Jose Barrero’s first two career major league homers were among four struck by the Cincinnati Reds in their 7-5 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field in Milwaukee.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (43-63) | 7 | 8 | 0 |
| Milwaukee Brewers (58-49) |
5 | 9 | 1 |
| W: B. Farmer (1-1) L: Ashby (2-10) |
|||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
After going hitless in his first seven plate appearances since returning from Louisville, Barrero hit homers in his next two at-bats. They were among four homers for the victorious visitors.
Milwaukee dropped its fifth of its past six games, and combined with the Cardinals’ 1-0 win over the Yankees, dropped the Brewers a game behind first-place St. Louis in the NL Central. Cincinnati’s win leaves the Reds tied for third with Chicago, 15 1/2 games behind St. Louis.
The Offense
In the top of the second, Cincinnati broke the early scoreless tie when Aristides Aquino drew a leadoff walk, then advanced to second on an Aaron Ashby balk. Albert Almora lined a double to left for a 1-0 lead, followed two batters later by a laser from Jonathan India that went for an RBI double.
Then in the fourth, Barrero broke his hitless streak since returning to the big-league team in a big way by crushing his first home run in the big leagues.
A thing of beauty. pic.twitter.com/VPkHZQ1w9Y
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) August 7, 2022
Milwaukee closed the lead from 4-0 to 4-3 with a three-spot in the fifth. But Barrero put a fork in that Brewer momentum with another hot shot that that cleared the wall, making it 5-3.
Joey Votto extended the Cincinnati lead to 6-3 in the top of the seventh with an opposite field home run. Donovan Solano rounded out the Reds’ scoring with a ninth-inning solo blast off Brewers lefty Brent Suter. Solano and Barrero both had two hits to lead the offense.
The Pitching
Starting pitcher Nick Lodolo was not sharp, and managed to get through 4 2/3 innings before reaching the 100-pitch mark. He allowed four hits (including two homers) and four walks while striking out three Brewers. Lodolo left with the bases loaded, and Buck Farmer got a big final out of the fifth by getting Hunter Renfroe to ground back to the mound. That out preserved a 4-3 Reds lead. Farmer was credited with the win because Lodolo did not finish the required five full innings.
In the sixth, Farmer allowed a double and walk, and Manager David Bell came to get him with two out. Lefty Reiver Sanmartin came in to face lefthanded hitting Christian Yelich. It looked like the move might backfire when Yelich poked a hit to right, but right fielder Aquino made a play that thwarted the home team:
Please keep ?????? to run on @Aristide_Aquino. ? pic.twitter.com/tI6sfJHnFk
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) August 7, 2022
It was Aquino’s seventh outfield assist of the season, and he is demonstrating that he is a truly outstanding defender. Aquino’s play ended the sixth with the score remaining 5-3 Reds.
Joel Kuhnel pitched a one-two-three seventh, followed by Alexis Diaz’s scoreless eighth. Hunter Strickland allowed two hits and two runs in the bottom of the ninth, but a four-run lead entering that frame meant that damage did not change the outcome.
Milwaukee’s two ninth-inning runs made it 11 straight games this year that they have scored at least five against Reds pitching. Cincinnati is 3-8 in those games.
News and Notes
Nine players among Cincinnati’s top 30 prospects (according to MLB Pipeline) will become eligible to be selected in this fall’s Rule 5 draft (according to Fangraphs) if they are not placed on the major-league 40-man roster before then:
Infielders:
- Noelvi Marte
- Elly De La Cruz
- Spencer Steer
- Ivan Johnson
Pitchers:
- Brandon Williamson
- Levi Stoudt
- Lyon Richardson
Also, outfielder Michaele Siani and catcher Daniel Vellojin.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds at Milwaukee Brewers
Sunday, August 7, 2:10 p.m. ET
Graham Ashcraft (5-2, 4.12 ERA) vs. Corbin Burnes (8-5, 2.49 ERA)
Great job Tom as usual.
Thank you very much, Melvin. 🙂
Nice! hopefully the first of many for young Mr. Barrero. Also, great to see Votto going deep to leftfield off of a left-handed pitcher. We are going to need everyone onboard if the Reds hope to not lose 100 games this year.
It could be a very rough final month-plus without Castillo, Mahle and Greene (for part of that time) in the rotation.
Agreed
A good time to give a few SPs, maybe in AA or even A+, a single start in MLB just to give them a taste of things. Give them some things to think about in the off-season. Maybe it will give them that feeling they’re not so far away if they put in the work.
Tom, I agree. The starting rotation is going to be a patchwork affair for the rest of the year. But on the bright side, the young rotation next year has a chance to be solid. Time for the youngsters to step up. Next man up. It will be interesting to see who steps up.
Richardson on the 40 man bubble with no pitching in 2022. Not sure any team takes a flyer on him coming off of TJ surgery. Players outside the top 30 with an outside chance are Free, Hopkins and Quintana. Kravetz outside the outside chance.
Beginning of the turn around for Barrero? He still looks bad on the breaking pitch on the outside corner and pitchers will definitely attack him in that area going forward. Hopefully, he can make the necessary adjustments to handle that pitch. 2 HRs are definitely encouraging!
Was going to come on here and mention Hopkins and Quintana as well. I don’t think Richardson will get much consideration to be protected. He hasn’t pitched at all this season, and injuries have been an issue his entire career.
In order I’d protect: EDLC, Marte, Steer, Williamson, Stoudt, Johnson, (those 6 are definite protects for me) Vellojin, Siani, Quintana, Hopkins, Richardson.
With all the 60-day guys the roster is at 47 by my quick count. Lots of FA/minor league journeymen included amongst those ranks. The roster is going to look a lot different, a lot younger next season.
We are going to need 9 spots huh, ok 1. Minor (option declined) 2. Solano (FA) 3. Renyolds (FA) 4. Moose (DFA) 5,6 at least two of the catchers, and Garcia is a FA anyway. 7. Detwiler(FA) 8. Strickland 9. ??? Plus need room for the ILs to come off the list
1 Cessa 2 Detwiler 3 Dugger 4 Farmer 5 Gibaut 6 Minor 7 Solomon 8 Garcia 9 Papierski 10 Romine 11 Farmer (trade) 12 Moustakas 13 Reynolds 14 Solano 16 Fairchild
IL adds 1 Antone 2 Duarte 3 Gutierrez 4 Overton 5 Stephenson plus the 9 top 30 guys if a guy or 2 is on the 60 day then add Free, and Quintana
Cesar is a FA?
Nope, but I’d trade him
I don’t know, I like Gibaut’s stuff. Seems to just need more experience.
Need some strikeout ability in the bullpen.
They probably don’t need to protect that De La Cruz guy. I don’t think anyone would take him from the Reds.
I only add 5 from that list and take a flyer on the rest IMO
Johnson Richardson Siani Velojin
Free agents (according to baseball-reference) at the end of the season include: Detwiler, B. Farmer, Minor, Strickland, Wilson, Romine, Solano. That takes our 40-man down to 40 with the 60-day guys coming back on.
Guys I was surprised to see had control: Garcia, Papierski, and Reynolds. I don’t think any of the three make it to next season. Duggar, Duarte, and Solomon are guys I’d consider next on the cut line. That would mean protecting 6.
Will the Reds DFA Moose and eat the rest owed to him? I hope so.
Lopez, Aquino, Almora, Fairchild, and Schrock would also be close to the cut line for me if we needed spots.
Questions that need answered on those final guys: Does giving time and roster spot to Almora (one more year of control) make better sense than giving Aquino another shot, or more playing time to a guy like Friedl?
Does Aquino get another shot? No options and still doesn’t hit consistently (yikes!!! a 37 OPS+)
Does carrying someone like Fairchild (who may have some unrealized upside) make more sense than carrying guys who have shown you who they are over multiple seasons (Aquino, Almora)? Or do you protect Siani even though the bat is far from ready but the CF defense is elite?
Does it make sense to protect Vellojin, or risk exposing him to sign a veteran back up? Does Koloszvary keep his spot?
Does it make sense to protect Quintana over someone like Lopez? Or does Lopez deserve an actual extended chance? Maybe protect both?
Should make for interesting decisions this offseason.
We got all sorts of cut fodder on our 40 man roster. I just HOPE we don’t keep some retread veteran around while risking a promising prospect. That would be the “here we go again” type of move that has us doubting the F.O. again.
If you’re in a crunch, cut that vet, even if some value there and put a younger kid on the 25 man (or whatever it is these days) roster and use him as spot starter, PH or long relief.
I’d rather a 22 year old slump or get blown up occasionally than a 34 year-old with no business getting ABs or Innings in MLB on a non-contending team.
Elly De La Cruz hits an in side of the park home run. He is an exciting player.
https://twitter.com/MiLB/status/1555934962410455042?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1555934962410455042%7Ctwgr%5E440a5911513b94b481da6fab35175ef4282e368b%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fblogredmachine.com%2Fposts%2Freds-prospect-watch-elly-de-la-cruz-scores-ridiculous-inside-the-park-home-run-video
Better yet, go check it out on the sister site, Redsminorleagues.com here:
https://www.redsminorleagues.com/2022/08/06/cincinnati-reds-prospect-elly-de-la-cruz-electrifies-with-inside-the-park-home-run/
Clicks = Revenue for our hard working proprietor!
Agreed BK..our guys should get the clicks!
Good summary as usual – thanks Tom – also interesting note on the rule 5. I expect they only protect 5, perhaps 6 with Siani. Still, the 9 deletions in the comments above look accurate, except I’d keep Cessa.
I think the reds CAN win with Aquino and Barrero in the lineup. This will require a few things,
1. really good pitching which we are developing
2. perfection on the bases and with the defense. ( ideally, I would like to see a stronger centerfielder than Senzel. He just doesn’t seem to have any arm strength left. I guess from all the injuries. I don’t think he would be better at third so I just don’t see where he fits on this club long term to be honest.
3. finally we will be a team that obviously relies on homeruns. we are probably not a team that can string a lot of base hits together to manufacture runs.we will have to be more aggressive with the offensive play calling to avoid double plays at all costs. that means more bunts and stolen bases. not sure if Bell is the right guy for the job. seems way to conservative from that standpoint to me
Pete Rose had a weaker arm than does Nick Senzel, but I agree it would be better to have a stronger arm in CF. So maybe move Nick to LF.
Maybe Nick can retool his swing in the offseason to generate more power, but if not he’s going to have be a singles hitter like Rose was and take some walks and look to get on base a lot.
Senzel in CF needs to end. He’s not a good center fielder and takes terrible routes to balls over his head.
In addition to or perhaps due to any shoulder problems Senzel may have, he still throws like an infielder as opposed to an outfielder. He needs to learn to get his body lined up behind the ball, step as he catches it, and then drive through with his core, bucket, and legs as he throws just like a pitcher does.
Ironically, on the SAC fly which scored the Brewers final run, Aquino had come over and was lined up behind Senzel to make the play as I described above if Senzel had pulled up and given let him do it. Add improvement of situational awareness of where his corner guys are and how they can sometimes make a better play than him to Senzel’s learning “to do” list.
I agree. Senzel has speed but speed does not necessarily make a good centerfielder. He’s not smart at all whether it’s in CF or on the basepaths. I don’t think he’s stupid but I do think he’s just wound up so tight that it seems that way which also sets him up for his injuries. He has, for the most part, been fairly healthy this year. One could argue that this is his “rookie year”. Maybe with regular healthy playing time he’ll settle down. I still think he has lots of untapped talent.
I only watched a couple of innings on TV and a couple of innings on radio, but that was a fun game! Hopefully Jose B. can gain some confidence from this and carry it forward!
Only downside was Lodolo. He had great stuff thru the first 3, but fell apart pretty quickly after that. I know he’s a rookie, but you get a 4-0 lead and you can’t let off the gas? 3-1 on Cutch and grooves a fastball….nobody throws 3-1 heaters anymore? All the pitchers on the next level can throw offspeed for strikes there. If you do throw the fb then you have to locate it better then that. Thats 4-1. He then walks Renfroe and grooves a 1-2 breaking ball to Hiura. He just blew Hiura away on a heater in their previous matchup. Hiura has what they used to call a “slider speed bat” in that he Ks so much because he can’t catch up to good heaters so why cut him a break?
Just watched the 5th and atleast Lodolo closed strong. Bad break when a groundball hit 2nd base, but he Kd the guy with bases loaded. Overall a learning experience for him. The first 3 innings were electric though. Got them out on 6 pitches in the 3rd!
Trying to predict the 40 man is really tricky. I think it makes too much sense for the reds to go after someone like Benintendi (corner outfield is a need, hometown kid, won’t interfere with future extensions) but after that I’m not seeing how many more additions could be made. I tried a crack at a 40 man a couple days ago and had forgot some guys I’d definitely protect
Something like this is how I guess I’d look at it now.
Catcher
1 Stephenson
2 Vellojin
3 Kolozsvary or Free (1 only)
Infield
4 Votto
5 India
6 Barrero
7 Farmer
8 Moustakas (don’t think they’ll cut that much $)
9 Lopez
10 De La Cruz
11 Steer
12 Marte
13 Johnson
14 Quintana
Outfield
15 Senzel
16 Fraley
17 Benintendi (hypothetical)
18 Aquino
19 Friedl
20 Cerda
21 Siani
22 Hopkins
Starting Pitchers
23 Greene
24 Lodolo
25 Ashcraft
26 Dunn
27 Overton
28 Williamson
29 Stoudt
Relief Pitchers
30 Diaz
31 Sims
32 Antone
33 Sanmartin
34 Moreta
35 Santillan
36 Hoffman
37 Gibaut
38 Warren
39 Kuhnel
40 Cessa or Hendrix
Gutierrez opens on 60day IL
I think they really need to sign a vet pitcher to add to the staff too but don’t know where the cut would be made.
The way too early 2023 40-man roster. Nice! I totally agree with the majority of your list and it looks like you’re liking the youth movement too. I have a few different choices, if you don’t mind me sharing. My breakdown for the 40 man roster is 8-SP, 11-RP, 3-C, 10-IF and 8-OF. My 40, actually 39 goes a little younger. I like the 7 SP you chose and would leave a spot open for an 8th until later in the off season near when we have to select the players that can be lost to the rule 5 draft sometime in December. Looks like Dugger will get to audition to keep his current roster spot the rest of this year. I’m hoping that Zeuch also gets a chance. Looks like they’ll bring up Dunn for a start on Monday, so maybe Zeuch gets the next available opportunity. I’m all in for the youth movement and would like to see Williamson and Stoudt in the rotation with Greene, Lodolo and Ashcraft to begin ‘23. To me ‘23 is a continuation of these next 2 months to give younger players time at the ML level in preparation to be competitive in ‘24. Greene, Lodolo and Ashcraft are gaining much needed experience while learning the ropes this year. Williamson and Stoudt go through the same thing next year to prepare for ‘24. They both should be able to get about 125-135 innings under their belts this year barring injury. That should set them up to go about 160-170 in ‘23. Overton, Dunn and a third pitcher will be in Louisville staying ready. The third pitcher might be Dugger, Zeuch or even Lively. I agree with your relievers except for Warren. I go younger and give Kravetz the spot. He’s in AA now as a reliever. I see him in that role next year at Louisville. Lefty, we need lefties, and as a former starter, can pitch multiple innings. I like Free over Kolozsvary as I think he’s better offensively and is a switch hitter. Right now, I think Free is ahead of Vellojin, so he’ll back up Stephenson with the Reds. The Reds may want a more experienced backup in my opinion, but I’m sticking with the youth movement. With what happened to Farmer about being moved to 3B, I’d try to trade him in the offseason before December. He wasn’t too thrilled about how it all went down, so Steer starts at 3B. I like all other IF choices. For the OF, I don’t see management going out and spending money on a FA of Benitendi’s probable salary range. Fairchild is already on the 40 man, so Fairchild instead of Benintendi. Agree with the rest of OF. My way to early ‘23 40 man roster,
I wonder if Lopez will be unprotected. They have alot of infielders in the system and I wonder if they see him worth protecting or not.
I like it. It’ll be fun to follow how it turns out
I just got done rethinking my 40 man. You used a scalpel and I used a machete. I got down to 34. I hope the Reds trim the fat quite a bit, and add some key FA’s to the roster, or we’ll be looking at another losing season.
40 Man Roster
1 ANTONE (PEN)
2 ASHCRAFT (STARTER)
3 DIAZ (PEN)
4 DUARTE (PEN)
5 DUNN (STARTER)
6 GREENE (STARTER)
7 HENDRIX (AAA)
8 LODOLO (STARTER)
9 MORETA (PEN)
10 OVERTON (STARTER)
11 SANMARTIN (PEN)
12 SANTILLAN (PEN)
13 SIMS (PEN)
14 WARREN (AAA)
15 WILLIAMS (AAA) ADDED
16 STOUDT (AAA) ADDED
17 FA (AAA STARTER)
18 FA (AAA STARTER)
19 FA (PEN)
20 FA (AAA PEN)
**GUTIERREZ (60 DAY)**
21 STEPHENSON (C)
22 FA C (BENCH)
23 VELLOJIN (AA) ADDED
24 BARRERO (SS)
25 INDIA (3B)
26 LOPEZ (BENCH)
27 VOTTO (1B)
28 SCHROCK (DH)
29 STEER (2B) ADDED
30 FA (AAA)
31 DE LA CRUZ (AAA) ADDED
32 MARTE (AA) ADDED
33 JOHNSON (AA) ADDED
34 AQUINO (RF)
35 CERDA (AA)
36 FRALEY (LF)
37 SENZEL (CF)
38 SIANI (AA) ADDED
39 FRIEDL (AAA)
40 FA (AAA)
That’s 34 Roster spots with 6 FA spots to fill the gaps. I don’t know if they will spend real money or not. There would be room in the budget (55M surplus), and on the 40 man (6 FA) with this setup. If they don’t spend on FA they could keep a few more from the current 40 man, but I’d rather they upgraded instead.
I like the 40-man roster that you put together. The only parts of your roster that I see as unattainable is the potential of adding up to six free agents. I think they are too cheap to do that. Maybe one or two free agents that are under three million each.
Apparently Barrero had a nice 1 on 1 session with Zinter before the game last night. According to observers they worked together for quite awhile on pitch recognition. Nice to see the efforts pay off. Hope it Carrie’s over.
Kinda sad if they didn’t work with him on that before this season though. I hope our FO and coaches have better insight than that.
For me, that’s a big moment in baseball, the right fielder, Aquino, nailing the runner at home plate. Here’s hoping both Barrero and Aquino can just meet the ball, it will go. The Red’s need their defensive skills.
talking about the reds future rotation what is going on with Overton? I know he had some type of back issues but I thought he would be at least rehabbing by now
Going back to July 1, Strickland has given up 12 ERs in 13.2 innings
ANYONE else, please?
I am actually surprised by this. It honestly feels like a lot more.
Let’s see how the offense is gonna perform thru the next four games starting today when should face elite starting pitching such as Burnes , Bassitt, Carrasco and T. Walker… could the Reds get a win at least? I think the only way is one of the Reds’ Starter throwing a gem …
Top notch pitchers… T Walker last start was awful (8 runs in two innings)
He looked “unnatural” , uncomfortable pitching.
If only Aquino could hit, we’d have an All-Star. Laser for an arm.
Once again, Bell goes to Strickland in the 9th instead of Diaz & the results are typical. I just don’t get it.
Watched the Brewers broadcast last night. Enjoyable plus very favorable comments about the Reds. I was impressed.
If the results are predictable, Strickland would have given up the runs in the 8th. The Reds had a good lead, so the risk of blowing it was not very high with the bottom of the Brewer’s order due up. The pen has worked a lot of innings in the last few games–the whole season, really–and it’s not full of viable options.
Strickland is terrible though. Heath Hembree all over again or David Hernandez. I get that Bell rarely has many options, but he’s more resistant to change then any manager I’ve ever seen. Teams pull their closer all the time.
IMR> I think following the selloff and apparent word from above that Barrero and Aquino need to play, Bell may be grasping for something he actually controls. 😉
You guys can’t have talked to Bell’s therapist; they’re bound by confidentiality requirements. From the outside looking in, we can only guess about this stuff. Maybe Bell is resistant to change, but he’s played India, Stevenson, Senzel (who counts because he’ scarcely played for awhile) and the three young SP’s regularly. Remember, too, that Barrero was competing to be the starting ss before he got hurt. Now he’s back, and he’s playing. Do you actually know that Krall had to order Bell to do this? And yes, the pen stinks, so his options really are limited.
Lol! Bell is your man.
Like the early returns on Barrero. While some don’t think he can hit at this level, he is a talented kid, and deserves a shot to show what he can do @ SS. The rest of this throwaway season, spring training, and next year are all opportunities for him to show he can do the job @ SS, and contribute on offense. The skills are there at short, and if/when he learns the strike zone better, really think he has a chance to stick with the club.