Photo (edited): Minda Haas Kuhlmann. License here.

Arizona Diamondbacks vs Cincinnati Reds – July 21, 2023

07/21/2023

After taking the final two games of their series against the Giants and earning a series split, the Cincinnati Reds welcome in the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight for the start of a three game series. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10pm ET.

Starting Lineups

Arizona D’backs	Cincinnati Reds
Geraldo Perdomo – SS	Elly De La Cruz – 3B
Ketel Marte – 2B	Nick Senzel – CF
Corbin Carroll – LF	Matt McLain – SS
Christian Walker – 1B	Spencer Steer – LF
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. – DH	Jonathan India – 2B
Jake McCarthy – RF	Joey Votto – 1B
Emmanuel Rivera – 3B	Christian Encarnacion-Strand – DH
Gabriel Moreno – C	Tyler Stephenson – C
Alek Thomas – CF	Will Benson – RF
Tommy Henry – LHP	Ben Lively – RHP

Starting Pitchers

Pitcher	IP	ERA	WHIP	BB	K
Ben Lively	55.2	3.72	1.20	15	53
Tommy Henry	78.2	3.89	1.35	30	56
Links: Ben Lively’s Stats \| Tommy Henry’s Stats

Ben Lively

Since returning from the injured list, Ben Lively had thrown 9.2 innings and allowed two runs. He did exit his last start early as he battled cramping on an extremely hot day in Cincinnati.

The splits for Lively are interesting. Left-handed hitters don’t hit for much average and they rarely walk. Their on-base percentage and batting average is worse than that of righties against Lively. But left-handed hitters to hit for a lot more power against him. Righties hit for a higher average, but they also don’t do much walking. They also don’t hit for much power at all.

Splits

Split	PA	H	2B	3B	HR	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG
RHH	112	26	1	0	4	7	29	.252	.313	.379
LHH	121	26	5	0	7	8	24	.230	.281	.460

Pitch Usage

	4-seam	2-seam	Cutter	Curve	Slider	Change
Velo	91.0	91.7	88.4	76.3	80.5	84.7
Usage	30%	20%	9%	8%	23%	9%

Tommy Henry

After having back-to-back rough outings to begin June, Henry has pitched quite well in his last five outings – posting a 2.20 ERA in 28.2 innings pitched. His last outing, though, was the worst of the bunch, giving up three runs in 4.1 innings in Toronto.

Teams aren’t sending many left-handed hitters out to face off against Tommy Henry. But the lefties that are getting a chance to face him are having plenty of success. That group has a high average, a higher on-base percentage, a higher slugging percentage, a higher walk rate, and a better contact rate than right-handed hitters do. Righties have a solid walk rate and a good contact rate against him, but they are hitting .249 against him with mediocre power. Not shown below are his home and road split, and he’s been much worse on the road. His ERA is 1.91 high away from Arizona, and hitters have a 173 point higher OPS against him on the road, too.

Split	PA	H	2B	3B	HR	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG
RHH	244	55	9	2	8	21	43	.249	.320	.416
LHH	88	21	4	0	4	9	13	.266	.341	.468

Pitch Usage

	4-seam	Curve	Slider	Change
Velo	90.7	79.0	83.2	84.0
Usage	49%	19%	12%	20%

When and Where

Game time: 7:10pm ET
Where: Great American Ball Park
Watch: Bally Sports Ohio, MLB.tv
Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
Forecast: 77°, cloudy, 5% chance of rain

News and Notes

Tejay Antone, Vladimir Gutierrez on the road to rehab

Both pitchers are coming back from Tommy John surgery (and for Antone, it’s his second). Antone is set to begin his rehab assignment on Tuesday. Gutierrez isn’t expected to be too far behind that.

Reds go big to sign 4th round draft pick

The Cincinnati Reds paid nearly three times the slot value to sign their 4th round draft pick, Cole Schoenwetter. His bonus of $1,900,000 wraps up the signings of the Reds top 14 draft picks, leaving just five players unsigned – all between rounds 14-20.