Brandon Williamson really needs to show something in the coming years, or this trade will be like waiving Suarez and Winker.
Well, Tyler Stephenson WAS hitting 3rd recently. 🙂
Castillo filthy on the 98 Mile heater on the black to K JD martinez
Reds never seem to hit Wacha….that hasn’t changed so far. I guess that’s why he’s 12-2 vs the Reds
Does it seem plausible that the game would be blacked out for me? I have a single-team (Reds) mlb.tv package and live in VT. Game in Boston.
Does your local cable carry NESN? If so, that’s probably why
According to MLB’s twisted logic, yes, sadly, it does seem plausible. I live in southern Indiana (near Evansville) — which is 3 hours away from Cincinnati. All Reds games are blacked out for me, home or away. (Same for the Cardinals). Just maddening.
mlb website has a portion on its website that allows you to put in your Zip code and see who is blacked out in your area. I am going out on a limb here and saying that the red sox might be for you
this was supposed to be for greenmtdred
When the Reds were going good…they here hitting oppo on all the soft stuff. No such thing happening against Wacha’s change up tonight.
Thanks, everybody. I’ll find out what happened tomorrow.
Still like that Senzel went with the pitch. Lifted it a little too much, but the right idea. I’m in the camp that says it will work for him over time.
Castillo looking pretty sharp tonight. 45 pitches and 6 K’s so far. Keep it up.
2 observations:
1.) Reds hitting from the left side isnt performing and i dont know what internal solutions exist now or in the near term.
2.) Luis Castillo looks really really good.
The Bally app won’t work in Colombia, no baseball for me for 10 dias.
but…..nope never mind
OK, Moose. Time to earn your keep.
Nope
7:10 – Cool…. Reds are in Fenway
7:40 – Bunch of Reds Ks and dribblers later. Hey the neighbor kids are throwing the football around
We get 20 runs or something ridiculous at Gabp vs bad pitching in our division and we forget the Reds are toothless and hopeless on the road against anyone decent and I mean anyone
Bad break there for Votto. He hit that ball hard.
I don’t know why some of the right handed batters for the Reds don’t back up off the plate a little bit when it’s obvious Wacha is pitching them inside. Back up a bit so you can get better wood on the inside pitch.
Did Naquin tweak something?
I have been on the Wacha bandwagon for some time. He’s always had good stuff so I have no idea why he’s struggled so much? Lifetime 2.7 K to walk ratio is pretty good
Naquin left quad strain…Aquino in
Thanks. Too bad for Naquin. Upgrade in defense, but with how Wacha pitches, might be a little ugly at the plate.
I like Naquin but he makes Nick Senzel look like Cal Ripken. A quad strain is not a day to day thing. Fraley is in a boot. Pham might beat up the clubhouse attendant and be out another ten games. Aquino and Senzel and Almora and Friedl should get some more opportunities.
Wacha is just not that good.Never have understood how this team can go down so easily.Wacha has 15 outs on 55 pitches but we should have expected that since Castillo is pitching.Don’t be surprised if we get shutout on a complete game with under 90 pitches.Offense is just awful
Wacha was under 3 coming in which ain’t bad in Fenway/AL East, but the Reds hitting sucks. We knew that already
So another outstanding start to be squandered by Bell and the Bullpen Boys?
Possibly. Let’s keep a positive outlook … for now.
No, as it turned out.
Almora says, “This is what you’ll get if you keep on playing me.”
OK, AA … you have ONE JOB here
That’s on House, I suspect.
Yea, that was on house setting the run on contact with that. still have 2 on I suppose
After he got in the rundown, Almora should have kept running. Run to the plate and draw one more throw. He had a chance to get Reynolds to 3B.
Make em make a play
Well, THAT was a happy mistake
Dumb base running regardless
I thought that on an overthrow that goes out, you get the base you were going too and one more
That’s always been my understanding when it goes out of play. Base + 1.
But that puts them on 2nd and 3rd I believe. It might be base + 2 from the OF.
Can we please get one more hit right here, right now? I’ll also take a wild pitch or a passed ball.
Aquino 105 mph on that ball. AAJ now at .333. I can’t get on board with all the Senzel backers on here when he’s hitting .195. Has Senzel hit a ball 105 since 2019? Maybe 3 or 4
What I see with Senzel is that he’s swinging more with his arms than using his hands. Not turning the bat with his hands enough to generate bat speed.
I don’t think it’s either/or….its both. I m done with Pham and Fraley is in a boot and a long way to go to prove hes an every day OF and Naquin has just found a way to the IL every year since 2015 for long periods of time. I’d personally part ways with Pham now and go with Almora/Senzel/Aquino/ Friedl and see what FA dollars need to spent option to 2023. Hint- big lefty bat. When Shrock is ready, hes my left fielder Rf or DH against righties.
+500
Sounds good, Old-school.
Rather unimpressive inning. At least they got 1.
The guys fastball was tailing off so he kept throwing sliders and I figured Tyler would walk or hammer one, but the ball can never get down when we need it to. Would’ve been 3 runs there. Or 2 since everyone scores from 1st in mlb except Votto
Awful to only get a gift run.
Aquino and Tyler both hit bullets. It happens. Gotta use the Monster in Fenway
Exactly. Bang ’em off the Monster.
The Monster produces some of the hardest hit singles in baseball.
LC running out of Gas, time to buckle down and get out the inning
It a Shame that this team Cannot produce runs for the recent fine starting pitchers. A lot of money paying out for Moose and Votto! Look at their batting averages and Runners Left on Base this year so far! ! It is a Shame!’
That was very much needed
A very good double play there
Great Job, didnt doubt it for a minute
Great pitching LC
Devers fouled off obvious ball 4 on 3-1. You need a break now and then. Hate to lose Castillo because guys with Cy Young caliber stuff don’t grow on trees. Mahle can go tomorrow for the right price
+1000
Castillo, Mahle, Ashcraft, Greene the last 2 weeks look pretty darn good. MInor coming up as filler but maybe Lodolo can get healthy and fill that spot in 6 weeks.
Get Lodolo healthy and let him roll for the 2nd half of the season. He was on an innings limit anyway. This avoids that issue and he can replace somebody else – maybe somebody who gets dealt away.
Sox shut out by Baltimore yesterday. Reds need to repeat that if they want to win
3 innings from the pen with only a 1-run lead. Why do I feel so nervous.
No- lets let Diaz and Santillan see if they are up for pitching in Fenway in high leverage situations. This is what this year is about.
Aquino is hitting .111. WHY is he in the lineup??
It worked for Diaz in the 7th. He handled the Sox pretty well.
Aquino came in because Naquin pulled something
And that .111 is largely due to his futility before being sent down. He’s been a bit better since, and he’s a defensive force in RF.
Wonder why it is that the players new to the team this year, like Almora, Reynolds, Drury all hit better than the guys that have been around the Reds longer? I’m sure it’s a coincidence.
They aren’t hitting much better–or as well-as Stephenson or Naquin. India isn’t playing right now, but would hold his own with them if he were. Who’s left? Joey is starting to hit, and the other guys–possibly excepting Senzel–are basically temp workers. Still might be a conspiracy, but that isn’t clear…
Pham, Moran, Garcia, and Fraley also new to the team.
Diaz says…I’m good.
Diaz back for the 8th?
BUT BUT BUT….. maybe not….maybe monster…. I dont know anymore
Another runner to strand . Team 0-8 with RISP tonight
Votto can’t catch a break here. Let’s see what they rule. Red line doesn’t make any sense to me.
Talk about bad luck for Votto…twice off the top of the wall.
On a somewhat brighter note, Joey is now tied with Larkin for all-time doubles.
+500
Cowboy is bringing the density of this year’s balls into question for those two by Joey. Thrall said the harder balls would have just been out of the park.
Diaz looks like a really big positive for this year. He is a legit bullpen arm. Hopefully Strickland get 2 outs.
Bell feel Diaz is toast after 16 pitches.
We’ve seen this story before.
What is Bell doing, Diaz was doing fine?
Ah well. There’s a game tomorrow, too, isn’t there?
You all realize there’s only one Diaz in our bullpen, right? He can’t pitch every inning after the starter comes out.
Somebody who has a clue about these things, I have a question.
AA cleared waivers and went back to AAA L’Ville. He was in the arb process this year, but I never heard any result.
Is he up making the minimum, or are we still waiting on the arb numbers? What happens if/when we send him back down?
Just curious is all.
my understanding is as the Arb arguments are going on the players are paid the minimum, once there is an agreement then the player is paid the prorata difference in a lump sum
That would make sense. Does AA’s situation alter things at all?
no because he was on the roster long enough to make his Arb salary garrenteed
Strickland has looked better this month
I’m as baffled as the rest of you as to why Diaz is out. Strickland handled it and, we can only hope, will be back for the 9th as well. But I’m really baffled at the decisions DTBell makes in this way.
He wants to use again in the next 2 days. You go 25-30 pitches and you probably need 2 nights off
The only plausible explanation. Let’s hope Diaz gets the chance. At least he didn’t leave any runners for Strickland to muck around with.
Off day thursday??
I forget where I heard this today but basically analytics shows pitchers who go 100% on every pitch are better so teams limiting length to maximize the short term
PR for Moose. That’s a good call. Lopez gives us a chance.
Thrall’s talk of lobster rolls is making my mouth water. I need to get back up to NE. Perhaps October in Maine if we can work it all out.
Almora really playing himself into supplanting Senzel when Pham finally returns
I think he’s making Pham extremely expendable. Plus I wouldn’t bet Naquin comes back from the quad very quickly.
Swung at ball 4 though. Thats his Achilles heel offensively
I was negative on Pham after his latest incident, but in thinking about it some more, I’d keep him. Gives us the option of putting his bat in the lineup, as he has hit better than Senzel. If Senzel continues to struggle at the plate, then platoon the 3 of them, use Almora some in center. Plus Pham can DH.
C’mon, Matt. Just a flair or a gapper to score Lopez.
Santillan up and warming?
BOOOOOSSTON just cannot seem to throw to first…. great job lopez/renyolds
And we luck our way into another run.
It wasn’t an ugly whiff from Aquino. That’s a small positive.
NO NIBBLING!!!!!
Feel like the roles should be Strickland, Santillan, then Diaz rather than the way they pitched tonight.
But really I just hate the rotating pitchers until you find one that doesn’t have it. No reason to pull Diaz after one batter or not send Strickland out for the 9th.
Or Santillan, Strickland, then Diaz. Problem with Bell is that he never wants to use any guy for more than one inning.
Or sometimes more than 1 batter for 3 pitches like last weekend.
bell hopes he can use those three again in tomorrow’s game
@ west larry
Saving guys to be able use them the next game is a good idea but not if costs you today’s ball game. I’ll take a win every time over saving a guy to have him available the next day.
Good point Joe especially considering how hard wins are to come by this year.
But Joe P: The choice doesn’t present itself in those terms. You won’t know that the new pitcher costs you the game until he does. Diaz could have cost them the game if he’d stayed in. When bullpen options are limited, you have to think about not burning them up. It’s also good to remember that the pitches a relief pitcher throws in the game aren’t the only pitches he throws–he’s got to warm up, sometimes multiple times.
Awful Votto
I have to think somebody else like Reynolds or Lopez makes that play. Votto let it eat him up.
Make Story look like a Rocky not in Denver anymore.
Just.Like.That!!!
Boooom
47-year drought is erased. Onward to tomorrow’s battle.
Not the Prettiest but I will take it. And We surpass the KC Royals moving us out of the MLB Basement, Postseason here we come
Not pretty at all. But it chalks up a W on the board and sheds another 47-year-old bloated corpse of a monkey.
Mark, you are obsessed with monkeys! Are you related to Jane Goodall? Or, maybe you are a reincarnated zookeeper!
Is Strickland allowed to pitch more than 10 pitches? Asking for a friend!
No. No he isn’t. I believe it’s in his contract. DTBell would have to switch mid-batter if the situation came up.
Great pitching all around tonight. Reds’ batters still need to pick up the slack, but tonight they scratched out just enough to get it done. Really thought they were about to blow the whole thing there in the 9th! Glad to see them pull it out.
Still just the one shutout by the Reds this year (Overton vs. Pirates). But, at least it’s a win.
That may be your most positive comment I’ve seen when it comes to the Reds
🙂
Good game. I was thinking extras at best with 2nd/3rd nobody out and the meat of their order coming up.
I didn’t get to watch the game tonight, but I was able to listen to the ninth inning. Sounded like the Reds may have found a closer in Santillan. Got ahead of every hitter with a first-pitch strike. Came back after giving up hits to the first two batters. Retired J.D. Martinez and Trevor Story with the game on the line.
Tom, Strickland could be “The Guy” but we will never know due to the way Bell is using him, especially in the last couple of games! Don’t get me wrong, I like Santillan as well but it’s still relatively early in the season!
I truly don’t care who gets it done. 😉 Strickland would be fine. But as I was listening, I kept waiting for Santillan to fall behind hitters and then have to groove a fastball. Didn’t happen. That was a true late-game pressure cooker and Santillan just kept dealing.
I thought last year that Santi would turn into the “closer”. He looked like one tonight.
I’ll try to defend Bell a little bit. He caught hades Sunday, but he can’t run Diaz/Santillan/Strickland out there every day? They don’t score enough to get big leads when they’re winning so our A team is very essential. If you start using Diaz for 25-30 pitches then he’s not available. Nobody wants Warren or Cessa in high leverage right now so you get what we’ve got. Quite often I don’t agree with it, but now we won and Diaz can pitch again
I went in to clean the kitchen with none out, Botox on 2nd and 3rd thinking it was all over but the second guessing.
The Seguin Kid pulled it out.
Kudos, too, to Louie Castle, who seems to be in mid season form.
Don’t trade that guy, not at least until he teaches Hunter Greene his changeup.
He’s too much fun to watch pitch.
Nice win, Bell and his bullpen “Tarot-lytics” notwithstanding.
I would love for the Reds to extend both Castillo and Mahle. Having said that, I don’t think the Reds will extend either of them.
The Red’s front office should make their best offer to Castillo for an extension. If he says no, then the need to trade him before the deadline.
Keeping Castillo until the off-season just diminishes his value. He will be the biggest name on the market and the Reds could get quite a haul in return.
I agree with you I hope they extend him.
Sounds like Orange County Housewives….Botox on 2nd and 3rd
I noticed from the box score that Aquino came in defensively for Naquin early in the game. Did Naquin get hurt?
An earlier post above said he had a quad strain
Muchas gracias.