After exploding for eight runs in a win last night the Cincinnati Reds will look to Mike Minor in his 2022 debut after the lefty missed the first two months of the season. The Washington Nationals will face off against the Reds 2018 2nd round draft pick Josiah Gray. First pitch is set for 6:40pm ET tonight at Great American Ball Park.
Starting Lineups
Here are the lineups for tonight’s showdown:
Washington Nationals
|
Cincinnati Reds
|
| Cesar Hernandez – 2B | Nick Senzel – CF |
| Lane Thomas – LF | Brandon Drury – 3B |
| Juan Soto – RF | Tommy Pham – LF |
| Nelson Cruz – DH | Joey Votto – 1B |
| Josh Bell – 1B | Tyler Stephenson – C |
| Maikel Franco – 3B | Mike Moustakas – DH |
| Riley Adams – C | Albert Almora Jr. – RF |
| Luis Garcia – SS | Alejo Lopez – 2B |
| Victor Robles – CF | Matt Reynolds – SS |
| Josiah Gray – SP | Mike Minor – SP |
Starting Pitchers
| Pitcher | IP | ERA | WHIP | BB | K |
| Mike Minor (2021) | 158.2 | 5.05 | 1.24 | 41 | 149 |
| Josiah Gray | 51.1 | 5.08 | 1.36 | 25 | 54 |
| Links: Mike Minor’s Stats | Josiah Gray’s Stats |
|||||
Mike Minor
We are going to finally get a chance to see Mike Minor take the mound for the Cincinnati Reds after missing the two months of the year. In his last rehab start with Triple-A Louisville he allowed a run in 6.0 innings with nine strikeouts and he walked no one.
Last season teams limited how many lefties they sent to the plate against Minor, but even the ones who were sent out there didn’t do a whole lot against him. Right-handed hitters didn’t get on base much, but they showed good power against him.
Splits (2021)
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 569 | 133 | 30 | 3 | 24 | 36 | 123 | .252 | .301 | .456 |
| LHH | 100 | 23 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 26 | .253 | .313 | .396 |
Pitch Usage (2021)
| 4-Seam | Slider | Change | Curve | |
| Velo | 90.9 | 85.6 | 85.2 | 80.4 |
| Usage | 42.8% | 21.9% | 19.6% | 15.7% |
Josiah Gray
Drafted by the Reds to the Dodgers, then traded by the Dodgers to the Nationals, Josiah Gray has been around quite a few organizations for someone who has only been in professional baseball for a handful of years.
Right-handed hitters hadn’t had a lot of success against Gray this season, though when they have gotten hits they have tended to be for extra-bases. Left-handed hitters, though, are crushing the ball against him. They are also getting on base against him at a high rate as he’s struggled with walks to lefties on top of giving up tons of extra-base hits to them.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 120 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 32 | .206 | .275 | .383 |
| LHH | 101 | 23 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 17 | 22 | .277 | .406 | .651 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-Seam | Slider | Change | Curve | |
| Velo | 94.0 | 85.1 | 87.8 | 82.3 |
| Usage | 46.1% | 26.3% | 3.5% | 24.1% |
When and Where
- Game time: 6:40pm ET
- Where: Great American Ball Park
- Watch: Bally Sports Ohio, MLB.tv
- Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: 79°, sunny, 0% chance of rain
News and Notes
TJ Friedl optioned
Mike Minor needed to be added to the 26-man roster and that led to outfielder TJ Friedl being optioned to Triple-A Louisville.
Justin Wilson undergoes Tommy John surgery
The Reds announced today that left-handed reliever Justin Wilson underwent Tommy John surgery. He’ll miss the rest of the 2022 season and at least part of the 2023 season.
Injury and rehab updates
Reds OF Jake Fraley will be in a boot for the next few weeks with a bone bruise, David Bell said.
Donovan Solano will start a rehab assignment on Tuesday.
— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) June 3, 2022
Reds Prospect Wins Pitcher of the Month
Dayton Dragons pitcher Joe Boyle was named as the Midwest League Pitcher of the Month for May after posting a 1.09 ERA in five starts that covered 24.2 innings where he struck out 34 batters.
Nice recognition for Joe Boyle, even better to see how much success he’s having. I’m very interested to see how he fares against the hitters in AA. At the rate he’s going, he may find out later this year. And exciting to see the Reds developing so many dominant young pitchers. That’s really encouraging for the next 6-8 years in Cincinnati.
Reds need to take at least 3/4 from the Nationals. Win #2 tonight. Go Reds!
Farmdog, 2 hits, 3-run HR yesterday and out of the lineup today? He definitely doesn’t have any significant track record against Gray. Bell didn’t need the LH baton Lopez yesterday against the RH starter, what changes today? General soreness? Lol
batter
Thats a david bell trait,he says he makes his line 3 days in advance, one reason why the reds will never be winners under bell leadership
Joe G. has moved on as manager of the Phillies.
Somewhere I read or head he was having some Back issues. I think it was on the TV broadcast last night. I heard he had a cortisone shot about 4 days ago to help with the pain he is experiencing. If it has flared back up that is not good news.
Cortisone doesn’t fix back issues. It masks them and not for long.
Reds young pitching is a reason for excitement. Lodolo needs to get healthy and log some innings. Greene and Johnson need to sit down and figure out a way to take 2 steps forward.
Jeff Passan has an article up at ESPN and lists the Big 3 trade candidates. He starts with Castillo and his 2023 control which brings in a long line of interest.
Castillo, Montas, and Contreras.
This should be an interesting next 8 weeks.
I’m not sure about the DJ idea. On average, his results haven’t been stellar.
I hear you. Ive been pretty vocal on Johnson. The guy sat at Vanderbilt and took the best 5 pitchers in high school every year in the SEC and beats up on teams and he’s a guru and pitching whisperer. But, he does have a great reputation and by all accounts his players love him. He’s not going anywhere and Greene is still a 5 star talent at 22…..so Greene and Johnson need to find a way to build on Greene’s immense talent and take some steps forward. This is a great year to develop without the pressure of having to stay in playoff race. I view Greene’s progress more about Johnson than I do Greene
First 25 games: 3-22 (.120)
Second 25 games: 15-10 (.600)
Third 25 games: ???
What’s your prediction?
I’ll say 15-10 again.
Optimism 🙂
10 of 13 against the Nats/Dbacks. I’ll go 14-11.
I’d like to think 20-5, but I’ll go with 18-7.
The Reds have to win at home and this is the time to do it.
How many times Minor pitches in that time frame could be a big factor. 🙂
basically anticipating the ball being hit a lot. I got “hit every inning” the Reds score first and the over of 10.5. Maybe Minor will surprise, but I doubt it. Do see the reds winning this game
I dont know. Votto is seemingly back to Mr Hyde hitting but no other lefties? Moose is 2-36. Maybe he goes 3-4 with some GABP bombs.
its not a reds hit every inning, its either team making one hit per inning
At the park tonight. People still coming in, but pretty sparse crowd tonight
Beautiful night though I’m on 128 great night for a game.
No Aquino no like.Dude needs to play every day.Pham and Mose taking away at bats from him.He had 2 hits in Weds game.
I like an 8-pitch first inning!
Have a good game and then sit is often the DB lineup style.
For a lot of Reds players, a good game is almost an accident and shouldn’t be taken as a sign. Votto doesn’t sit. India didn’t sit. Castellanos didn’t and Winker didn’t, except against lefties. Farmer doesn’t often except, apparently, when his injury issues require it.
17-8.
That’s for Tom Reeves next 25.
I hope The Nats didn’t get rid of Turner because they thought Garcia was ready. Guy can’t throw
Hit every inning alive. Reds score first won. HRE over 2.5 won. I just won 50 bucks on the PHAM BAM
Hey Mike if you see this I found a way around the Media blackout
HR # 454 for Nellie Cruz. HOF numbers for the man with the gray beard?
Pham trade value inching from the negative back to zero
Minor could be an August/ September starter depth for a $200 million team needing SP depth.
Moose on the train towards Mendoza. He had a week or so there.
Shogo tearing it up in AAA. Maybe a tonic for the big guy?
Back from my post-dinner walk. See I missed a couple of dingers. Tuned in just in time to see Mr. Moose being Mr. Moose.
I’m thinking 13-12 or 12-13 over the next 25. Basically .500 ball.
Time to Kick this Pig!!
The Reds need to find a way to get Mr. Moose out of the line up.
How about the manager just doesn’t write his name in the starting lineup?
You really thing DTBell has that much control over whether the $16-million-dollar man plays or sits? I personally don’t.
Come on now. Be realistic Jim. 🙂 You probably already now this but he has more PA than Stephenson by 9 I think. I know TS was out for a while with the concussion but still……
Hit every inning alive through three
Moose not competing at the plate.Feel for him but I fear this is going to get real ugly over the next year and a half
Yessir. But I think it is already pretty ugly.
When you’re taking advantage of the DH with a guy hitting .202 something is deeply out of sorts.
Just out of Nick’s reach
Hate to see possible injuries. Robles was wincing pretty good there.
Well that’s not good
Minor absolutely cannot pitch up.
Batting practice at 87 belt high.Game over and we paid how much for this.
Do you mean Minor needs to pitch in the minors? 🙂
Yep, this game is living up to expectations. Minor should receive a 5 game look and be either traded or DFA’ed
Good grief
I know it’s early but Minor looks like another stellar Reds acquistion.
But it is early and is his first game this season, due to injury. He may be no help, but it’s too early to say.
Gee, I’m glad my standard Norton VPN allows me to see this stuff … 😮
Minor needs an early shower.
Right now.
Minor is getting shelled.
And this is starting to look a lot like a spring training or rehab “getting his work in” start for Minor.
And another one flies out of the park as I was poised to click the SUBMIT button
Minor trade value back to Moose level. Ive seen enough of Minor in a Reds uniform in literally 2 innings. M&M boys are horrible.
Derek Johnson obviously had input on this signing as his former pitching coach at Vanderbilt.
A $10M signing. Yikes. That is stunning.
On the receiving end of a salary dump.
Minor might have better luck throwing batting practice! Yikes!
His stuff will not play high in the zone. He must keep it low.
I think he’s had a pretty fair amount of time to learn that about himself by now.
Derek Johnson to ex Vanderbilt players is eerily becoming Walt Jocketty to ex-St Louis players.
Let’s not wave the white flag yet Bell. Bring in Hoffman.
This is what happens when you trade for a fly ball pitcher in Cincinnati. Minor’s stay here should be a short one. Hopefully they can come back tonight, I thought a win would give them a small chance for a great home stand 7 and 1, 6 and 2. A loss and it might lead to an average or worse home stand.
So how about Matt Reynolds? It’s going to be interesting when Barrero comes back. It would seem to be Reynolds or Drury who would have to go. I’m not sure either will clear waivers and get to Louisville.
Lopez will go.
Ah, good point.
I don’t think that either will.
I wonder if they will activate Barrero and option him. Sheldon was only talking about Solano not needing the entire 20 days of rehab on the radio last night and coming up…no mention of Barrero…..go young or go home
What was Minor’s ERA the past two years? 5+? How could one expect any different this year?
How much are we paying him again? 🙂
You absolutely trade Castillo and Mahle for as many top prospects under 25 you can and clear the roster of players over 30 x Votto. Moose can play out this year and then is DFA’d. It’s all about 2023 and 24 now.
I thought the runner had to go back to first on batter interference?
More batting practice. That was deep.
Outfielders are going to need tomorrow off for general soreness.
hahaha! 🙂
And infielders for neck spasm.
Mike Minor trade made no sense at the time in the context of what was going on with a roster purge and it makes no sense now.
Organizational schizophrenia.
What were they thinking?
Hit every inning alive through 4. So we are all in agreement that Minor deserves a 5y 150 Million Extention from this Front Office? lol
+1,000
Absolutely
So, all you Bell, tell us why Minor is still in the game to be further shelled?
Who knows? He may not want to burn up the pen in an obviously lost cause. He may want Minor to work on his location in a game situation. He may want to prove a point to the FO, though he’s smart enough to recognize that a first start of the season after injury–and for a pitcher who needs pinpoint control–is apt to be rocky.
60 pitches is rather efficient for 4 innings. Especially given all those dingers.
I feel bad for Mike Minor, coming back from an injury is never easy, but it’s hard to see what the Reds saw in him from tonight’s performance.
Minor’s changeup has looked pretty good as has his slider down low. Anything above the knees is getting clobbered.
Unfortunately, it needs to be at or above the knees to be in the strike zone!
Gray’s curveball is killing JV.
And others as well. Gray is keeping it low, and the hitters look befuddled.
Minor already done
Moose is 4-44…but Sadack says still walking some and just in a rut. Larkin says he will pull out of it. It’s amazing how Reds announcers are just narrative manipulators….instead of calling what happens. Phil Castellini still working behind the scenes.
This team needs another 2-8 stretch to drill into ownership the season is over and bengals training campo and UC/OSU football start soon . Reds arent reacting to 2022. Moose and Minor are still key cogs in the plan.
Castellini’s just crush hope.
I do like Gutierrez here.
Hit every inning alive through 5. Could have gotten a homer every inning it seems
Great American Launching Pad. This is why Ashcraft is so valuable keeping the ball on the ground.
Overton, too, when he recovers.
Yeah
4 HRs in 5 Innings! Washington batters are fighting each other to get to the batters box!
No Miami Valley gaming, I am not betting through you. BTW I heard that Ohio will be a sports betting state come the new year
I’m tired just watching the outfielders run. Bell just waving the white flag now.
Overton going on the IL is just killing me right about now.
Oh, and Lodolo, too.
Reds medical and training staffs are killing me!
I think we can add Vlad to the list of people in danger or losing their MLB spots
Absolutely.
Hockey time. See ya tomorrow.
Might as well get the batting cage out.
From the looks of things Minor & Gutierrez both need a new venue.
Vlads could be louisville, there is salvageable with him. Minor, I wouldnt mind if he was DFA’ed tomorrow
Big called strikeout right there on Reynolds. You could see the pitch was low and the catcher lifted his mitt. Just ridiculous.
I think it is time to send Vlad to AAA for working on some physical and psychological issues that are affecting him so he can recover his best shape…
The offense is harmless tonight until now
Lopez still getting on base. I know the power isnt there and probebly never will be, but he still is a useful tool to get on base. He really should get more playing time
Gray is locating his slider very well low in the zone (and low outside of the zone with two strikes). Reds are going to have to hope they can get to some of Washington’s relievers.
uh oh…. my hit every inning now in the hands of the reds side of the lineup that has been silenced since the first….. will it happen.
and no it will not. Still will end the day ahead roughly 15 dollars
I’m not invested at all in this game. I’ll catch you all tomorrow.
The “sorting” continues … where/if it leads nobody knows.
Good chance Gray is going to at least start the seventh. He’s rolling.
While Homer Bailey is probably riding out to herd the cattle back in from grazing.
I don’t like to dump on players. But I will leave this here. I have a good friend that is a huge Braves fan. He laughed when the Reds picked up Minor and was rolling on the floor when he heard Minor got 10 M. His words “Minor was with the Braves and we could not get rid of him fast enough. We tried him for a few years. Starter, bullpen, hot dog stand. Nothing worked. We called him Mike please stay in the Minors. When the Braves dump a bullpen guy, that guy is trash. Batting practice Bob.” So this is about what I expected. I imagine he will have a decent game here and there between shellings. Paying 10 M for that is what is puzzling. These type pitchers are a dime a dozen.
Yep but who is making these decisions.As fans we think they are trying to shed salaries then you pick up Minor and Pham.Why when their best years are behind them and why for so much money.
10 M (smh) Genius move.
Reds hit 3 homers last night and you knew what was going to happen after Pham went deep in the first.Nothing is going to happen.Gray gets hammered by just an average hitting team
Lane Thomas apparently likes it here.
The “legendary slugger” Lane Thomas is doing damage.
The “good vibes” just ended today.
Blown out by the Nats with mike Minor pitching and Mike”Mendoza” Moustakis playing every day.
This gets ugly if the Reds lose this series.
Easy big fella. I don’t think there were very many who didn’t see this coming.
I was crossing my fingers, lighting votive candles but the “bull in the China Shop” move to trade Amir for Minor was a panic move after letting Sonny and Miley go and fearing Castillo wouldn’t be ready.
Bad bad move.
This has been in the works for quite awhile.
Manana es una otra dia.
Miguel Mendoza? No me dejes empezar….
I don’t know why the Reds keep throwing fastballs to Lane. The guy’s setup is similar to Adam Duvall. Throw him the breaking ball on the outside. If you can’t execute the pitch, then that’s on you.
5 hrs allowed, 3 to Thomas? I’m sure the Reds could embarrass themselves further but I’d rather not think about how.
Just last night somewhere in our Nation’s Capital someone was typing “How do you let a Farmer hit a 3 run dinger to bury your comeback chances?”
Barrero 0-3 with 3 k’s
Leave him there for June
Why? He’d fit right in. The same argument that justifies Greene being here applies equally to Barrero regardless of his performance. The Reds aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. They can’t beat the mediocre teams like the Cubs, Pirates, and Nats so they should be playing every feasible young guy they can. Bench the 30 and overs regardless of who they are and what they are hitting
No, if they cant Perform in Tripple A then they shouldn’t be up here. Good players should get starts. There are many problems on this team. Farmer aint one of them. And even if he were there is still Renyolds who came out of nowhere. Berrerro and his carreer sub 1 batting average with no Homers can stay in AAA until he is ready. Not get ready here
Some would argue that Greene wasn’t ready either. I’d probably agree. At this point, it hardly matters if the Reds lose 90 or 100 or 110 games (or even more). As for Farmer? No, he’s not the problem and he should be playing ahead of guys like Moose or even Votto but he isn’t the future either.
I would like to see him come up especially if Farmer goes on the IL which I wouldn’t be surprised if that happens.
Not sure why that “keep them in Louisville until they’re ready” wouldn’t apply to Hunter Greene, then.
It should, once there is someone to replace him, which there is not right now.
More good news from Louisville.
Barrero 0-3 with 3 Ks and Shrock nowhere to be seen. Billy Ray Cyrus batting cleanup so that alone deserves a Yo Mama style joke for the Bats.
How dumb are the Riverbats? So dumb it takes them 2 hours to watch 60 Minutes
I am sure what’s worse tonight watching the pitchers throw up all over the mound or the hitters do the same.Just a terrible performance tonight.The Nats are a bad team and well we are too but tonight is worse then bad.Done for a few games.
Pitching around Moose with a six run lead?
For those gambling enthusiasts:
Reds 16-7 Over at Gabp
It’s really amazing how every post degenerates into
1.) A moratorium to debate David bell as a manager
2.) A moratorium to debate the greatness of Kyle Farmer as an MLB shortstop.
I’m Cleting out. Until tomorrow.
BUT BUT BUT 2 days in a row
Votto got is own GABP homer. 🙂
Watched some of the Cubs/Cards today. Kind of depressing to see these young guys blowing up for St. Louis. Gorman hit a bomb 2/3 up the stands in RF and looks like a serious threat up there. Edman .281 with 14 steals and some kid named Donovan .296 and .430 obp. Idk?
The Ghost of Branch Rickey. He was from my hometown of Portsmouth, about 2 hours from Cincinnati. Too bad the Reds didn’t hire him back in the day. If he would have built the Red’s farm system, we would still be winning pennants.
Barry Larkin talking about wait until there is a capacity crowd at GABP….. lol that is hillarious
It’s beginning to look like a wasted year for Jonathon India. One year closer to free agency.
One should be careful about “bulking up” and gaining weight in baseball muscle or not especially if you’re a middle infielder.