There was a pitchers duel yesterday at Great American Ball Park, but Cincinnati broke through with back-to-back-to-back solo home runs in the bottom of the 6th inning to take a lead and they held on for the win. The Reds will go for a 3-game sweep this afternoon against the Arizona Diamondbacks. First pitch is set for 1:40pm ET.
Starting Lineups
Arizona D’backs
|
Cincinnati Reds
|
| Geraldo Perdomo – SS | Elly De La Cruz – 3B |
| Ketel Marte – 2B | TJ Friedl – CF |
| Corbin Carroll – LF | Matt McLain – SS |
| Christian Walker – 1B | Spencer Steer – 1B |
| Lourdes Gurriel Jr. – DH | Jake Fraley – RF |
| Evan Longoria – 3B | Jonathan India – 2B |
| Dominic Canzone – RF | Christian Encarnacion-Strand – DH |
| Carson Kelly – C | Nick Senzel – CF |
| Alek Thomas – CF | Luke Maile – C |
| Jose Ruiz – RHP | Luke Weaver – RHP |
Starting Pitchers
| Pitcher | IP | ERA | WHIP | BB | K |
| Luke Weaver | 76.0 | 7.22 | 1.63 | 24 | 64 |
| Jose Ruiz | 42.2 | 5.48 | 1.59 | 21 | 38 |
| Links: Luke Weaver’s Stats | Jose Ruiz’s Stats |
|||||
Luke Weaver
Despite pitching quite poorly, the Cincinnati Reds had won eight games in a row that were started by Luke Weaver until his last outing when he gave up four runs in 2.2 innings to San Francisco and the Reds lost 11-10. The offense has shown up for his starts much of the year, but he’s given them little wiggle room as he’s made 16 starts with a 7.22 ERA this season.
Weaver has had reverse splits this season. While left-handed hitters are finding success against him, making plenty of contact, and have an .822 OPS against him, it’s righties that are doing big time damage. Right-handed hitters are putting up MVP caliber numbers against Weaver, hitting .349 and slugging .669 on the season when he’s on the mound.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 184 | 60 | 14 | 1 | 13 | 9 | 38 | .349 | .386 | .669 |
| LHH | 164 | 40 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 15 | 26 | .270 | .335 | .487 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-seam | Cutter | Curve | Change | |
| Velo | 94.0 | 86.6 | 81.7 | 86.0 |
| Usage | 45% | 18% | 14% | 23% |
Jose Ruiz
Arizona is going with an opener and will likely have a bullpen day. Ruiz has not made a start in the big leagues since 2019 when he was with the White Sox. It was the final outing of the year in the 158th game of the season and he threw 1.2 innings that day. It was his only big league start. This year he’s only completed two innings three times – once in April, once in May, and once in June.
When and Where
- Game time: 1:40pm ET
- Where: Great American Ball Park
- Watch: Bally Sports Ohio, MLB.tv
- Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: 83°, cloudy, 15% chance of rain
News and Notes
Best record through 100 games since 2013
The #Reds' 54-46 record is their best after 100 games since going 57-43 in 2013.
— Jeff Wallner (@JeffWallner) July 23, 2023
Being in the postseason hunt
Since 2000, this is only the 3rd time the Reds have been within 3.5 games of first place at the 100-game mark in the season. In 2012, they led the NLC by 2 games at this point. In 2010, they were 0.5 GB of the Cardinals.
— Joel Luckhaupt (@jluckhaupt) July 23, 2023
Standings
| Team | W | L | GB | Playoff Odds |
| Brewers | 55 | 44 | 0.0 | 76.0% |
| Reds | 54 | 46 | 1.5 | 29.9% |
| Cubs | 47 | 51 | 7.5 | 10.2% |
| Cardinals | 44 | 55 | 11.0 | 7.1% |
| Pirates | 43 | 55 | 11.5 | 0.3% |
| Playoff Odds via Fangraphs | ||||
I hope this is a flyaway day line up and not an indication benson is dinged up
Since CES has been called up players are getting off days,
Game 1 off Steer, next day 2 for 5
?Game 2 off CES pinch hit HR 1B, next day 1 for 4
?Game 3 off India, next day 2 for 4
?Game 4 off McLain, next day 2 for 4, 1 BB, 1 HR?
Game 5 off Friedl, next day 2 for 4, 1 HR
Game 5 off Fraley, next day 1 for 4, 1 HR
Game 6 off EDLC, ?
Game 7 off Votto, ?
Game 7 off Benson, ?
So that’s all of the 9 position players (non C’s) rotated for a day off. So far it’s producing great results.
I’d take that trend all day, every day.
One more for the trend you have identified!
The EDLC ? Just turned into a HR
Multiple comments on the wrap-up thread from yesterday questioning the line-up. I get it and have done it myself.
With 2 in the bag and facing the Bernies in their house again, I’m seeing a line-up that is closer to “getaway day” than not, but also trying to rest guys in preparation for the trip. Jim Walker noted that and I tend to agree. A little showcasing of Senzel doesn’t hurt either. Farmer would be in there if his IL stint was up.
Win, lose, or no-decision it feels like we need 6+ from Weaver today just so the pen is ready for the week ahead. Hoping we don’t need Diaz, though he’s been pretty efficient in the last two outings.
Time to complete Project Snake Eradication on the Ohio!!! Let’s kick them out of town bruised and behind us in the WC standings.
I’m thinking it helps this is a bullpen day for the Snakes and we’ve induced them to use multiple BP arms already. At least I hope that’s the case 😛
Newman instead of Farmer?
Yep. You know what I meant, sir and fixed it for me 😀
Farmer?
My mistake … LarkinPhillips corrected me … 😉
And it’s worked so far for Senzel who hit a blast.
Lineup is fine and won’t matter much. A bullpen day for DBacks means there will be plenty of PH/replacements.
Almost a guaranteed “everybody plays” game.
My thought as well. I’m more concerned about weaver and what our bullpen will look like heading into a week facing Milwaukee and the dodgers. 6 innings from weaver would go a massive way in helping this week.
Agreed.
Dream Weaver: I believe we can make it through the night.
Er….5th inning will do.
+500
I’d have given you +1,000 if you had followed it with “Do You Believe in Magic?” 😀
Is there a prop bet 0/U Indy on Dbacks first run? Im taking first inning. A little Jim Walker reverse mojo?????
As long as it’s just the one…
Gotta win today. No let up. Don’t want to go into series with the Brewers on a low, right? I think Tony Santillan will pitch a lot of innings today.
I think he is still in Louisville. Gave up a few (3) runs there last night. I’m hoping that levi stoudt and weaver can combine to cover 8 innings. That would be a perfect world.
Oh wow, I thought we brought him up. I am way behind on news. Thanks
That scares me! Tony’s walk rate is a concern!
Great pre-game piece on Rolen’s HOF induction. Showed a clip of him walking into what I presume is his parent’s home in Indiana.
He had just gotten off the phone after being told he made it into the HOF. Great moment for him and his family
Loved seeing his Dad openly weeping. Mine’s been gone almost 36 years. Hard to imagine the sheer joy and pride in that kitchen.
Nice to have your dad still around for such a great moment! Lost my Dad, a former WW II marine, in 1988.
Dream Weaver takes the mound again! My “dream” today is for him to pitch at least 5 innings AND allow less than his usual 5 or 6 runs!
I’m in my City Connect t-shirt again today. I can go get my hat if anybody thinks that might help.
A prayer vigil candle may heip!
I managed to listen to 3 different messages today and “attended” 2 of those services … does that count?
CF defense should br pretty good today with two guys out there. LF not so much. 🙂
Table set for 1 out trouble. Need a GIDP
Minimal damage done on out #2 as Friedl makes the correct throw to hold the man at 1B
Good sign of TJ being coached up after that bad throw the other day. He threw to second base on that deep fly and kept the runner at first. That would’ve saved a run on a base hit.
No runs in the first by Weaver. 🙂
Merry Christmas!
Escaped that jam with no damage.
Time to Stomp the Snakes starting with EDLC.
The hidden gem in those to flyballs to get out of the 1st was that Weaver saved a lot of pitches on those last 2 outs after running up counts on the first 3 hitters.
+500
Assuming that a low pitch count, in Weaver’s case, is a good thing…
And Ruiz starts in a 1-0 hole.
Sundeck special. Able to just sit on that fastball and crush it!
The veins in my forehead are bulging already! Why? A walk by Weaver! He is like a torch bearer in a dynamite warehouse!
Take your meds, Dennis. It will be OK.
De La Cruz leads off with a Homer!:)
Gonna need a lot more of that today! Probably need double digit runs to offset a typical Dream Weaver start!
Pity the Snakes catcher today. He probably can’t wait to shower and get on the plane.
Nice throw there. Just barely clipped him. Perfect spot.
For Old School:
Yeah you can bet teams to score per innings or almost anything now. I bet Reds Over 4.5 (-145) today. I was going to bet Elly to score too, but didn’t. Day off seems to be working
I tried for the last hour before the game to bet Elly for the homer today and some other bets as well , considering it’s a bullpen day and Dbacks bullpen sucks. It wouldn’t let me bet. I just withdrew all my money that I won from Betmgm. Terrible site.
McLain is so smooth
I still like MattyMc at SS and EDLC at 3B. I really do. That kind of play confirms it for me.
Yep, no reason to switch that up. I used to be a McLain to 2B guy, but I love the left side of our infield.
I like EDLC at third, too.
Only issue is that it leaves no place for Marte, who I don’t think can play 2nd. I favor him over India long-term.
McLain potential gold glover.
That McClain guy can play a little, can’t he?
Senzel off a righty! I might pass out.
Were all dizzy of late.
Nick would really like to play every day for somebody. 3B position preferred.
I think so too. He looked really down yesterday when everybody else was jumping around in the dugout after the EDLC run scored from 3B.
He is going crazy in the dugout now. I am happy for him today.
And I think you could be correct that as much as he seems to like being part of this group, he is also at the point where like Fairchild and Barrero at AAA, he is playing to get out town to somewhere he will just have a shot at his natural position and not be involved on the short side of a platoon and constant position swapping.
Yes. I believe he might be out of here next year. I would be considering it.
Senzel just upped his trade value a little. 🙂
Whatever the snakes’ pitching coach told their pitcher to be sure NOT to do vs Senzel, he just did.
😀
+500
I’m thinking Ruiz is now done for the day. Seeing eye single for Maile.
Working on everybody hits, everybody scores.
Somebody get Dennis some oxygen, please.
Bell!! Says nobody ever….lol
He gave Benson a day off and went with Senzel. Even if Benson is a little dinged up or something, he still could’ve sat Nick. That was a great at-bat too. Got the count to 3-2 and didn’t miss his pitch
That was on The Dbacks manager….he leaves a reliever in who’s thrown a ton of pitches because the manual says handedness trumps all.
Bottom of the line up continues to produce. A single off a 97 mph sinker for CES (good piece of hitting) and a HR from Senzel, unexpected.
Thrall just commented on the “day back after a day off” phenomenon 😮
Which makes it all the more frustrating that the guy that probably needs more regular off days than most (Votto) has been in every game since the break until today.
What did he say? Something along the line of “that’s how bb God works” 🙂
Just commented on it is all. I found it funny since it’s been discussed on this forum multiple times.
My wife said EDLC was in “time out” yesterday.
Brandon Williamson….the missing 13th Disciple. Brings new meaning to the Reds Sea
+1000, Indy.
I know a lot of people want to trade, DFA etc Senzel and Newman. Looking at all the guys laughing in the dugout after Senzel’s homer makes me wonder why? If they’re willing to accept their roles why not keep them and not upset the chemistry. I do agree though that Casali is a wasted spot. He can’t even pinch hit. Call ups are only about a month away.
You may be right about Senzel and possibly Newman (or “Farmer” as I mis-stated earlier). Senzel only knows this organization, and maybe he is OK with that now.
NEwman is in the dugout today. Saw him celebrating the HR.
How and when they deal with his presence in the line-up will be very interesting. Maybe this is the catalyst to bid farewell to Casali?
I think Fairchild would be more valuable than Newman on the current team. I’m fine keeping Senzel for now.
Two different positions.
Newman is now obsolete on the Reds. The Reds are 2 deep ahead of him at SS, 5 deep ahead of him at 3B, 4 deep ahead of him at 2B, 3 deep ahead of him at 1B, and 11 deep ahead of him at DH. The well rounded OF would be much more useful to the Reds.
Agree about Senzel, but maybe for the off season move.
Newman doesn’t really have a role anymore. PH vs a lefty or injury sub at this point.
Casali…also agree.
Only thing is, most every major leaguer wants to play everyday, not be bypassed by the next hot minor leaguer.
Good play by Fraley.
Yep. Forced the weak rundown play and then the NOT-A-TOOTBLAN when the guy on 3rd didn’t try to score (which would have been a mistake given how short the rundown was).
Massive plays by both Fraley and Senzel this inning.
Looking like it saved a run at this point.
Let’s play add-on…Snakes look like they dont need much reason to move on to get away day and get the heck home.
Yep. Nick and Jake saved a run that inning.
The Dream continues to be pleasant.
Do you suppose all these guys busting their behinds for the Reds has anything to do with there being a guy on the bench and at least 2 more ready in AAA to do the same if they have the chance to?
Or just young and hungry guys and it’s in their DNA? I keep watching McLain play SS and Elly at 3b and think if aint broken……don’t fix it. elly is easy gas at 3b with great hands and range and McLain is just a ball player. Beats the heck outta Moose or Suarez.
That’s only half the game. Elly’s offense hasn’t been up to snuff.
I think it’s a definite possibility. I think it also feeds the enthusiasm for the entire team. If they can win today, it puts them in a much better frame of mind going into American Family Brewery Park for 3 days.
That stadium in Milwaukee will always be Miller Park to me.
I don’t care if Miller got sold to Budweiser and then Bud got sold to a Belgian based conglomerate, a ballpark in Milwaukee that is home to a team called the Brewers should be Miller Park.
Jim – Just like the one in Cleveland will always be “The Jake”. Naming rights come and go and I don’t pay any attention to them. The Snake Pit will always be “The BOB” (for BankOne) because my late brother would call me from his corporate seats there (he was a money launderer for the Mormon Church).
I don’t think we can skip over “money launderer for the Mormon church” haha
Jut for the sake of clarification …
Mike worked for Republic Bank of Arizona which was an investment bank backed by the Mormon Church. He got to do bond proposals for little towns to get their fire trucks and such. It was his dream job by a wide margin.
Sadly, that’s been a long time ago. We lost him 23 years ago this November. He hadn’t hit is 50th birthday. We take colon cancer VERY seriously in our family as a result.
Hi Mark. Sorry, but you must be mistaken about the bank Mike worked for. It was definitely NOT Republic Bank of Arizona … or at least the one that exists today. Republic Bank of Arizona was formed in 2007 and is NOT backed by the Mormon Church. Doing a little research, I found there was a bank with a somewhat similar name that was connected to the Mormon Church. Perhaps it was that one? It was National Bank of the Republic and was in Utah.
I don’t think so.
These young guys have played this way ever since callups.
As I noted above, I believe Senzel is a part of the team chemistry, and will remain on the team for the rest of the season.
Maybe, but they’re winning and having fun busting their butts and it appears to be the team’s culture this year.
The thing is, that’s why I think Senzel at first chance. Why stay around if the club is going to bypass him with the next hot minor leaguers?
Lots of traffic on the bases for Dbacks.
Caught a break on the check swing.
3 runs is not enough….time to start tacking on.
Got a little lucky on that one. The 3-2 counts are not helping my BP today and they extend the innings. Still, the Dream is pleasant today.
At this rate, I’m guessing 5 is his limit.
Weaver settled down and made three quality leverage pitches to contact and was rewarded with outs (1st and 3d innings) then got the swing call to get out of the 4th. I’m not sure I would gamble on him again in the 5th. Maybe batter to batter but have somebody ready.
That would be my approach. But I don’t sit in the dugout 😀
Fraley just missed both of those pitches
He did at that. The first one almost ended up fair and he was still in the box.
I can’t believe Weaver doesn’t have a major league secondary pitch. It makes him have to locate the fastball really well to keep it together.
Changeup has great movement, but maybe too much. Cutter is decent today and 96-97 helps. That kid for Arizona really had a nice change up yesterday thoughand threw it for strikes
I hope he can find a way to command it better and have confidence in it. The cutter at 90/91 is close, it’s just not quite enough to finish guys off playing off the FB. Admittedly, this profile describes 30-35% of major league pitchers right now, mostly relievers.
A bit baffling for a starter.
3rd time thru the order….GABP…Luke Weaver…..DEFCON 1
A day late and dollar short David bell. It’s Luke freaking Weaver. Ignored every warning red flag. Hes got an ERA of 7 for a reason.
Time to get weaver out? No reason to waste house money with him in my opinion.
Apparently the answer was yes
That wasn’t exactly a good play.
Bad luck on weak contact. Looked like Steer was trying to get it over Weaver to India instead. Weird throw.
That was just Steer’s inexperience playing 1st…q that’s one where you’ve got to let the pitcher get it. And of course then Weaver does what he literally always does, which is to give up a total bomb and before you can blink it’s 3-3…and then he gives up another rocket and now it’s on the verge of losing 4-3.
How much longer do we have to watch this…. there have to be better options at AAA.
Better options at AA, A, low A…High school
Yikes
Weaver being weaver
That one is on Steer for a bad flip. But I agree, Weaver appears to be done and we need to stem the bleeding before it gets out of hand.
Kind of like THAT.
That fell apart fast.
Steer didn’t help any, but Weaver just had Weaver
Maybe a trip to the mound would have been good?
Weaver is his worst enemy. He doesn’t trust himself what so ever. Maybe he should be tried in the bullpen. Cowboy is totally right on him. Team fighting for the playoffs can’t have him pitching every five days.
Biggest downside, regardless of the outcome, is the pen now has to cover at least 5 innings. That’s not a good thing in my book.
This should be what stoudt is up for though. Games like today to eat 3-4 innings.
When did they not have to cover at least five innings when Weaver pitches? How can they not have better options? I thought Kennedy was good versus Washington. I thought Stoudt was pretty decent versus the Braves…why has neither one of those guys gotten another chance?
Two batters too late. Cowboy was calling for the change before Carroll hit, for what it is worth.
Between the slow starts and the sudden fades….can we get rid of him now? 93-94 or 96-97….he.still.sucks
When you have a 7 ERA and can throw 97 MPH, just go out there and let it fly. Trying to be to perfect and letting it get into his head. With a 7 ERA you might as well try something different.
Of all the times for bell to drag his feet on getting a pitcher out of the game.
For those of you not watching broadcast there was no sense of urgency in the bullpen at all. They didn’t get throwing for two full minutes after the call went down for farmer to get up. Given this was weaver at 70 plus pitches,how do you not have the next guy up loosening at the top of the fifth?
+500
And we all know who makes that call, don’t we … 😮
Yep Brantley was saying to get a move on it and you better hurry up and get ready to make the change… meanwhile they’re just screwing around in the bullpen and David Bell sees no reason to go talk to Weaver or anything else.
Even Cowboy was saying let’s hurry up boys
There are activities a pitcher must do before starting to warm up.
Stretching and what not.
I had two games to watch these guys and their in-game routines on my DC trip. A whole lot more to it than just stepping on the BP mound and pitching.
I see Dennis has gone full radio silence. If he’s not watching, that’s probably a good thing.
Smart play by EDLC. Almost pulled off that DP. Steer has to be kicking himself about now.
Maybe a regular pair of bike helmets with Longoria up.
Steer has to come up with that pick at first. He gas struggled at 1st today. I tend to cut him some grace though with how much he moves around.
That was a bad throw by Elly and it wasn’t that hard of a throw… that’s not on Steer.
A professional first baseman picks that ball 95% of the time. Bad throw on Elly, but steer would tell you he should’ve picked that.
mlb first basemen are supposed to handle that play easily. clean short hop is easy pickings. If you ask Steer, who I think highly of, he would tell you that one was on him. He had a bad inning defensively. He’s still a keeper.
Thank you very much for that bad base running.
A day late and a couple of dollars short getting Farmer up, ready, and into the game. We could see from those views bullpen camera views there was next to no urgency in Farmer’s preparation.
A 3 run lead was essentially wasted.
Steer not having a great inning defensively.
Plus for Bell on Senzel
Minus for Steer over CES at 1st base. CES is supposed to be pretty good and Steer is having a Weaver like 5th inning
True about the defensive foul ups but after what Weaver had pitched through already, the Reds should have been ready to make the move on the mound sooner.
You could tell Bell was trying to get Weaver the chance for a win. Totally blew that.
This will be the last day we see Weaver. DFA is on the way. Not making the road trip.
Bell said he is about to turn the corner. Not really, but it wouldn’t shock any of us if he did.
I’ll believe that when I see it. He’s had a 6 to 7+ era all year, yet they still run him out there every 5th day
We’ve all been saying that about Weaver for a month, yet every five days here he is.
We say that every start
Aaaahhhh,but this is the first time I’ve said it. Lol
Farmer has been regressing badly this month.
didn’t he do the same last year then bunce back after a stint in AAA or am I confusing him among the plethora of Reds relievers that ride that train?
Reds have the top four spots in relief appearances. At some point guys like Farmer who is one of those guys has to regress.
Not a good thing for the bullpen with three starting tomorrow at the home of the Brew Crew.
Bleeding stopped. Two broken legs in casts.
Need some Crooked Numbers now more than ever.
I’m holding a Stink. Fish. Pot!!! in reserve at this point.
Noooooo! You keep that to yourself. Boys will win this. It’s a Weaver start. We have to win it.
I thought Bell should have pulled Weaver before Carroll HR. Weaver started to look jittery. And, Weaver’s not the kind of pitcher to come back very well.
They have 2 baserunning blunders. That one cost them a run. Steer cost Weaver a run. That was really an error and not a hit. He had time
The Dream Weaver experiment needs to end today. He can not locate pitches to save his life . He should try a new career as a batting practice pitcher. Let’s try Brett Kennedy or anyone from Louisville until Lodolo or Greene are back from the IL or a trade. 9 hits from the Diamond Backs through 5 innings, lucky we only gave up 3 runs.
The bad is Weaver is going to stay in the rotation until Greene comes back apparently , because there is no another option according to the FO/Staff. That’s said he continues starting thru mid August at least
Hate to see this 3-4 inning stuff AGAIN! Wonderful. Ask the bullpen for 5+ innings the day before the Brewers series. I am close to the point of just saying bring Stoudt in and tell him to finish the game and send him back to Louisville tomorrow. The Brewers series is far too important to use/waste 4-5 bullpen guys today! And by the way, trade for your starting pitcher before Weaver’s next start.
The DBacks Mgr is not going to wait for EDLC to tag another ball before bringing in his LH pitcher to face Friedl.
Friedl ran into one yesterday but he really continues to scuffle. Yes, bunting for hits is a significant part of his game; but, the frequency and game situations of his recent bunt attempts suggest to me he currently is low on confidence in his results when he swings away.
I’m not reading anything into the Steer play.
It was just in no man’s land. Weaver tried for the ball initially, which meant he had no angle to receive a throw. Bad flip for sure.
He’s made plenty of scoops before, but missed that one.
Move on, he’s a good first baseman in my book (so far)
I agree. No man’s play but weaver doesnt have the stuff to get out MLB players consistently. He was lucky to get out of the prior to innings with runners galore on base.
Buck Farmer has an era of 7 since June 19. Need some bullpen dudes.
STINK. FISH. POT!!!!!!!
Wasted opportunities again.
Alot of very good to great pitchers gave up a lot of HRs like Tom Browning, etc, but they were solo. Weaver has a unique curse of making sure guys are always on when he gets blasted
Doesnt give up cheapies either. thats wasnt a GABP special.
Carroll 446 feet. Longest HR of his career.
Which is why Bell should have been ready to go get him quicker when he had already escaped 3 leverage situations totally unscathed.
Cardinals getting thumped. Let’s all officially put the fork in them. Cardinal fans in misery- priceless
You mean the Whiny Little Fans?
Yepper
Nice focus by Law to get Carroll. We really needed that about now.
Can’t see how that would be overturned. Was very close.
McLain would get my mvp vote. Guy has been incredible and consistent. Abbott at number 2, Diaz at three
Steer gets mine. He kept the team in contention until the rookies got here.
Challenge away. His hand was clearly on while the tag was at the hip. Should not get overturned.
No oven mitt for MattyMc?
Horrendous decision
TERRIBLE OVERTURN!!! ABSOLUTELY ROBBED!!!
Not conclusive, surprised they overturned it, other than the umps don’t want to be out there longer than they have to.
That’s all on the NYC boys. Nobody on the local crew has anything to say about it.
That’s a horrible call and cost us a run. At best that was call stands. No way to overturn that call.
Yep…no way that McClain was clearly out and unless it’s 100% clear you can’t overturn it…so how in the hell could they come up with that decision???
Nice hit by Fraley. Bad baserunning by Fraley.
Senzel homers against a righty and Fraley doubles in the go ahead run against a lefty.
At least the run scored. Snakes catcher made a good decision to forget about Steer and throw to 3rd.
C’mon Jake? Dude is clutch as they come, but he gets thrown out on the back by miles. That’s atleast 3rd time this year the ball beat him.so badly he gave up
Big lefty vs lefty hit though
Fraley needs a leash
On a day the home plate umpire is doing good, they spring a leak with another ump. This one in NY.
+1,000
I like the aggressiveness on the base paths from the Reds, but Fraley’s decision was high risk, low reward. No reason to attempt that.
Aggressive and not smart are 2 different things
Aggressive vs. reckless … and we know what we saw in that inning. One of each.
Yes, on Fraley. The proper aggressiveness on the bases there was Steer getting a big jump, thinking 1st to home unless/ until he saw a stop sign at 3B.
Cardinal sin by the Dback pitcher…Down and in to a lefty.
I thought we only did that.
Fraley basically stopped at 2nd then, for some unknown reason, takes off for 3rd….he looks at the plate & sees the runner is going to score easily….I really don’t know what he is thinking
Two outs given away on the bases. Fraley has a consistent habit of not knowing when to pull up when a play may be happening at a base in front of him.
This is the kind of stuff that goes on regularly that makes some of us here question Bell’s competence at running a team.
The mistake comes when he doesn’t go hard all the way from home to 2nd.
Yep Jim
TOOTBLANS, errors and 7.00+ ERA, oh my.
So you get lucky and make it to 3rd with 1 out. India is going to grip the bat to sawdust and fail to score you anyway
Same thought about India’s AB.
Back to my question a couple posts ago … why no oven mitt on MattyMc? That would have saved his bacon from the Big Bad Wolves in NYC.
Probably doesn’t feel comfortable with it on. I know I wouldn’t. Plus you can’t grab the base and stop yourself with an oven mitt.
We probably left a run or 2 on the table due to over aggressive base running. It might come back to haunt us. But Bell left Fraley to hit against lefties was unexpected, so maybe it is a wash.
Who does he have on the bench at the moment? I’m trying to think and can’t come up with a RH batter.
Well, TySteve … maybe.
Yep, that was who I thought he would bring in, TS.
Yep, baserunning has been grade A Doo Doo during Bell’s era. Now they have a ton of speed, but still get stupid. Even that play the other day with SF and Manea. Freidl was picked off, but got lucky
Ball beat Freidl the other day too at 2nd and he made a miraculous slide.
McLain on 1st there. I’m thinking Steer is a great matchup vs this guy. Let’s hit n run. Why straight steal or did Steer miss it? Of course he follows with a hit
Young for 8th Sims for 9th? Thoughts?
Gibaut is French for gem
What’s Weaver in French?
Le Pew?
Some form of “lucky” since he’s off the hook again?
That’s genuinely funny Mark.
Pue
Lol. Do Weavers new nickname is Pepe Le Pew
Yes, “stinky” in French is “pue.” So, Pepe le Pew fits.
Pue Weaver = Stinky Weaver
Reds need to clean up that reckless base running. It could hurt them in the World Series this year.
Why not run Benson here? He must be a little dinged up
Same thought. It’s the DH spot, so Benson takes over as DH.
Officially switching to “we just need 6 outs” mode.
We all hoped the BP would get some rest, but that didn’t happen. We’ve hit “just enough” to lead at this point, despite ourselves for the most part.
Need to take the Snakes down by the River and beat them with all the spare bats in the rack.
Is that too violent? 😮
But Cruz instead of Sims in T8.
And a very heads up play by Cruz (and India) to clean up that potential mess on the leadoff hitter in the 8th.
Just because I don’t cotton to this strict platoon stuff……
Today Senzel has an HR vs RH pitching and a K vs LH pitching.
Fraley has made 2 outs vs RH pitching and doubled vs LH pitching.
Fraley’s double is the 3rd most impactful play of the game in win probability added for a player to his team. Corbin’s HR #1 @ +18.5%.
Senzel 2 run homer 2nd most impactful winning play of the day at adding 17% to the Reds chances. Jake Fraley 3rd most impactful winning play for his team with that double at 13.3% even with the out at 3b.
Getting thrown out at third was annoying…but not impactful. The huge hit was very impactful.
can the impact of Fraley out at 3B be adjusted upwards if the Snakes tie the game or take a 1 run lead at some point?
Every time Fernando comes out of the bullpen I start to hear Abba music in my head.
+500
Ugh Momma Mia
My nomination for Reds 2023 Abba (and maybe overall) theme, “The Winner Takes It All” (and the loser has to fall).
When Weaver is in, I’m reminded of S O S.
What a heads-up cover by Cruz. Steer gets bailed out. Great scoop and toss by India.
Steer having a tough day today. That was a rocket.
I don’t know if “bailed out” is right. 106 mph skipping off the ground. He is lucky to get a glove on it
True enough. It was a nice 3-4-1 in the end. Cruz didn’t give up on it after it got deflected.
one add on run here would do wonders for the nerves
“If I had to do the same again I would my friend Fernando”
I think Law got through 6th inning by getting their best 2 hitters, Marte and Carrol, out was crucial. It made the job easier for other relievers to get through 7 and 8th, and hopefully 9th.
Sims in the 9th……get another run please
Only the 3rd time in 23 years we’ve been within 3.5 of 1st at the 100 game mark. That’s sad. I think this bunch changes all that and a ring or 2 like Houston
I think it’s our best opportunity. Probably over the next 4 years +/- to get 2 rings if the BobPhil Monster doesn’t tear it all down before that.
I’m thinking Jobu is at GABP, but he’s very hung over today. Maybe it’s just enough to get us through. I certainly hope so.
Better take from Friedl there. Swing the bat and take your chances unless the defense is absolutely giving you a hit with an even mediocre bunt.
I called it back in April, I will call it again. This is how a bullpen gets taxed. Not just from pitching so many innings but from so many relievers coming out.
That is a great swing by McLain.
“Two hit” McClain comes through again. Best hitter on the team for my money.
I think you are correct. Great discipline at the plate.
Steer-stud
There we go!!!
RBI covers a multitude of sins. This is the Reds team we’ve hoped would show up today.
Good job by the top of the order this inning. (2,3,4)
Maybe PH Benson here? You’ll lose the DH in the shuffle for the 9th, but …
Or maybe India just gets on base.
OK….lets put a fork in this game right here!
Love to see this blown open and Sims get rest before tomorrow.
Can CES bring home the salami?!?
nothing wrong with 2 there either!
Grand salami right here
I think CES has added to this offense and 26 man roster!!!
What are they going to do with Newman?
Send him to rehab. 🙂
Rehab is step 1 I’d guess; or they finally cave on the 3 catcher scheme and part company with Casali. Or somebody else has suffered a nonbaseball-related situation and will go to the IL.
Close enough for me.
CES is just such a good hitter. Was worried he would be swinging for the fences all the time.
Same. But he resisted it an plates 2.
I’m guessing Sadak’s head just exploded again.
Welsh commenting on these being oppo hits.
Yeah baby
CES up, bases juiced one out and he hits a rocket to Right Center to drive in 2 and salt the game away. I have a feeling CES is going to come up really big in this Milwaukee series.
Yep. CES is your #4 hitter. Make the switch NOW Mr. Bell.
“He has work to do still “
Mr. Bell still has work to do.
Did you notice India is quietly in the 6-hole today?
Maybe needs to be “quietly” moved down a little farther. 🙂
Yep, in 2024 the top of the line up is going to be scary.
1. Friedle
2. McLain
3. Elly
4. CES
They will Score a boatload of runs.
OK, now I’m thinking Benson is dinged up. PH him for Senzel would have been as close to a no-brainer as I could think of.
I think he is just letting Senzel play the whole game because he hasn’t played much. That’s what he does with Maile and Casali
I think they like Senzel’s defense better so not surprised they didn’t switch him out with the lead.
I think either Senzel or Steer would make a very sold LF’er if they played there regularly. And Senzel can still play some CF, but that’s where the injuries happened.
On the Senzel injury front, remember the first “big one” was Vertigo. Nothing much you can do about that.
I’m with you on Steer. He might even be my opening day LF. No way on Senzel, he doesn’t hit well enough. The Senzel injury thing is fake news and been disproved on multiple occasions.
Has to make one wonder. It might be just under the weather.
I like this, lots of hits on the day.
Would hit Benson or Votto for senzel. Bell seemed to relax or prefers nicks defense. Hopefully Stoudt can do his job and reds hit the road on a high note.
Reds Over 4.5. Had it all the way
OK, Levi. Just need 3 measly outs here. Nothing fancy. Just get the job done.
Don’t like this. Stoudt walks too many
Has to make one wonder. It might be just under the weather.
Can we please have the Brewers lose today vs the Braves….
I don’t absolutely hate that from Fraley. Now Stoudt just needs to ignore the runner on 3rd and focus on Marte.
Trusting Stoudt w a 4 run lead and top of the order.
The Bell Method.
EDLC needs to sit down with CES, McLain. And steer about going with the pitch. Controlled swings.
He needs to stop taking the fastball down the middle. Just setting him up for the crap pitches. Suarez was notorious for that.
Is there anyone else left in the pen? Why Stoudt?
Let’s see…is he throwing a four seam fb or a slider?
Braves just took the lead
Need a pair of Bike Helmets here. That would settle things down.
Big K of Carroll.
Bell tried to one up (in term of dumb and dumber) Az manager. My manager walked India to get to CES, so Bell said you know, I can do better than you by bringing in Stoudt 🙂
Why take him out now?
Not a good way to build confidence by yanking a pitcher when he is trying to maintain a 4 run lead.
Agreed. At least he goes out on a higher note. Hope Sims can induce Bike Helmets and throw no more than 4-5 pitches.
Why is he on the roster?
So Sims has room for his obligatory walk of the first batter.
I don’t get it either. I think he made up his mind to pull him after carroll at bat no matter the outcome
Yep. Definitely seems that way
I love Ozzie Albie 🙂
Hmmm? I was thinking Stoudt might let 2 reach out of 3 then Sims almost always puts a guy/two on. Hope it works out
Well that was some great commentary on tv. Freaking Sadak asks Brantley what he thinks of them leaving Stoudt in after the 2 runners got on base and Brantley has no idea what he’s talking
Obviously Stoudt had to stay in to face his 3rd batter, so it was some pretty scintillating TV conversation there for about a minute of Brantley trying to fill time reacting to Sadak’s nonsense
6 relievers today when Bell could have gotten through with 3.
Again, this is how you tax a bullpen.
You fix a big part of the problem by getting rid of Weaver. He can’t be counted on (usually for no more then about 4 innings). Bring up Phillips.
Which three?
It’s The Bell Way! He just can’t help himself! He has to use a minimum of 4 RPs per game!
Don’t really feel super safe with Sims in. H+e’s just too erratic with his control and he grooves too many pitches for home runs
What is this control you speak of?
Crap. Why Stoudt in the 1st place in the 9th
I had no problem with Stoudt with a 4 run lead. Got a big unlucky on the first hit. He struck out the biggest threat. Would have liked to see him get the chance to finish it.
On another day with a 6 run lead, maybe.
Stoudt may have some latent ability but it needs work.
The slam range part made me nervous. Up 5… I would say let him get thru it.
Yeah, Jake almost held on there, great effort.
Yay sweep!
This is why I was nervous about Sims in the ninth. He hardly ever retires them in order.
Walked him and now the bases loaded. Oooooh Boy.
Bell is a genius
+500 to you for the 😀
Nothing to HDTBell 😛
What the double play? I will shut up now. Go Reds.
Never in doubt!!!!
Made me nervous & now jubilant
Sims needs to practice how to get into games. Always seems to start with multiple balls
That’ll do. Five in a row! 🙂
Bike Helmets it is!!!
And the Snake Eradication Project is now complete. Swept into the Ohio River. We are now ahead of them in the WC standings, aren’t we?
Stoudt has a live arm and really changes speeds. He could be #3-#4 starter imo if he can pitch enough to learn on the job. He just has health issues, but the arm is there
Yeah, I’d say Sims deserves an S for that one.
Bell with another head scratcher, but at least enough sense for the quick hook.
Bus ticket to Louisville for Stoudt.
Reds win 5th in row… Now go to Milwaukee to face the Brewers having a winning streak and some momentum again… The BP is very taxed going to those next three games…
As a side note, I thought Stoudt threw the ball pretty well…seemed to be getting a little squeezed by the umpire and he was facing the top of the order. Big strikeout of Corbin with two on and nobody out, right after that 3-2 pitch to Marte that looked like it very easily could have been strike three instead of ball four. He’s got pretty good stuff
This particular Chumpire had a rather tight zone but appeared to be far more consistent than many we’ve seen of late.
Stoudt’s WHIP is 2.32. 8 walks in 10 innings.
Diamond in the rough maybe.
I hope he works it out .
Nice run against two very good teams in the Giants and D Backs. Maybe saved the season. Now go punch the Brewers in the face.
Yep. We’ll take 5 of 7 pretty much any day of the week.
The good guys now lead the WC race. Five in a row. Brewers trail by 2 in the 8th and we move to a minus 3 run differential. A good day and a good series. Thank you Reds
Quite a change from past seasons: bullpen, well done.
True.
That would have gone South in a hurry.
No lead was ever safe.
Nothing has been as grim here as years and years of bad Reds’ bad BPs.
When LT said in the first game thread of this series “may the better team win” I told you it was obviously the Reds.
And you saw it with your own eyes
+1,000 for that prognostication
Not a shred of doubt 🙂 also I wanted to find out how good AZ is and the answer is not really impressed. But maybe it’s just a circle of life called baseball: MKE beat the crap out of us, Alt is beating MKE, AZ beat Atl, and we beat AZ. When we were down losing to MKE, I said and I might trade mark it “We don’t play MKE everyday, we’ll be fine”.
Good Grief!!! The shoulders on that kid. No neck to speak of.
Rocking the shades with Day!
Honest question …
Does the current CES performance inspire EDLC to get a little more disciplined and light it up again?
Can’t hurt that’s for sure. 🙂
Unlikely, from my vantage.
Not being a Cassandra, but I think the EDLC evolution is going to be slow and fitful.
+500
Fair response, Harry. At least I hope it doesn’t cause him to press harder. “Slow and fitful” probably describes it well.
No shade on him….
Still only 21, rapid rise, holes in his game coming up through MiLB now being magnified along with the thrills.
Was just looking at Tucker on the Asterisks.
That guy took a few seasons to put it all together, too.
I think he’ll get there, but it will require some patience, too.
The super high expectations probably don’t help.
Nor do comps w McLain, Steer or CES.
India is more of a concern at this point.
TBH, I can’t figure out why Bell insists on leading off with EDLC unless Bell wants him to work on his patience. As a lead off hitter, you should out emphasize on seeing as many pitches as possible, not just for you but for the hittters behind you. On average though, and I did not check the fact on this, but I am guesstimating that EDLC only sees about 4-5 pitches an at bat. That number needs to go up to at least 6-7. Be more selective as a lead off hitter.
CES said something about that: “Fouling off the close ones so I don’t leave it up to the umpire.”
Pretty mature.
“Fouling off the close ones so I don’t leave it up to the umpire.”
Awesome
I can breathe again! Wow!
Oh … THERE you are, Dennis. We was worried about you for a bit.
Was following the game on my phone! Hard to post on RLN using my phone’s keypad!
Chalk another one up for The Dream.
What’s that? 9 out of the last 10?
Something like that.
Iggy Pop on to face the bottom of the Bernies line-up
Iggy did NOT get popped. Bravos over Bernies and we’re a game closer heading to MKE.
Game over. Braves Win! We’re now a 1/2 back going into Milwaukee. 🙂
This series likely to be more tense than the last two.
Hopefully more loose since we have a five game winning streak. Momentum is on our side. 🙂
I really think they should let Weaver throw at least one pitch in every game. He could start the game and then feel “sick” after the first pitch. Or he could enter the game in a situation where there’s nobody on base, two outs, and weak hitters due up. Since he’s not contributing anything other than being a good luck charm, they should at least take full advantage of it.
I attended Friday night’s game against the snakes. Great crowd, great game. Had their “meal deal”, which included a large hot dog, a small amount of chips and a large soda for five bucks. In any sports arena in L A, you would pay more than five bucks for a soda. Anyway, really enjoyed the game.