The Cincinnati Reds (38-60) will wrap up their homestand with three games against the Baltimore Orioles (50-49) starting tonight at 6:40 PM. The Reds and Orioles will meet for the first time since 2017. The Reds have played the Orioles just 12 times since the start of inter-league play in 1997, the fewest of any opponent. The Reds are 4-8 against the Orioles in those matchups.
The Orioles will come to Great American Ballpark just 3.0 games out of the final wild card spot in the AL (they are however 16.5 games back in the division, the exact same amount as the Reds). The Orioles are above .500 in the 2nd half for the first time since 2017. The Orioles are playing great baseball of late too, as they are 14-5 in their last 19 games. They are doing all of this despite having the lowest payroll in all of MLB.
Starting Pitchers
Mike Minor will make his 10th start for the Reds. Minor had three decent starts to begin the month of July (16.1 IP, 7 ER, 5 BB, 17 K) before getting roughed up his last start against the Cardinals. The Reds more than anything are probably just hoping Minor can pitch deep into games. He does have 4 starts this year of 6.0+ innings. The Reds are expected to lose at least one staring pitcher at the deadline, and innings limits are probably coming soon for Greene and Ashcraft.
Minor has a career 2.20 ERA in 5 starts (8 appearances) against the Orioles. He actually threw six shutout innings against them in his lone start last year. The Orioles as a team have a .681 OPS against LHP this season.
Kyle Bradish was called up today and will make his first start since June 18th. He has struggled in his chances with the Orioles this year, but has been dominant in his time between AA/AAA posting a 1.30 ERA/2.06 FIP with 10.4 K/9, 1.3 BB/9, 0.3 HR/9 and 0.61 WHIP. He was the Orioles #9 ranked prospect when he made his debut in April. He was acquired in the Dylan Bundy trade from the Angels in 2019. He has a fastball that reportedly can reach up to 98 MPH.
Starting Lineups
Conclusion
This should be a fun series for the Reds against an up-and-coming Orioles team. They have a fun roster, and their fans can at least see some of the reward of sitting through a long rebuild. We are hoping the Reds will be in for a much quicker turnaround – being in the NL Central instead of the AL East certainly helps. This weekend will surely feature lots of rumors and speculation as the trade deadline looms on Tuesday. Sit back, relax and try not to drive yourself crazy. Go Reds!
Moose @ DH again. Here’s hoping he surprises us all and hits three homers tonight. 🙂
Trying here to decipher the meaning of Reynolds making his 22nd MLB career outfield appearance at age 31yrs+238days ahead of Fraley and Fairchild.
DB placates to the wiley vets.
That’s why all this talk about Kyle Farmer moving to a utility player next year is a big laugher when people on this blog bring it up. If he is on the team, he will be the starter no matter what the up and coming shortstops do.
I’ll kindly disagree with you Jim. I’ve been pleased with how Reynolds has played this year and I hope the Reds keep him.
I’m not as concerned with his age as I would be with another player who isn’t as good an athlete as is Reynolds.
There’s still plenty of time to evaluate Fraley and Fairchild, if the Reds trade Drury and/or Solano because the Reds would put Reynolds back in the infield.
Yes. Remember all the “Barrero in CF” jive last year?
“He can do it! He’s a great athlete!”
So Kyle Farmer, a career utility guy, can play shortstop.
Bell: “We want De La Cruz to start taking some reps behind the plate.”
Bell loves old guys and Reynolds must be the latest I guess.Bell has found something cause he knows nobody would trade for Reynolds or even just take him for nothing in return.
If you figure it out, share the answer, because I’ve been racking my brain for months.
Nothing wrong with what Reynolds did tonight. Played a flawless RF. Made 2 very good plays on the foul pop near the tarp and on the double in the 9th inning to keep the runner from scoring. No defensive deficiency there. 1of 5 Reds to get a hit.
but he is not the future.
He’s a better option right now vs Fairchild and Fraley, who I don’t see as future starters for the Reds
Notice that the Orioles are on the cusp of the playoffs, with a winning record, yet with the lowest payroll in all of baseball. Perhaps its not how much money BC didn’t spend, but how they spent what they did spend! Of course, having a zillion top draft picks doesn’t hurt.
The Reds have had a zillion early draft picks since 2016 and either picked the wrong guys, failed to develop them, traded them for stardust or some combination of all these outcomes.
Do India, Stephenson, Lodolo, Greene, Senzel, & Ashcraft not count? With a few others on the roster in drafts just prior to ’16 including Mahle & Antone and many others from recent drafts still in minors not far off?
One good one was traded (for stardust) that I can think of, Josiah Gray, great pick though. Not sure Jeter Downs is going to amount to much, but maybe.
Reds D & D is not an issue.
The goal of drafting and development is acquiring and developing the right mix of guys to form a winning core and team. The Reds have not leveraged their time at the top of the draft to do that. They have hit well on some obvious choices but not done well on depth or have traded the guys off for no lasting return.
2016 Draft– 4 picks in the top 80. Senzel(#2); Trammell(#35); Okey(#43); Hanson(#79)
Net bWAR for that group to date is -1.0. The only 1 of the 4 with + bWAR is Trammell who was traded away.
2017 Draft- 4 picks in the top 80> Greene(#2); Downs(#32); Fairchild(#38); Heatherly (#77)
bWAR to date +0.01.
2018 Draft> 4 picks in top 82> India(#5); Richardson(#47); Gray(#72); Spillane(#82)
Total bWAR to date 3.7 (3.0 by India)
It takes most prospects 5 years to reach MLS. If you’re looking at bWAR for this young group of draftees you’re looking at the wrong thing.
Reds have been successful at d&d. Just look at the roster is all you need to do.
After years of losing or tanking.
My lineup with these guys:
India
Senzel
Pham
Drury
Farmer
Votto
Reynolds
Moose
Pap
Just for laughs, compare with the 1970 world series Reds/O’s rosters
Well, Joey just said “Boom!”
p.s. It was a wall-scraper but it counts.
This is customarily by tradition the most exciting part of the red season.. when they dump their good players at the trade deadline.
Great write up Nick. Love the statcast data and the stark contrast between the Orioles defense / bullpen and the Reds.
Joey Votto K rate is hard to fathom at 27.3%.
OS, I’m not seeing a lot of value to these very numbers, particularly the x numbers. They tell us nothing about forward performance. They should come with the same disclaimer as a mutual fund prospectus.
Votto 2 run home run!!!
#340
We needed Votto in the first half of the season and he didn’t show up. It’s a little too late now!!
Another weak fly ball by Joey Votto. He should be tar and feathered for such weak swings.
A blind mind can see Matt Reynolds should be starting at first base.
Joey on the first pitch catches up with 97 and boom.
But but but I was late…. sorry here now
Yep, we love your colorful and informative stats, Nick. Great work! Old-school already noted that the bullpen, defense and strikeout stats jump off the page even though the Reds have had these same issues for at least the last 3-4 years. Baltimore lost 110 games last year and the Reds are going in the opposite direction. Looking forward to watching this game. I hope the Reds brass makes some observations as well.
Orioles plotted a course and stuck to it.Got rid of the high priced older players and their manager as well and now its paying off.Sounds like a plan to me.If I remember right they ate a bunch of money owed to Davis by releasing him.Could be wrong on that one.
Davis retired. They still owe him 23 million this year though.
Thanks JB.Should have remembered that.
Minor just has no room for error with a 90 mph fastball and a 82 mph change up.Hope he can get us through 4 or 5 and we still are in the game.
Votto with #9. Reds need HR’s in GABP to score and need 6-7 runs.
Reds are just striking out way too much lately.Just have to do better and at least make the defense move.
Get use to it when the “young guys play more”
Well…the Ks so far have been Pham, Moose, Reynolds and Drury.
Maybe but I could put up with that but Bell won’t play young guys unless he runs out of vets.Time will tell.Strikes out don’t matter much to a lot of people any more.Heck Eugenio is striking out 38% of the time and some hate the trade we made
@johnnytv. Those guys aren’t old. Contrary to what some on RLN think
Sadak talking about next year’s draft order.
If you want to go to a lottery system to avoid tanking, that’s fine, but limit that lottery to roughly the bottom 8 or 10 teams.
A team with a winning record should never get the chance to have the first overall pick, or to obtain a higher pick than a team with a losing record.
I think they did. I think its worst 7 lottery but someone else confirm
2nd time through the order is where Minor has had trouble lately. Let’s see if he makes any adjustments this time.
Pap with a hit.Yes Pap with a hit.
I mean it is the end of the July. He had one left in him for the month.
he can relax now until Aug 10th or so.
I’m just amazed they haven’t threw over to first yet, to keep him close.
I’m all for inter-league play.
Like watching the Orioles. Do we need the Pi-Rats 18x?
Yeah Kolo is to me the better option but he is getting the fewer chances.
Moose is hard to watch at the plate.
Moose fanned twice and hasn’t even made contact either at bat.I am sure he is a good guy but Solano just has to be the best option right now even against righties
So much for the Dayton Dragons being good.
They have 1 player in the lineup hitting over .235
Hendrick 0-3 with 3 K’s hitting .209. Hes 21 and the #12 overall pick in 2020
Cardinals drafted Jordan Walker #7 prospect in MLB now 8 picks lower and Dodgers drafted Bobby Miller 29 who we cant get in a Luis castillo because hes too valuable.
Reds FO a wasteland from 2010 to 2020.
Hendrick is a bust.
Sadak has come with a ton of stats tonight. He is about putting me to sleep.
With some teams needing back of the rotation help, is Mike Minor pitching himself into a trade? Can we be that lucky?
Works for me.
With the compressed schedule and double headers and the regular season extending to October 6th…teams might want a 6th pitcher and insurance policy to just save arms. It’s not out of the question.
Papierski is a modern day Tony Gwynn out there.
Pap has 2 of our 5 hits.How about that?
Mets DFA Travis Jankowski trading for Naquin
Reds can claim him and put in the line up with his twin TJ Freidl.
So, there’s the WALK and then the HR! Nice job Minor!
Minor is done after a walk and a blast,One of his better outings.Can’t walk hitters.No walks for their guy so far.
Plus, now we get 4+ innings of the schizophrenic Reds bullpen!
Hold on bullpen but Reds offense has fallen to Cy Brandish and his + 7 ERA.PAP should be telling the other guys how to hit him and now its time to checkout and move on for me.
In this age of baseball statistics overload I wonder the following! How many games have the Reds lost in the last 2 years when leading or tied from the 5th inning on? In other words, how many blown saves has the bullpen had? Gotta be 50+
Reds are 38-60
Thats bad when the win total in the 30’s and losses in the 60’s.
Orioles are a big series to fix that or re-emphasize the Reds are a 95+ loss team
Well, great news about Pap even though I thought he broke his bat on both hits, but what I really want to know is:
1) Will the Bark & Lark TV show survive next season?
2) Will Annie be elevated to a more prominent broadcasting role for next season?
3) Will some Red’s coach, anyone really but prefer domino effect, get fired at the end of the season.
On to the 2023 plan:
“Sooner rather than never, but who knows.”
I get to the game on a little bit later, and usually miss the pregame, but from what I hear I do like both her and Lecure. I think Lecure is getting first hack at getting up there, but I would take either over Sadak. I dont think they fire him, but I do not see them renewing his contract either
To quote Reds ownership: Where else you gonna go?
Does bell pinch hit for moose against the lefty with Solano? He better.
Cionel Perez 1.30 ERA and 5-1
How does that happen?
40+ appearances, also. Holy moly! Coaching 60%, Athlete Discipline 40%.
He gets away from DJ and Bell.
Bailing on Perez was one of the dumber moves the Reds have made in awhile. The treated him like a yo-yo and then offed him.
This organization has some serious deep rooted problems.
So Perez is better because Bell is no longer his manager?
LDS, sometimes I feel like Bell should take out a restraining order against you.
Wkuchad , keep defending Bell. He should be making you proud here in the ninth.
Jackson Stephenson pitching well for braves. At least last time I saw the stats. Does make one wonder.
Getting cut is a good wake up call.
Or a pitching coach..
No its him letting his hair grow out, duh lol
With Perez, I think the Reds didn’t like his attitude. He always looked angry and upset.
Also, judging by his stats this year, it looks like the Orioles use him sparingly, he’s averaging less than 1 inning per outing, which means if he gets into trouble (i.e. walking batters) they likely get him out quickly and limit the damage.
LOL, limit the damage? What an intriguing concept. Someone should tell Bell about that idea.
He had an outing before the all starbreak where he gave up a homerun with a runner on. His ERA was under 1 before that outing.
He also has been used more. Maybe more innings have sharpened his pitches.
Jon Heyman( dont shoot me ) reporting Padres and Joe musgrove close to a 5 year $100 million dollar extension.
There you go. Castillo market.
Obviously a pitch around on Papierski. They don’t want any part of the hit machine.
I think he actually made it
It looked that way to me also.
Bad base running there. Wow.
Here we go! A single, then a walk! Gets old gents!
Gibaut forgot to hit a batter after the walk…just kidding.
Actually, he did a nice job there.
Starting to like this Gibault. 97 gas and not afraid to throw it up and in.
Walking that first batter SMH
Reds about to go 38-61
30’s and 60’s bad optics for David bell.
100 losses still in play.
Bell isn’t worried. He’s secure win or lose. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him extended once again.
If principal ownership stays the same and his father is still an advisor in the front office, I think D. Bell will be extended again.
I follow the Reds games night after night on ESPN’s website. And I watch & wait on most nights to see which BP pitcher will blow the game! One thing about the Reds under Bell is they do find some creative ways to lose!
Notice the earlier discussion about limiting the damage is once again not in play under Bell.
bell’s computer-matic pitcher handling: bring in the usual motley assortment of middling relief pitchers until one self-destructs inevitably…..
Walks, walks, walks! I just don’t understand how a major league pitcher can’t find the strike zone and just pitch to contact! OK guys, I’ll shut up & I’m done for the night!
… This should be a fun series for the Reds against an up-and-coming Orioles team …
Not tonight.
Where’s Steinbrenner when you need him?
How anyone can defend Bell’s management skills & record is beyond me
I have no idea what was going on with Senzel right there. With a 5-2 lead and 2 outs after the catch, why wouldn’t the runner try to tag and score?
That was Reynold’s ball all the way. Senzel needed to give way. Senzel with the hesitation and lob throw. He either has to learn or move back into the infield. He has improved in the outfield some but too many minor mistakes. He is not a natural out there. I’m sorry.
That was not Reynolds ball, Senzel is supposed to make that catch and did. The problem was his nonchalant attempt at it and he was not ready to fire home to try and get the runner tagging up. He had more than enough time to get behind it, take a good crow hop and fire home.
Absolutely horrible play by Senzel on the short fly to center. Played it like he thought it was two outs. Should have let Reynolds catch it. Senzel is not an instinctual center fielder. If we lose Drury, I would like to see Senzel and India at 2nd and 3rd not sure which should play 3rd.
Again…I sound like a broken record and we sound like a broken record! Reds will NEVER EVER be anywhere competitive until they fix there bullpen! Will they ever get that through there thick skull??
It’s not the bullpen. Bell didn’t have to leave Farmer in to be shelled. But he did. It’s a pattern that’s repeated over and over again. The discussion about limiting damage earlier is philosophically foreign to Bell.
What an impressive set of ERAs in the Reds box score tonight. Is it any wonder why the Orioles have 6 runs?
Lopez is an impressive closer
They need to fix the bull pen, only 2 worth keeping now San Martin and Diaz. However they also, and even more importantly, they need to find someone who can manage it correctly, and that is not Bell.
It doesn’t really matter this year, but hopefully it will in the next couple of years. When it eventually does, I want Greene as my closer. You can’t win if you don’t close-out the game. As the Reds have proven time and time again good starting pitching doesn’t matter if your bullpen blows it. For one inning where he is allowed to cut it loose, Greene could be amazing. He would bring excitement to the ballpark on a nightly basis just like Chapman did in his prime. Put Diaz, San Martin and possibly Antone and Simms in front of him and we could go from the worst bullpen in baseball to one of the best. This franchise could turn around quickly. And yes I agree Antone and Simms are big question marks.