Tonight the Cincinnati Reds (41-37) head to Baltimore for an interleague matchup with the Orioles (47-29) at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Orioles have cooled off a little bit recently, with a 5-5 record in their last 10 games, but are still trying to keep pace with the division leader Tampa Bay Rays. They are currently 4.5 games back in the AL East, and come into this series sixth in the AL with a team OPS of .746 and sixth in the AL with 94 home runs.
First pitch has been pushed back to 7:20pm ET.
Lineups
Cincinnati Reds
|
Baltimore Orioles |
| 1B Kevin Newman | DH Austin Hays |
| SS Matt McLain | C Adley Rutschman |
| 2B Jonathan India | 1B Anthony Santander |
| 3B Elly De La Cruz | RF Aaron Hicks |
| LF Spencer Steer | 3B Ramon Urias |
| RF Nick Senzel | CF Cedric Mullins II |
| DH Tyler Stephenson | 2B Jordan Westburg |
| CF TJ Friedl | LF Ryan McKenna |
| C Curt Casali | SS Jorge Mateo |
Jordan Westburg is the Orioles’ #3 prospect. He is making his MLB debut tonight.
Starting Pitchers
| Pitcher | IP | ERA | WHIP | BB | K |
| Brandon Williamson | 36.2 | 5.40 | 1.39 | 13 | 27 |
| Cole Irvin | 23.1 | 7.71 | 1.76 | 10 | 24 |
| Links: Brandon Williamson’s Stats | Cole Irvin’s Stats |
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Brandon Williamson
Left-hander Brandon Williamson is coming off a start against the Rockies where he allowed three runs on six hits with five strikeouts in five innings. He’s walked zero batters in ten innings in his last two starts, an improvement from walking 13 batters in his first five starts (14.1 innings).
Williamson started throwing a cutter at Triple-A Louisville in April, and when he debuted in May, he was throwing it about 31 percent of the time. However, in the month of June, he’s thrown the cutter much less (21.7% compared to 31.6% in May), and he’s gone back to throwing his four-seam fastball and curve ball more often (36.2% and 10.0%, respectively). This is more in line with his pitch selection before adding the cutter.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB% | K% | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 128 | 29 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 9% | 16% | .250 | .320 | .543 |
| LHH | 31 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6% | 19% | .321 | .355 | .321 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-Seam | Cutter | Curve | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 92.4 | 87.9 | 73.2 | 81.5 | 84.3 |
| Usage | 33% | 26% | 8% | 18% | 15% |
Cole Irvin
Left-hander Cole Irvin has been in the league since 2019, but he really got most of his big league experience in 2021 and 2022 with the Oakland A’s. After pitching a limited number of innings for the Phillies in 2019 and 2020, he pitched 178.1 innings in 2021 and 181.0 innings in 2022 for Oakland. Irvin is not a huge strikeout guy, as he struck out only 125 and 128 each season. He did, however, have a 4.24 ERA/4.30 FIP in 2021 and a 3.98 ERA/4.21 FIP in 2022, which is pretty good considering how bad the A’s have been.
The A’s traded him to Baltimore in January, and he started the season on the Opening Day roster. Irvin struggled in his first couple of starts and was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk, where he pitched 42.0 innings and had a 3.21 ERA. He’s made seven appearances at the MLB level, with five of those being starts, and has given up 20 earned runs in just 23.1 innings. After his decent performance in Oakland for two seasons, I’m sure that Irvin’s struggles have been frustrating for both him and the Orioles.
He used to throw a curve ball very sparingly, but has not thrown it at all in 2023, choosing instead to focus on a cutter that he added into his repertoire last season. Irvin has also increased his four-seam fastball usage from a year ago, while significantly decreasing his sinker usage (19.9% compared to 24.9% in 2022). He’s also throwing his slider and his change up more this season.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB% | K% | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 92 | 26 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 9% | 22% | .321 | .380 | .593 |
| LHH | 19 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11% | 21% | .294 | .368 | .294 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-Seam | 2-Seam | Cutter | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 91.9 | 91.7 | 87.2 | 77.2 | 83.9 |
| Usage | 37.5% | 19.9% | 2.9% | 17.8% | 21.7% |
Details:
- When: 7:10 pm EDT
- Where: Oriole Park at Camden Yards
- Forecast: 78 degrees, mostly cloudy with thunderstorms, 56% chance of precipitation
- TV: Bally Sports Ohio
- Radio: 700 WLW
News and Notes
Levi Stoudt Optioned; Randy Wynne DFA’d
NL Player of the Week
It should come as no surprise that Elly De La Cruz was named NL Player of the Week after hitting for the cycle Friday night.
*acts surprised*
Elly De La Cruz has been named the NL Player of the Week! ?? pic.twitter.com/PRZTqJbpDa
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) June 26, 2023
Pitching Problems
Down on the Farm
In case you missed it, the Reds promoted a couple of players from Double-A to Triple-A yesterday.
This Week’s MLB Power Rankings
Power Rankings mean nothing, especially in June, but it is fun to see the Reds in the top 10.
The @SFGiants and @Reds surge into the Top 10 in https://t.co/Z3s2EpgF39's latest Power Rankings. pic.twitter.com/i19dR0ocAX
— MLB (@MLB) June 26, 2023
Here at Camden Yards with my son bringing the positive energy for our boys. Go Reds!!!
Enjoy the game. It’s a beautiful park.
Give us a live report if and as you can fellow WVian.
Looks like present rain will clear out and there will be no rain for a while.
You gotta bring home the win.
7:20 estimated starting time. Nice amount of Reds fans here
Me also. Section 44
Section 48
I’m in 34 and the rain is suddenly fierce! I’m in a Reds hat and a red/orange Arcteryx jacket by Gate D during the rain. Cheers! Go Redlegs
I can’t watch on tv.
How did EDLC look batting right handed?
So I’ll let you know after the rain delay
I’ll be watching from my temporary location in the UK tonight. We’ll see how the weather plays out. A lot of “unsettled” stuff up and down the East Coast.
Drizzle here right now but blue sky behind it. Hopefully won’t be a factor.
You DO get around don’t you? 😉
Unlimited access to private transportation and all … 😛
No Votto tonight. I wander if it’s because of facing a lefty or because of fouling the ball off his leg yesterday. He didn’t bat again after that and struck out on the next pitch. He looked to be in pain.
Thinking it’s a combo of that and the LHP starter.
Very good game preview Ashley… IDK but I think after a back-to-back 1-run losses at home, getting the win as visitor tonight it woud be very huge to keep high the players mood and do not enter in a losing streak despite we know this is a really tough stretch against strong teams with a quite weak starting pitching
Interesting that Votto isn’t starting. Against a LHer it makes sense. Is he healthy?
Bell just doesn’t know Votto.
You’re just trying to get me going, aren’t you Steve.
Just uncharacteristic of Bell
Today will be a good test of the “Casali is more valuable than CES would be” theory.
I was all-in on the “Casali as an on-field pitching coach” until we saw the results with Ashcraft. I know it’s not all on Curt, but he’s supposed to be a calming influence and I, for one, didn’t really see that as a result.
From my quick count, the Reds are 15-9 in games Casali has started and have a losing record in games he hasn’t started. Perhaps he really is more valuable than a good hitter would be, but I remain skeptical.
Interesting stat, J. Really makes you wonder.
Win tonight and all is forgotten, right?
His ERA is best on the team, and he has a .364 OBP for June (info courtesy of Sadak). If CES hits in MLB the way–or close to the way–that he is in AAA, it would be hard for anyone to say that Casali is more valuable.
Rich Eisen talking about EDLC and the Reds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Elce6NGjgbI
Great to hear our favorite team being spoken of so highly. John Sadak is getting a bunch of credit for his calls as well. I know he isn’t for everyone but I think he has done great in the big moments
EVERYTHING is a big moment for Sadak. lol
+1,000
For me, it’s really not the “big moment” stuff with him. It’s his inability to let what is happening speak for itself and his seeming need to “use all his words up” during every game.
Yeah. Needs to relax and let the fans just watch in peace more.
He knows a lot of adjectives.
What a way to live!
His enthusiasm is definitely growing on me. I’m sure a lot of that has to do with the fact that this is a fun team to root for, because if we sucked then his enthusiasm is probably not wanted by the fan base. Since we’re on a high trajectory he’ll probably be a great announcer going forward with the Reds because it’ll be a high energy team. I think his on air chemistry with Larkin has also improved as they seem more comfortable with each other. I also think Larkin’s comments have been more truly insightful over the last 4-6 weeks then previously.
He’s great in big moments. He’s just a tad chatty the rest of the time. I want to like him all the time – I really want to. He seems like a super nice guy and he’s a good broadcaster and I want to see him do well.
I really like him and Larkin together – they’re kinda quirky together. But, man, there are times when I’d like Sadek to simply say a bit less.
The Radio broadcast is, frankly, so superior to TV. If I can ever get them to sync, I’d prefer to listen to Thrall and The Cowboy call the game as I watch it on TV. I think Brantley is on his way to a HoF broadcasting career. He’s exceptional.
This is the most I’ve watched the Reds since Sadak became a regular and, while I don’t mind him, Larkin is slowly killing my soul. He let’s so many long pauses go on when they’re prompts from Sadak for him to add commentary/experience. I actually think that’s why Sadak can come across as “using all the air,” because Barry is not great at color commentary. I much prefer him for in-studio commentary. And it pains me to say that, as he’s my #1 favorite Red by a Canadian mile ?
Ack, not supposed to be a question, but a 😉
Larkin was a great SS and player. He’s a mediocre analyst on a good day. You are right that some of Sadak’s “oral diarrhea” may be due to Larkin not taking cues. I’ve gotten so comfortable with Thrall and Cowboy that I just won’t turn to any other feed unless I’m without an option.
He doesn’t bother me as much as some. And that’s fine. Different strokes. I like the stats he spits out. He knows the plays he calls will be on Quick Pitch the next morning, so he goes over the top a little. It’s probably the reason they use most of his calls, instead of the radio calls on the show.
I think he’s a better fit for radio, so he can use all the adjectives on each call to paint the picture. We don’t need to know “the helmet flies off” on TV…..we can see it.
Nailed this. Sadak likes to describe every detail so he would be a great radio guy.
Tarp is off the field.
I think I heard 7:20 1st pitch
Rock and roll and Kick This Pig all the way to the Inner Harbor!!!
I know, a short distance, but still. I haven’t been to Baltimore in years.
Not asking for much tonight! Just want the start of a new winning streak AND a Reds SP to go at least 5 innings WITHOUT giving up 5 or 6 runs! Is that too much to ask?
Plus, I see Newman earned the leadoff spot again after hitting into a game-ending DP last game! Hope he goes 4 for 4 tonight!
“Plus, I see Newman earned the leadoff spot again after hitting into a game-ending DP last game! Hope he goes 4 for 4 tonight!”
cough cough…yeah 🙂
And Elly is in the lineup despite going 0 for 5. I hope he hits four homers.
Wouldn’t be shocked. 🙂
EDLC is a rookie who has played less than 3 weeks in the Majors! Newman, on the other hand, is a “Veteran” in Bell’s eyes and can do no wrong! Better chance that EDLC goes 4 for 4 than Newman! As a Reds fan I hope they both have great nights!
One more retort on Newman batting leadoff! If Bell would look at results to date, India should be batting leadoff tonight and for the remainder of the season!
How is that Dennis when Newman/Freidl are crushing India in obp? I didn’t think coming into the season that getting hit 20+ was sustainable for India. It’s not like he’s on top of the plate like Rizzo
Newman hits lefties well. As it happens, he led off the game with a double and scored. Predictions are hard, aren’t they? By the way, Dennis, my original comment was sarcasm provoked by the idea of one at bat the day before determining where you should bat today.
The Reds won 12 games in a row.
No criticism of the manager is allowed.
Or warranted.
Bell “knows things.”
You are kidding, I hope! The winning streak was great and we need to start a new one tonight! I will commend Bell in keeping the ship afloat given the lack of consistent, effective starting pitching!
That was too bad, he could have had a gold star. Before Newman did that, he got on base and scored in the eighth to make it a game. Bronze star.
Wow I didn’t realize Baltimore had such a sparkling record. Nobody can make me believe CES couldn’t help this lineup vs lhp, but it is what it is. Bell just needs to have an instant trigger finger on Newman/Senzel when they switch to a righty unless we have a nice lead which is rare with our starting pitching. It might’ve cost us the game on Saturday
Have the Reds Ben more specific about what type of hip injury Greene has?
Both teams Over 2.5 (-155) MGM
Everything could potentially lose, but idk how with these pitchers
My new City Connect Cincy gear arrives this week. I’m still watching the 10-day weather window for DC. I checked and it looks like I could get a seat out near the Visitor Bullpen for about $50 per game.
Of course, I just committed a small fortune to move DD#1 at the end of July, so … 😮
Marte will represent our Reds at this year’s Futures Game.
No TV feed yet … any update from our friends at Camden Yards?
Had to switch to the Baltimore feed … 😮
And I see Newman started it off with a 2-bagger, Dennis 😛
EDLC’s RH batting struggle continues.
EDLC appears to be batting .176 vs LHs.
Has he ever batted LH vs a LH?
Just wondering.
I think he hit lefties well in AAA.
Spencer steer!
Newman entered this game with a .947 OPS against lefties. I continue to not understand why people complain about him leading off against lefties. Today is just another example of why it makes sense. Bell does so many things wrong, we don’t need to invent reasons to criticize him.
I’m fine with Newman and Senzel starting vs leftys.
But Bell not making the switch Saturday was not good.
Definitely. That was classic Bell stupidity — acting as if runs in the 4th inning wouldn’t count as much as runs in the 9th inning.
Why do the outfielders bounce the throw in when they throw back to the infield?
Nice rip by Senzel … just a little unlucky.
OK, now the world is right-side up. Bally TV feed with WLW audio overlay.
And it matches? No 3 second delay?
Minor delay tonight. Maybe up to 2 seconds. Audio ahead as ususal.
The question for me with this batting order wasn’t Newman leading off, it’s why Elly is hitting ahead of Steer. There is no law that says Elly has to hit fourth every day at this point in his career.
Especially when he’s hitting <.176 RH.
Hello Newman might be better set at cleanup.
There are ‘laws’ and then there is the mind of Bell.
Quick to be clever and criticize Newman , but never humble enough to admit you were wrong.
I don’t think anyone here criticizes Newman batting against LHers.
It seems to be his strength.
His hitting in crucial situations against RHs is where folks hope that Bell steps up his situational thinking.
Read this thread a bit more carefully….
There’s always one.
Well Dennis is lobbying for India to return to leadoff, but other than that?
Putting that big Newman OPs to use in another place in the lineup is a fair question.
Harry, Dennis isn’t merely questioning the logic of hitting Newman leadoff. He’s saying things like “Newman, on the other hand, is a “Veteran” in Bell’s eyes and can do no wrong,” as if to suggest Bell is only allowing him to leadoff because he’s a veteran and not because he’s hitting extremely well against lefties. This seems like “Newman bashing” to me.
But that’s just in THIS thread. The irrational Newman bashing has been going on since before the season even started — and it’s been coming from multiple people.
J, I wouldn’t say the Newman bashes was irrational. Newman was awful before coming to Cincinnati. And Bell has shown a past tendency to overplay Newman type players. That being said, Newman has certainly very much overexceeded my expectations, but he still isn’t anything special. He is a quality utility player at best, in my opinion.
DW, have you lost it, what stats are looking at to stay Newman “was awful” or are you drinking Hudepohl again? Last year he batted .274 and he batted .308 in 2019.
Well Steve, he also hit .209, .224, and .226 around that. Even with this year’s stats improving his number, he is still only slashing .261/.306/.359 with a .665 ops. Maybe not awful numbers, but nothing special. Plus he never passed the eye test for me. Newman has had a few big moments this year, but I’d rather have Moreta.
I always forget how much I like the Orioles hat.
Williamson 95mph tonight! Where’s that been?
Had to battle against their kid catcher, but a solid inning overall.
I’ve got a long leash for Williamson.
Tall lefty with promise and a good range of pitches.
Might take a while (a long while) for him to reach his potential.
He’s not a Lamb or a Reed or a Finnegan.
Absolutely Harry
See what he has.
It might not be great but zero other options
Reds are in serious trouble. They’re supposed to be down by at least three runs by now.
Wow. Nibbled on that long walk at-bat, but otherwise he looked a little like Max Fried.
I didn’t know he had this kind of stuff?
A mom and dad Reds fan couple and their two little girls … right in the front row of their section.
Full 3-second delay. May have to go to the Orioles feed. That much is annoying.
Casali looks like he can barely swing the bat. Literally. He needs to switch to a lighter bat.
Like the one with holes in it?
Get the pitching!
Williamson is the pitching!!
Brutal AB in the rain
Williamson blinked first. Great stuff tonight and it’s pouring. Advantage you…don’t nibble
I may not be able to last the entire game at this pace.
Nobody will.
Just hang in there and get a Natty Bo beer to lift your spirits and luck.
Some borderline stuff, but it’s been pretty consistent. He’s not getting the outside edge of the plate. Need to adjust.
Who is in the booth with Thrall?
Todd Frazier.
Thanks. Sounded like him. Seems like former pitchers are better as commentators.
Yeah … jury’s still out for me on Todd, but so far it’s nothing to write home about.
Williamson said something about competitive walks or something in a post game when he first came up. If I was Bell and the pitching coach I’d cut that s out pronto
The Reds’ persistent fear of throwing strikes is really driving me nuts. At some point you’ve gotta just throw it down the middle and take your chances.
What’s the problem. He’s only walked THREE in a row. Complain complain complain 😉
…and two of those walks just scored. Strange how that works. 🙂
+1,000
That 0-2 pitch to the 1st walk Williamson was walking to the dugout…thought it was strike 3 in pouring rain. This umps strike zone is tighter than any I’ve seen this year, especially in these conditions
Only 3 other teams in baseball walk more hitters then the Reds do and it seems we have done that for a long time.
I stand corrected.Last year the Reds were really good in not walking hitters.Only 8 teams walked fewer then they did which is amazing since we lost 100 games.
Well, now the Reds finally have them right where they want them. All those walks were part of a brilliant strategy to be behind by a few runs.
Yeah. Most just don’t understand the strategy like you and I do I guess. lol
60 pitches and counting. He’ll go 9 for sure. 😉
Lordy throwing strikes is getting to be a big problem with some of our new pitchers. There is no way we are ready for the big time. No excuses on the weather. These kids today are soft.
Thats just awful and I mean awful.
Again 2 outs nobody on with 0-2 on the guy and he melts down. C’mon man? Extremely weak mentally when it started raining. 2 innings from our starter. Nobody can sustain this nonsense
Pure insanity!
Ridiculous! 4 walks total, 3 after 2 outs, 2 of those walks have scored so far AND Williamson at 60+ pitches!
Other than that what’s wrong? 😉
I think it’s a bit premature by MLB.com to place the Reds at 8 on the power rankings list. I’d say they’re more top 15 with their poor starting pitching.
I usually try to be sympathetic when a young pitcher is having trouble throwing strikes, because I understand it’s not easy, and anyone can have a bad day now and then. But so many of these Reds pitchers look like they’re absolutely *choosing* not to throw strikes — especially once they’ve gotten ahead in the count — I simply can’t feel any sympathy. You can’t consistently miss the plate by a few inches in every direction, hitter after after hitter after hitter, and expect me to believe it’s not intentional.
This has been going on with DJ since he’s been here.
My only question is whether they’re trying to hit the extreme edges of the strike zone or actually trying to miss it. Tonight it looked like some of both, but whenever they’re ahead in the count it usually looks like they’re deliberately throwing at least two balls. It’s so dumb — especially because everyone in major league baseball is surely aware of this tendency.
That second inning by Williamson was the epitome of the Derek Johnson pitching era. There’s nothing wrong with a solo home run. His pitchers mostly dont understand that. Reds walked 4 braves hitters who all scored in a7-6 loss yesterday. Williamson walks the bases loaded in the 2nd inning up 1-0. WHY? It’s a failing mental approach for the starting pitchers. They are taught to miss bats instead of throwing strikes. Abbott is the outlier because his Dad is his pitching coach annd even got on him in his first 2 starts saying hes not competing in the strike zone and nibbling too much. He gave up 3 solo home runs and still won. Missing bats means walks and runners on base. THROW STRIKES! Hire Abbott’s dad as pitching coach.
I’ve been beating this drum for years.
I might copy and paste this post in the future, to keep from having to type it again.
My biggest pet peeve with the Reds pitchers is the WALKS, especially after getting ahead in the count and 2 outs with no one on base!
Pitch to contact please! Camden Yards is a big ballpark!
I have to agree this seems like a common thread among our starting pitchers under the current regime. They have way too many 20 to 25 pitch innings. It also makes it difficult on your fielders. Also I thought Curt Casali is the pitcher whisperer.
Good. Get this kid outta there
I you cant throw strikes you arent a pitcher. This is the problem with the Kyle Boddy’s of the world. They are pitch engineers. They are great throwing bullpens in january hitting their metrics but that doesnt translate to getting good hitters out in MLB. Reds need to start drafting and developing and acquiring strike throwers…..
Don’t forget spin rates….gotta have those.
More spin = more injuries IMO
It looks like their pitcher is simply getting the corners, Williamson isn’t.
The rain delay should be short. How short? I don’t know.
It’s absolutely pouring. That could add to the problems in getting the field back to a ready state.
Question for folks who don’t think Derek Johnson does a good job. How does the results of the bullpen factor in to the overall job he has done? Williamson is being told to throw strikes. How is it The coaches fault when he can’t do it?
Chris Welsh is explaining all of the factors that are making tonight really hard for the kid. He just came off 2 straight starts where he didn’t walk a batter.
I’m just trying to make it make sense
Reds bullpen has the 5th most walks.
Certainly pitching more innings has a little to do with it.
Their WHIP is 10th worst, which is a rate stat.
Tampa Bay, who uses their pen a ton has the same amount of walks.
But their WHIP is 8th best.
@VaRedsFan That maybe means their pitchers have better stuff? Tampa has a great rotation and the Reds, have a M.A.S.H. unit right now.
I’m not saying DJ is the greatest coach ever but given his circumstances can we really blame the painter when the paint is bad?
I’m trying to get a clear view of what others think he should be doing better or what someone else would be doing differently.
Brian, if it were a 1 off thing I might agree, but it has been (the walks) this way for years now.
A worthy effort, Brian, but everybody’s on a roll; this sort of thing is a source of deep enjoyment. I wonder, though if they second-guess their plumbers, electricians, etc. If the answer is yes, the follow up question is: do those guys come back the next time they call them? I sure as hell wouldn’t.
I can assure GMR nobody enjoys watching Reds pitchers walk their way to a loss. ITs unequivocally the singular reason the Reds cant win a winnable division. Reds pitchers walk a ton of hitters. No joy in Mudville for that reason alone.
My plumber, electrician, and mechanic are my neighbors so … 😮
I get your point. It’s so easy to armchair manage these guys, especially when things go wrong.
And to be completely fair, I don’t have to rely on HDTBell or DJ to do stuff at my house I need done 😀
Well, sometimes I do second guess my plumbers…when they make poor decisions, do shoddy work and don’t follow through.
And overcharge.
I don’t call them back.
Woeful analogy.
A few weeks ago I took my car to a well-respected mechanic who said me my struts are shot and I definitely need new ones, and the next day another mechanic at a major national chain told me the struts seem fine and he recommended doing nothing. My highly-respected doctor recently prescribed the wrong medication (actually, the right medication but the wrong dose) and didn’t realize his mistake until I asked him if that’s what he really meant to prescribe. But please, do go on about how we should never second-guess any of the experts. No matter how blatant the mistakes might seem, clearly the right thing to do is to remain quiet and just accept the outcome rather than saying something that might hurt someone’s feelings or sound too arrogant.
Why is it every time a problem is present, and a theory about cause and affect is issued, is that it is seen as an attack of the team.
I don’t know about you, but I’d like to see sustained success for the club. If you think walking the ballpark every other game is one of those keys, then DJ is your guy I guess.
I’m open minded enough that I know every decision that Bell or DJ makes is not a bad one. On the other hand some here thinks, that no matter what they do is the right choice, and that we are idiots for even questioned it on a website that promotes open discussion about it.
J – This is America right? 🙂
Derek johnson has said many times his pitching philosophy is to miss bats. That works when you have elite mature pitchers like Sonny Gray and Luis Castillo and Trevor Bauer plus his entire tenure at Vanderbilt where hes choosing which All American he wants
Bullpen has been solid this year. But other than Diaz its a bunch of older mature pitchers who know what they can and cant do and have failed
Buck Farmer
Ian Gibault
Alex Young
Lucas Sims
And the supremely talented Alexis Diaz.
Nick Krall and his pro scouting staff identified the first 3
Sims is healthy and diaz has the make up as the younger brother of the best reliever in baseball
“Derek johnson has said many times his pitching philosophy is to miss bats”.
Unfortunately our pitchers are missing the strike zone a lot too. NINE walks tonight.
The team ERA is 27th out of 30 teams. Of course GABP is a banjo park. Right now the Big 3 have regressed this year. We are winning games now but without starting pitchers not lasting 6 or 7 innings this not going to last much longer. They are not the only team struggling for starting pitchers. I am hoping for the best like all Reds fans but realize this run could end very quickly.
The rain delay may be the best thing to happen to the Reds tonight! If they do restart the game, no more Williamson please! I’ve seen enough!
Atleast the kid finally showed why he was a 2nd rounder. Just garden variety lefty from what I saw before. Confidence and/or guts….better grow some or you won’t last long. Big park and a downpour and he’s stalling and nibbling. No pitch com? Who cares…make them hit it in a downpour.
Sometimes I wonder what Mark Sheldon et al do with their jobs.
Why not a 60 Minutes Mike Wallace type sit down with Johnson?
Ask some hard questions.
Press for answers.
How much help is Williamson getting? Ashcraft?
We assume: “Lots!” right?
But is that really the case?
Isn’t some of that the reporter’s job to find out?
Watching Sonny Gray pitch against the Braves on ESPN during the rain delay. He’s mowing them down. I really miss watching quality starting pitching. Him and Strider are going toe for toe.
Braves just errupted…
that’s what they do.
TySteve brings the greatest advantage to the team as a catcher that outhits other catchers. He doesn’t outhit most DHers. let him and CES share time as DH And let CES also provide some infield relief.
Probably a seasonal fluke, but I looked up his DH/C splits earlier and he’s horrible when he catches and .291 as a DH (744 ops or something)
Totally agree with you vs rhp. CES and Steer and Votto are better
Flashing Lightbulb emoji
Anyone have any idea or information on a restart?
It’s pouring here right now
Thanks. I’m thinking we’re washed out tonight. Not the worst outcome by a longshot.
I see Krall told mlb.com that there had been no extension talks with Bell thus far. It would have been more fun if he’d said something about it not being Bell’s time just now and that he had a few things to work on.
Is the extension guy a lefty or righty?
lol Now that’s funny. 😀
I would be shocked if David Bell is not offered an extension. David Bell is a F.O.B. and he works cheap. Plus, the winning streak has probably bought him another season. It wouldn’t be my choice, but these are the Reds we are talking about. I just hope they don’t give him a multiple year extension.
Ouch!
LDS, that was pretty inspired.
Ace.
I’m at game tarp coming off
For my part, I don’t share some opinions here but I also agree with some.
I feel the need to speak up when the comments are personal. When comments use childish nicknames or assume someone is stupid or lacks courage or good intentions.
With all of his and his family’s connections to the Reds, I don’t think anyone is working harder or wants to win more than David Bell.
I think it’s good to question things and it’s fun to have conversations about sports but I am past the point of saying things about someone that I wouldn’t say about them if they were in the room with me. It is a way I keep myself honest about my opinions.
I say this because the tone here is very much “shirts vs skins” when it comes to opinions and I don’t fit either group 100% but I do appreciate civility and kindness.
Game scheduled to resume at 10:05pm
Thanks, Doug!
10:05
Nice! The question to me is will Bell immediately swap out Newman/Senzel if they bring in a righty…and they probably will.
If we get Law back pretty soon then he can be an opener. Go out and throw 25 pitches max effort and let the weaker starters start at the bottom of order
Basically 4 gift runs by the 3rd inning. Newman at 1b fails to work…again.
Wasn’t a great throw by India but the ball probably should have at least been knocked down.
A true first baseman might make that play, but a second baseman who can make a simple throw to first base would make it moot. It’s a bad combination.
NO, error is on second base, bad throw
India shouldn’t have made the throw.
Newman should have caught it.
the last 2 times he’s played 1st he’s failed to make a fairly routine play.
I think CES plays first…doesn’t he? 😉
I rewatched a few times and it does seem to be an easier play than I’d thought. It was a bad throw, but should definitely have been caught. Newman made it look harder than it was by basically tripping over himself. I think we can all agree he has no business being at first, but of course Bell is the baseball expert, and they did have a very long winning streak, so who are we to question his decisions?
Newman is not a first basemen, will someone please tell Bell that.
I know that Neumann can do it all but was still surprised to see him play first. After a probable double play where his footwork was off, and he didn’t catch the ball nor stay on the bag, my assumption is that he can’t play first. According to the mystery man in the both with Thrall (Sam LeClure?), he hasn’t played first at all. But, David Bell has soo much more information than me, so cue up that old Doris Day song que sera sera.
That hidden info excuse is wearing thin.
That is for sure.
Baloney, first baseman didn’t make a mistake. The official scorekeeper said error on India at 2B. Scorekeeper has sooo much more information than you.
98% of 1st basemen make that catch.
We had the 2%er playing there.
Double baloney. If 98% of 1B make the catch, the scorekeeper would have placed the error on 1B. He said it was a bad throw.
Lots of baloney flyin around lately. Oscer Myer would be proud. 😉
Some people don’t understand.
It’s like a pitch in the dirt that most COMPETENT catchers catch.
It’s always a wild pitch, not a passed ball.
Same thing applies.
India bad throw. bad first baseman doesnt make the play that most will.
I’d draw you a picture if it was allowed
Why not Elly going home with the throw for two outs but no run?
Valid point.
He did back up on it to get the big hop, which took away the chance for 2.
Something told me we’d start a losing streak as soon as we lost. Hope they nip it in the bud, but really weak effort so far tonight. They have 3 singles and were gifted 4 runs out of it
If we don’t score a lot of runs with our pitching we’re in trouble most nights.
Tyler Stephenson is having a down year. It’s time to admit that. Doesnt mean he cant be good next year. Jon India is becoming slightly above average and isnt good defensively . Starting pitching is not good and they don’t throw strikes. I think I am not trading any top prospects and not desperately trying to win the WS this year. thats delusional. Tough to say but let things play out. Reds arent winning without SP and all 3 of the Big3 are either out or injured. No way I am selling top prospects.
Definitely too far away for any big rentals, but the division is so weak they should do something.
Makes me sick they didn’t call up Abbott & Elly (and CES) when they called up McLain
I don’t think many people are advocating a desperate push to win a WS this year at all costs. But it would certainly make sense to trade a few prospects for a couple pitchers who can at least throw strikes and at least give you a fighting chance — especially if they’re signed beyond this year. This team is going to need pitching beyond 2023, and they’re going to need to get those pitchers from outside the organization somehow. Why not now?
Steer hangin good in LF. 🙂
Steer is an awesome athlete and versatile.
No arguments from me.
Could be the start we needed. Infield hit by Friedl. 🙂
Not this time unfortunately.
Casali allowed to hit for himself because you can’t worry about trying to catch up until at least the 7th inning.
Too bad we don’t have a third catcher…Oh wait. 😉
That’s no fair. Slick surface in CF. DOOVER!
The breaks have definitely not gone the Reds way tonight. Every little thing that could go wrong from the first inning on has, from the 1st inning rocket that was 4 feet too far left that would have been a home run by 20 ft… to Williamsons 0-2 pitch that could have been strike 3 to end the 2nd inning but instead was followed by 3 walks and their 1st hit to drive in 2 of those walks…to now Friedl slipping on an easy fly to center to start the 5th. Time for sleep…Abbott will get them tomorrow
How many games in a row does the team have to lose before we’re allowed to start complaining about Bell again?
Okay. How many walks tonight? Sadak just answered it for me. I can always count on him. SIX
Write off tonight. The Reds will only have to get 15+ more starts from Abbott and go undefeated in those games. No problem
Blowout is on….our pitching stinks
I’m having a hard time justifying staying up for this. I must be a real Reds fan. 🙂
Man, this is ugly.
This is why it’s essential that the Reds keep swapping one bad relief pitcher for another on a daily basis. You wouldn’t want to have a *tired* bad relief pitcher giving up a bunch of runs. It’s better to have a fresh bad reliever who can stay in the game longer and give up a few extra runs.
The “other relievers” were actually good yesterday.
The established guys let them down.
Yesterday’s “other reliever” gave up three hits and a walk in 2.1 innings, got the loss, and was DFA’d. He’s actually a guy who might have made some sense to keep on the active roster for at least a few more days, but Bell was already tired of playing with that toy and needed a new one today.
They’ve hit one ball really well for a double and they’re about to have 7 runs
Six walks might have something to do with that.
Why are we supposed to believe Casali is some great manager of pitchers? Nobody can throw a strike and we give up a gapper immediately after his mound visit.
Oh, and he can’t hit.
At least we didn’t pinch hit for Casali. Imagine how bad things would be if he were out of the game.
What else can go Wong?
Well, nothing tarnishes a 12 game winning streak like a good losing streak. Tonight’s heading for #3. Milwaukee has already won, so it’s goodbye 1st place. Let’s just hope it doesn’t get any longer.
Which bad relief pitcher is coming up for Salazar tomorrow? I know he can’t be replaced with a great hitter, because that wouldn’t give Bell the flexibility he needs let bad pitchers allow these kinds of games to turn into blowouts.
Brewers won. Lose tonight and we be out of first place.
1st place was fun! Anybody else have the feeling Friday night was going to be the highlight of the season. HG was the final blow but 3 gaping holes in your rotation would’ve sunk them anyway
Being in first place was a great treat but the team needs to just remember how good it felt. They won’t be there much longer but they have so much promise. This comes back to the team not having two solid pro starters to go along with the kids in the rotation. They didn’t want to spend this year because they thought it was going to be a losing cycle again. If they want to get back into a high draft spot, they shouldn’t rebuild the staff halfway via trades. Actually, may be smart to dump anyone you can via trade. Don’t blow the future just for a slim chance at the now.
Time to start showing some resilience and fighting back.
Lol. Just typed today that India isn’t get hit all the time and doesn’t need to be back at leadoff
India has gone full Geno-mode since moving to the 3 spot.
Yep.
Also,..Elly strikes out way too much,…ala Suarez. He needs a lot of work,…. as far as knowing when to swing and when to take a pitch. Supposedly he will learn soon. Hopefully so. If not,..then something needs to be done. Benson went down to the Minors, a whiffer,..and came back up, a hitter. No one is so good that they are allowed to kill rallies over and over by whiffing. At least put your bat on the ball. Please and thank you.
Should we run here with De La Cruz?…yessss
Of course if Steer wants to hit a two run homer….:)
Lodolo out in until at least August, now looks like Greene out at least to August. Reds bringing up AAA Pitchers right and left. I am surprised if they have anybody left at AAA Louisville to pitch for them, most of their pitchers have to be brought up to pitch for the Reds. Very frustrating! Year after Year, always injuries for the Reds. Three things certain in life, Death, Taxes, and Reds injuries each year.
Yep.
Maybe — and I’m just thinking outside the box here — Steer ought to hit fourth against lefties even though the rules say that’s supposed to be EDLC’s spot.
Steer puts them in slam range.
The Salazar inning will come back to haunt them.
Poopy! Friedl hit it hard anyway right at the RF.
I know it doesn’t “make sense” to hit for Casali in the 4th inning when you’re down by a few runs, but maybe it will “make sense” in the 7th.
On a side note on a long night. I see where Barrero is hitting .107. I don’t think 1,000 ABs would have made a difference.
I heard that.
It will be interesting to see where he and Marte play now. Barrero WAS back at SS.
Remember that time when the Reds tried Jay Bruce at first base?
This might be worse.
Unfortunately, Bell obviously doesn’t remember it.
Neumann! Your 2B falls down and turns around and you are still not even near the bag. David Bell!
That didn’t look good did it? Should have been an easy out after a pretty good play by India.
I hope Baltimore brings in a RHer before EDLC’s next AB. He hasn’t figured out ML LH’ers yet, down to .150. We don’t want Bell treating him as Newman’s platoon partner at SS.
The fact we even have to worry about Bell doing that with the #1 prospect in baseball speaks volumes.
Only seven walks now. 🙂
Cool DP. Now let’s score some runs. 🙂
The Reds front office needs to get to moving faster on bringing a couple of good starters to the Reds rotation. The Reds are in first, but they will not be there long with this starting pitching. Keep the top ten prospects, but time to flip a few prospects who appear better than they really are. I do believe the GM has good judgment. Do it quickly before the Reds end up back in fourth place at the end of July. Then, it may be too late. The Reds are not going to stay in first place with this starting pitching.
Newman “But I’ve never played 1B”
Bell “Oh it’s easy, tell him coach”
Coach “it’s extremely hard”
Love this!
Meanwhile, we bring up a guy yesterday for 2+ good innings on his MLB first appearance only to be DFA’d since we need two more relivers today. The Reds need a middle reliever or 2 inning starter since a star SP is probably unattainable since most other teams have the same issues. Maybe our old friend, Jeff Hoffman, might be tradeable from the Phillies where he is doing very well even though we DFa’d him last year.
The obvious way to avoid all these problems would be CES for Casali. That gives you an infinitely better lineup in this game and gets Newman off of first. He can DH and be replaced in the lineup by any lefty as needed. The team desperately needs pitching, but this three catcher nonsense is a self-inflicted wound.
Casali hitting down 4 in the 7th. Newman hitting against a righty in the 7th. Okaaaay.
Flyout and strikeout.
9 outs left down 4….of course we can hit our 3rd string catcher
No Benson for Casali to lead off the inning?
There most be some hidden info on Maile’s ability to catch tonight.
Joey also too tired to come in for Newman.
Would love to hear from the “don’t criticize Bell” crowd why it’s okay to allow Casali to hit for himself with three lefties and a catcher on the bench.
Yeah this guy had a ton of walks so you have to get Benson in there and get on to ignite the inning
Those three lefties being Votto, Fraley, and Benson. Not a bad bench tonight….if you use them. Oh well. Let’s win anyway. 🙂
Very easy to pinch hit Benson for Newman and move Steer to 1B
Bell’s defenders: “well, admittedly letting Casali and Newman hit for themselves in that inning was a bit of a head-scratcher, but Bell has a lot more information and experience doing this than we do, and don’t forget they won 12 in a row. Let’s give the guy a break. Nobody’s perfect.”
+1000
(Remember: No one wants to win more than Bell)
“You’re just complaining about the little things again. The little things don’t matter.
It’s the starting pitching! Bell knows things!”
Eight walks. Are we going for some kind of record?
That was almost a spectacular play by Steer.
all out effort.
And the walk and everyone else scores….10-3.
I sure liked winning more than losing. 🙂
This pitching is a disgrace to Major League Baseball
I would have preferred to see Fernando Cruz pitch three innings like TWO of the Orioles pitchers have already done.
Not allowed.
I’ll just never understand how people can watch Bell make decisions like the ones he just made and not come to the conclusion that he really doesn’t know what he’s doing. How does one manage to isolate those things in one’s mind? To me, it’s like seeing that a guy clearly doesn’t know how to compute 2+2, but still being convinced that he’s a pretty good mathematician because you’ve seen him correctly calculate 1+1 and 3+3 a few times.
Please, please, don’t anyone every come in here and tell us how good and valuable Casali is. I’ve never seen a worse called game by a catcher. Every full count he has them throwing off speed that they can’t get near the plate. The fact that this team is keeping Casali in lieu of bringing up CES is downright disgusting.
Is Casals calling pitches or is it coming from the dugout?
I was gonna clete, but might as well watch ’em bat, since they got the 3rd out.
At least they had Wong and Salazar available today, because it would be terrible to let *tired* bad relief pitchers pitch in this game. Gotta have *fresh* bad relievers on hand at all times.
Will Maile pitch the 9th?
Biggest takeaway from tonight for me is Williamson is soft. A little rain and he fell apart. 2 outs and 0-2? Nibble 1 time then just throw 95 over the plate already? Needs to be a learning experience
Other thing is they can’t hang around unless they win almost every start Abbott makes. This is the most talented team in the division and should win when they get good pitching
Wong got pummeled.
Sacrificial lamb.
Wong will be DFA after tonight’s game. He is the sacrificial lamb for this game. The Randy Wynne version today. If we are back to developing hitters for next year let’s get Benson and CES in the lineup regularly.
By the way, seeing Newman play 1st base makes one realize that there is really no benefit of keeping him vs CES either. Newman is only needed to hit lefties and he really is only needed to play 3rd base or 1st base at times, which is where CES plays. Would anyone ever want to see Newman over CES in a game?
David Bell? 🙂 I don’t know.
Bell, for one.
CES: “Today’s not his day.”
The Orioles love the Reds pitching. The Reds are following the win streak with a losing one. Next pitcher up!
I’d really like to go back and redo this game with CES on first, Newman at DH, Stephenson or Maile catching, Wong and/or Salazar replaced by legitimate major league pitchers, and Bell at least acting like he’s taking the game seriously.
Funny how the great vibes of a 12 game winning streak can disappear with the continued garbage pitching that continues to roll out to the mound
Well Wong & Salazar tonight make Wynne’s performance last night look like a Coy Young contender
Nine walks. Going to get double digits?
No subs at all tonight so far. Isn’t that highly unusual for a David Bell team in any game?
He’s playing the long game. All the lefties needed the day completely off. They’ve been tiring themselves out by running around the bases so often.
So the Reds have gotten 3.2 innings out of two relievers who shouldn’t be on the team and probably won’t be on the team much longer. They gave up 6 runs and put this game totally out of reach. Does the organization think it was worth it? If they could go back and do it again, would they make the same moves? I think they would.
Bell waived the white flag in the 6th inning. Later, didn’t hit for Casali nor his pet Newman. Now he’s got Young getting hot for no logical reason to add to arm fatigue.
Why call Newman his pet? Casali is clearly the pet. At least Newman can hit a little. Poor guy is being embarrassed though, by getting placed at 1st base which he has clearly never played.
Nope, Difficult to play when the incoming throw is 8 feet wide. If you can play the hot corner when the ball comes at you with a higher speed, you can adjust to the slower thrown ball.
Sorry Casali may be a “coach” on the field, but he’ taking a roster spot that has CES written all over it. So you got 2 catchers, maybe Bell may have to actually coach for a change.
+ 1000
CES Should’ve been up contributing already.
Casali needs jettisoned out asap. No Greene or Lodolo until 8/23.
Aside from TS collarbone injury, I don’t think that the Reds trust Ty Steve’s work behind the plate. Can’t have Ty plus either 2 catchers in the same lineup. Ty’s DH days should be discontinued almost completely.
Well. The Reds lose 10-3 and David Bell subs no one. That has to be a record within itself.
Subs no one even though there were multiple situation when it would have been the logical thing to do. This is the same guy who had Benson pinch hitting in a key situation back when he was hitting .042 simply because he was left-handed. Now Benson is hitting .256 and drawing a lot of walks, and Bell lets Casali and Newman hit for themselves against right-handed pitchers. The guy is nuts.
Head scratcher for sure. The 9th inning really didn’t matter as they both hit there as well. The game was basically over. However in the 7th we were down four, against a RH pitcher, Benson could have hit for Casali and stayed in the game in RF or just went back to the bench with Maile coming in to catch. Right after that Votto could have hit for Newman and stayed at 1B. That would have left Fraley for a late inning dramatic AB. Strange?
Bell’s white flag syndrome. Nullified participation trophies.
BTW, new poster but I’ve been a Reds fan since the mid 60’s. Mostly had to listen to games on AM radio laying on a hardwood floor. I coached high school aged kids for 10 years & I love Doug’s Site. I’ve been reading it first since the Chad ownership days. Love the Reds since Vada Pinson days. Use to drive 6 hours to Cincy to watch games at Riverfront Stadium.
He not a good 1B, doesn’t need to leadoff simply because he bats rt. handed. Id prefer a true leadoff hitter get the most ab’s at the top of the order(India). Defense is awful at 1B & 3B. I don’t see a strong bb iq with him. Bell should have pinched hit for him once a right pitcher came in.
Casali is a pet too. Probably would’ve had 13 runs without Sal catching.
Davis Bell is not a good baseball coach period. If you follow the team closely you know that he makes a head scratching decision almost every game. Letting Casili and Newman bat in the 7th inning last night made no sense. I think with the current pitching situation this team will be lucky to play .500. As much as I want them to compete reality is setting in they just don’t have enough solid arms to compete. The offense can’t score enough to make up for the lack of competent arms. I have had enough of Caseli all he is doing is holding back Strand and Newman needs to go, if for no other reason than to stop Bell from using him improperly. I fear that the next issue on the boards will be how bad will the record have to be to get rid of Bell.
I concur. I’ve followed the Reds for 57 years & was dumbfounded that Bell got extended the last time. I was really upset about the 7th inning. Krill needs to rid us of Casali & Newman. Sensel can do that role minus 1st base. Steer is our best option there when Votto isn’t playing there. CES would help run production since we do not & cannot have enough competent arms. I do not want our top tier next wave of youngsters traded off. Larkin even said that our replacement players will come from within. Top 10 MiLB &,C Duno have to untouchable. Marte will eventually man 3rd, CES- 1B/DH, Collier will likely endup in RF, Steer/LF, Matt/2b & of EDLC at short, & Arroyo in reserve on the farm until atleast 2025. Some current guys will get to expensive & the 2nd wave needs to be protected. Trade single A level guys that can be replaced by this 23 draft class to get a couple of arms. Never have been a Bell fan, I coached for 10 years & he lacks that 6th sense that the good managers have. He also gets unhinged as soon as the 3rd time thru the order comes up and pulls starters when they do get in a groove &,our pen has tired arms. Farmer and Diaz have looked tired for a week. Shame.
An extension for D. Bell from Big Bob because of the twelve game winning streak in this ‘sorting season’ will be tough to overcome.
I concur. I’ve followed the Reds for 57 years & was dumbfounded that Bell got extended the last time. I was really upset about the 7th inning. Krill needs to rid us of Casali & Newman. Sensel can do that role minus 1st base. Steer is our best option there when Votto isn’t playing there. CES would help run production since we do not & cannot have enough competent arms. I do not want our top tier next wave of youngsters traded off. Larkin even said that our replacement players will come from within. Top 10 MiLB &,C Duno have to untouchable. Marte will eventually man 3rd, CES- 1B/DH, Collier will likely endup in RF, Steer/LF, Matt/2b & of EDLC at short, & Arroyo in reserve on the farm until atleast 2025. Some current guys will get to expensive & the 2nd wave needs to be protected. Trade single A level guys that can be replaced by this 23 draft class to get a couple of arms. Never have been a Bell fan, I coached for 10 years & he lacks that 6th sense that the good managers have. He also gets unhinged as soon as the 3rd time thru the order comes up and pulls starters when they do get in a groove &,our pen has tired arms. Farmer and Diaz have looked tired for a week. Shame.
Yes that would set our current core group back from their current maturation into their prime years, and likely would usher in a reboot as this group starts to get expensive. My philosophy when I coached HS aged players was to put your 8 best position players on the field and gain consistency as a unit until a player(s) plays their way off from a starter to a utility/platoon role. Right handed hitters seem to get more leeway than do lefties. I understand lefties do not see southpaw pitchers as often and I get the Fraley angle, but not Freidl & who knows about Benson. That’s sorting. Hit EDLC 2nd for a spell with McLain as your 3 hole guy. Put Elly in position to see an uptick of FB’s to keep his confidence up and let him earn & grow into the cleanup spot. I didn’t like him there from the start. Kind of like, ok hotshot, here’s the highest pressure role for a rookie! Even keeled Steer vs lefties. Fraley vs righties. Krall bring up CES!! Our DH production stinks under Bell. I want rbi’s from there, not a rotational rest day(from playing defense). It takes a mindset to master, ask big Poppy.