The Reds hope to bounce back tonight in the pivotal third game of their current series with the Cubs at Wrigley Field. If you haven’t brought yourself to check the NL Central standings after the Reds debacle Tuesday, the Reds lead the Brewers by half a full game and the Cubs by 4 going into tonight’s action.
Starting Lineups
| REDS | CUBS
SP: Drew Smyly |
| 1. Kevin Newman (2B) 2. Nick Senzel (3B) 3. Matt McLain (SS) 4. Spencer Steer (LF) 5. Christian Encarnacion-Strand (DH) 6. Joey Votto (1B) 7. Tyler Stephenson (C) 8. Stuart Fairchild (CF) 9. Will Benson (RF) |
1. Nico Hoerner (2B) 2. Christopher Morel (DH) 3. Cody Bellinger (CF) 4. Dansby Swanson (SS) 5. Ian Happ (LF) 6. Yan Gomes (C) 7. Seiya Suzuki (RF) 8. Jeimer Candelario (3B) 9. Patrick Wisdom (1B) |
Starting Pitchers
| Pitcher | IP | ERA | WHIP | BB % | K% |
| Brandon Williamson (L) | 64.1 | 4.48 | 1.37 | 10.0% | 17.8% |
| Drew Smyly (L) | 108.0 | 4.50 | 1.35 | 7.9% | 20.7% |
| Links: Brandon Williamson’s Stats | Drew Smyly’s Stats |
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Brandon Williamson
Rookie leftie Brandon Williamson has emerged as a key rotation member as the Reds attempt to navigate through the injuries to Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo. A difficult month of June ended with Williamson’s ERA/FIP at .582/.586 through 8 MLB starts. His immediate future in MLB was being questioned. However Williamson righted the ship in July by posting an ERA of 2.45 (3.97 FIP) in 5 starts, with 3 won by the Reds. The Reds hope to see a continuation of the July version of Williamson tonight.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 213 | 47 | 15 | 1 | 10 | 21 | 38 | .246 | .324 | .492 |
| LHH | 56 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 10 | .250 | .327 | .292 |
Williamson is handedness neutral for batting average and OBP. However RH hitters slug at a much higher percentage against him than LH hitters.
Pitch Usage
| 4-Seam | Cutter | Slider | Curve | Change | |
| Velo | 92.8 | 88.9 | 81.8 | 73.1 | 84.3 |
| Usage | 36.9% | 26.2% | 16.0% | 7.3% | 13.6% |
Williamson’s 4 seamer and cutter have the speed and action variation to work off of each other. The slider adds adds its double break action to speed variation off of either fastball. The straight change can lock up hitters thinking the speed tips it as a slider. The curve is a special delight to drop on unsuspecting hitters.
Drew Smyly
Drew Smyly is an impersonation of the crafty lefthander characterization. He is in his second decade as a MLB pitcher with a career ERA right on MLB average for his tenure.
After working strictly as a reliever back in 2013 (63 appearances), he has spent the balance of his career predominately as a starter (175 of 260 total career appearances). However, 2 of Smyly’s 21 appearances in 2023 have been out of the Cubs bullpen. Thus tonight marks his 20th start of the season.
Smyly is coming off a tough month of July. In five appearances (3 starts), he posted an ERA/FIP of 6.65/5.53 and allowed an OPS of .940 in 21.2 innings of work.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 365 | 79 | 20 | 0 | 15 | 30 | 76 | .242 | .308 | .442 |
| LHH | 103 | 30 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 21 | .319 | .369 | .553 |
No, the red ink in Smyly’s split chart is not an accident. He appears to have severe reverse splits.
Pitch Usage
| Cutter | Sinker | Knuckle Curve | |
| Velo | 88.6 | 91.7 | 78.2 |
| Usage | 11.9% | 40.8% | 47.3% |
Smyly has an unusual pitch repertoire. Per Statcast, he uses only 3 pitch types: and one of them, the knuckle curve, is a rare bird these days. He has enough speed variation between his two fastball types to keep batters unsure about which might be coming. The deceptive dual threat of the knuckle curve allows it to serve as both a breaking ball and change of pace. Look for him to use the cutter off the sinker and the knuckle curve off of either other pitches.
Bullpens
The first two games of the series have been blow outs, one to each team’s favor. To protect his bullpen each losing manager left his starter in the game to throw a full length stint. Each manager also used a position player as a pitcher to finish out the game.
Consequently, neither team should feel any pressure or constraints involving their top flight leverage relievers.
News Worth Noting
Doug has posted his Reds Midseason Top 25 Prospect List on our companion site, Red’s Minor Leagues.
There is good news about Hunter Greene.
Hunter Greene tossed two scoreless frames with three strikeouts last night in his first rehab outing in the Arizona Complex League. #Reds pic.twitter.com/hE7L0u4zRX
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) August 2, 2023
When and Where
- Game time: 8:05pm ET
- Where: Wrigley Field
- Watch: Bally Sports Ohio, MLB.tv
- Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: 80°, partly cloudy, 1% chance of rain
NL Central Standings
| TEAM | W/L | Win % | GB | Last 10 |
| Reds | 59/50 | .541 | – | 6-4 |
| Brewers | 58/51 | .537 | 1.0 | 3-7 |
| Cubs | 54/53 | .505 | 4.0 | 8-2 |
| Pirates | 48/58 | .453 | 9.5 | 6-4 |
| Cardinals | 47/61 | .435 | 11.5 | 3-7 |
Good to see a few pitchers in Doug’s updated prospect list. Seems like all season we’ve had position players busting at the seams to come up, but we’ve been forced to bring up pitchers early.
Wow! That was ugly last night! We failed to get the ball in the end zone and had to settle for 3 field goals while the Bears racked up 20 points!
Oops! Wrong sport! All kidding aside, last night is over and forgotten! Time to move on and play smart baseball tonight!
After 8 games on this 10-game road trip we are at 4-4! Need to finish strong and leave the Windy City in 1st place!
The good news is that the Bernies blew their game against the Washington Gnats on a throwing error in the bottom of the 9th inning!
Hope the bats show up and score 9 runs again while holding the Stupid Cubs to NO runs like we did against the Dodgers!
I will take any score, as long as the Reds end up on top.
Buckle up, RLN! Playing in Wrigleyville is always an adventure.
See the Teacher’s Pet, aka Newman, is being rewarded after his abysmal performance last night with another start AND batting leadoff! Have my blood pressure cuff on my arm and prepared to rant until we wipe the smile off of Smyly’s face and the Cubs relief pitching change forces Bell to make some substitutions!
And, as much as I love Votto, this would be a good game for him to sit out until later in the game if needed as a PH!
And back at 2B after that disastrous 1st inning last night. If he picks that 1st one, it is quite possibly a GIDP, and who knows what happens next
Just one simple question, Jim! Why?
How the heck is Benson not leading off? The pitcher they are facing has reverse stats (lefty who stinks against lefties). Yet, Newman is batting. Heck.. why is Newman even playing? Isn’t there anyone better in AAA then this guy?
Newwwwwmaaaaaaan
As a matter of fact, Matt Reynolds is better than Newman and deserves a chance in place of this guy.
Have to admit Reynolds is having a pretty good year. .290/390/579
18 HR – 63 RBI
He just hit 2 HRs. Maybe let Bell do the deciding.
Kevin Newman keeps making people look foolish with him hitting doubles and scoring runs. I’m pulling for him. There was no error on Newman yesterday but suppose you all will say he is also the Scorekeepers pet.
Lively to the IL, good thing we didn’t grab another starter
We should see Phillips now
Just saw where we’ll miss Alcantara next week, but get Cueto next Tuesday. Miami is losing like crazy, but their lineup is kind of scary
Did have anything to do with the manager pushing a guy who obviously didn’t have his best (or any stuff) last night for 4 innings? That was a bad move no matter the reasoning.
And several articles praised Bell for sending him back to the mound for an extra 25 pitches. And we don’t need real starting pitcher help. Well the scenario many warned about is here. Bullpen has already worked 9 innings in this series. Another 5 tonight and they will be done. It wouldn’t surprise me if Bell brings up a reliever to replace Lively. Maybe Santillan and his 6 ERA at Louisville. Or Maybe Duarte but he didn’t fly back to Louisville until this morning. No fair saying we couldn’t foresee this. Oh yes you could or should have built yourself some slack. A rental was cheap.
Phillips 1 run thru 4 with Bats leading 4-1. Ramos with #8. I was a little impressed with Ramos to be honest. He had a .356 obp and gave a good at-bat but didn’t show any power. Big arm in RF too. Hopefully Stuey takes this opportunity, but Ramos can play a little. I have no idea why he wasn’t claimed because I see alot of hitters worse then him
Lively to the IL
I have this bad feeling it’s going to be someone we don’t want to see… Stoudt.. Kennedy…
I typed Phillips. Kennedy is pitching tonight. I thought his stuff was actually decent, but of course Phillips has big time stuff
Reds should claim Brent Honeywell, just DFA’d by the Padres.
4.08 ERA, Right handed reliever. Better then some of what we have
India had heel pain for a month. Competitors never want to give up their spot so they play warrior when they are hurt. The dont ever admit it till they stink. Lively probably the same. Gimme the ball. Ill fight through it.
I think so, we saw that with Joey last year.( for example)
Is Lively actually injured, or did Bell just want another guy he can bring in to pitch an inning? I’m thinking it’s the latter, and they’re figuring they’re just as well off having someone else take Lively’s spot, so why not give Bell another 1-inning toy to play with between those starts.
Could be, but are they allowed to do that? Are there some rules or something against it?
It is fun having a team full of guys with speed and some pop. How many Reds are going to go 10 & 10 this year for HRs and SBs? Should have at least seven. There is a decent shot at eight, an outside chance of nine, and a prayer for ten. Current totals (HR/SB):
Fraley (15/19)
India (14/12)
EDLC (7/17)
McLain (11/8)
Benson (7/10)
Friedl (7/17)
Steer (15/9)
Senzel (8/5)
Fairchild (4/9)
Newman (3/7)
I think 8 is a solid bet. It is very cool to have a team that can pop a bit and run. Just wish they didn’t strike out so much.
Newman. you cant stop him in the lead off spot against lefties.
Newman is wonderful.
Senzel fouls off ball 4 then takes strike 3.
At least he saw more than 1 pitch.
THere we go Steer
Cubs broadcast said Wrigley might be only park where that’s gone. What? Have they not been to GABP?
Yeah. haha
Not a bad start. Wind blowing out tonight giving and extra 6 feet of carry. Good to get ahead of the Stupid Cubs in the 1st.
This is a bi game folks. Brewers blew a game and series agaisnt the Nats and Cub are cubs. Win this and reds can get buy Afro more days in first place.
John Smiley with the back door hook for the K
That slurve is nasty tonight. Mixing it up nice early
CES strike 3. Belly no. Star power
Struck bellinger out twice on that walk
Struck Swanson out on ball 3 there too. Just heard this is Tripp Gibson. He is from Mayfield ky (cardinal cou try) Dude is typical ump who is always on a power trip and Reds never get a good game from him.
Where in the world is the strikezone? Have to basically groove one to get a call
It’s looking pretty accurate to me.
Aside from that one low pitch to Swanson called a ball, it appears the zone is tight and pretty much “on the box”. We’ll see if that continues through the game or if at some point the Bizzarro Zone appears.
It would be one thing if the ump just has a tight zone, but CES K was worse then 2-3 of Williamson’s “balls”. Kid has great stuff tonight though. Needs some quicker outs
It comes down to what it usually comes down to.
Ty can’t frame it to get the call.
Bell says Joey can hit this lefty
Votto and bell on it with the reverse splits.
421
BUT BUT BUT He’s old…. we need starting pitching…. BUT…..
Votto not dead yet. 😀 BIG HR to CF!
Against a lefty. 🙂
Awesome to see Joey getting his groove back.
What do you guys think of going robot umps for the strikes and balls?
I prefer the challenge system that the minors were using. Seems like the middle ground but fixes what we just saw in the bottom of the first.
I concur. With the technology we have now there’s no reason not to use it.
Probably the challenge system. It makes more sense to me. But most nights, I’d prefer the full robo ump over the Chumpires we see time and time again.
Votto homered off lefty? Man we’re going to WS.
We do need starting pitching though.
Votto to the cubs is Pujols to the Reds.
Is Votto the all-time greatest visiting hitter in Wrigley history? Does anyone have any stats? I don’t, but it sure seems like he just crushes every time he goes to Chicago. Hope it continues.
He hit well in Houston too, as well as Milwaukee.
Votto to the cubs is Pujols to the Reds.
Does anyone have the exit velocity on Joey’s HR
101.9
Thank you Old School. Much obliged
101.9
Senzel is a good 3b…Maybe they bring him bakc as a super utility guy..Hes really good with the glove
Exhibit 113 of why Senzel on 3rd and not Steer, when they are in the field together.
Exhibit 114
Senzel can play 3rd regularly as far as I’m concerned.
Against lefties I agree! Against righties, who do you bench?
Senzel
Williamson has all his pitches working so far. Problem I see is he starts nibbling once he gets to 2 strikes and that runs his pitch count up. Put these stinky Cubs hitters away with your best pitch, the cutter.
He’s missing real close. Good pitches, tip of the hat to Cubs hitters for not chasing.
Sweet pickin’ by Senzel. 3rd is definitely his best position.
LarkinPhllips said Senzel isn’t a ball player I beg to differ. So does Brantley.
He makes two good plays at third and he is suddenly relieved of other errors? I stand by the fact that he is a super athlete, but not a baseball player in the terms of making smart baseball plays like the nuance of swinging at the first pitch 4 straight ABs or taking terrible routes to fly balls or making numerous tootblans. I like senzel and hope I am proven wrong.
What’s his career OPS? How about career WAR? Not good. I am glad he’s still here as a bench guy since he has hit LHP well this season. Bet Krall didn’t get any good offers for him.
I say this because of all the Senzel defenders on here. I root for him to be successful in his life and on the field.
I really like how he varies his speed. 8 pitches that last AB and all different speeds with up to a 20mph difference
i would put Newman as the 26th roster guy and it s not close. He doesnt do anything elite. Fairchild gives you a 4th OF who can play 3 OF positions. Senzel plays a good 3b and has versatility and hits lefties.
Agree completely. SF is also faster for either a late game sub or defensive outfield replacement.
Yeah. Elite pinch runner late in the game.
I can tell you the scouting report on McLain. Throw him sinkers
Nice track and catch by Benson. Made the runner freeze as well.
Old-school I agree. Especially Senzel and Newman. They know they’re generally going to come off the bench with an occasional start. It would be foolish to waste a younger player in that situation.
Benson good play coming in. Maybe he’s learning to play deeper. 🙂
Bummer. Morel is a hacker. Give him something close and he’ll chase, but BW hung a changeup for him
If my calculations are correct then Joey is having his highest HRs per ABs of his career
Saw on Twitter that he is on a 47 HR pace.
Not much doubt he will lead the team in HR by the end of the season.
..and he just added another one!!! hahaha!!!
Calculations are pretty simple now. Wow
CES nice AB and legs out a double
Smyly 71 pitches though 3.1
He has decent speed.
I got nothing on Joey Votto.
Votto “figuring things out” once again. His big thing now, he says, is to concentrate on not striking out. If he does that, he says, the OPS will be good. So far so good. 😀
Unbelievable
CES is starting to look like a professional hitter. Just like I expected him to. It’s only the beginning. The kid is going to rake for a very long time.
BUT BUT BUT AGAIN!!!!
Joey Wrigley!
I do t know what is real and what is not anymore. Like a twightkight zone
And most of the people on here say Votto’s washed up.
Not me. I don’t like crow. I’ve tasted it before. 😀
I’ve criticized Votto the last 2 weeks. I’m about ready to eat crow. If he gets hot, he could carry these young guys.
+1,000
History says that he is hot for about 2-3 game stretch and then go on a cold spell. I hope it’s different this time but I doubt it. But enjoy while it lasts and I’ll join you in the crow eating if he stays hot long.
Well, he’s been good for at least a week right now.
I would like to see Fairchild steal on the first pitch.
Stephenson isn’t the same guy he was pre injury
I agree, but is probably still a league average hitting catcher.
Defense…not so much.
I wouldn’t be upset if he and Maile were a 50/50 split
I believe Maile might have they upper hand on him post injury.
Tysteve is still young and I hope he bounces back, but he receives the ball very poorly and is now struggling on offense greatly.
Got to love this inning. Unless you are Smyly.
Votto is really complicating matters for the “Votto needs to retire” crowd.
And CES is doing the same for the “But I thought CES was supposed to be a good hitter” crowd.
I’m even having trouble finding things to complain about with Bell so far today.
Life is complicated.
+500
Man. Your head must be spinning. 🙂
Better keep scoring runs tonight.
first team to 10 runs wins. August in Wrigley in a pennant race.
Sign me up though.
With the wind blowing out
Only 4-6 mph though. They showed it on Cubs broadcast. 6 to left and 4 to right
Anyone else notice these are all night games?
Remember when you couldn’t do that in Wrigleyville?
Good for the players. Less stress on the body in the cooler night air.
I wasn’t going to give Votto credit for HR in a 5-0 game where LA quit, but tonight? And the first game on Monday? He’s been huge. Bell had a hunch even though he was 1-13 off Smyly
Just got in so let me apologize for my pregame comment that Joey against any lefty was risky.I stand corrected and say GO REDS and GO JOEY
Oh it was risky. For Smyly.
Don’t sweat it. I’ve been a Joey defender but the man needs his days off to be a more productive player.
This Cubs lineup is really pesky….The Reds should keep scoring…
Newman 1 pitch 1 out.
Senzel. Swings at first pitch curve. Chases two more balls to strike out. Again, not good fundamental baseball.
Whatever. But he is a ball player.
So you think he is fundamentally sound? We will have to agree to disagree.
On a side note, I always like reading your posts and enjoyed debating with you.
Well there you go from Sadak….…joey 26 bombs at wrigley. Most of any red and 3rd most of any Red at opposing park.
johnny Bench 32 at Fulton County and Big klu 2nd at stadium I’ve already forgotten. Probably NY.
Polo grounds
Need a Jim Walker Louisville report on Antone. 1 scoreless with a K tonight. I’d say 95 mph and above is good for velocity
Topped out at 94.8.
Dummy me didn’t realize Tejay Antone was in AAA. That would be huge to get him back.
Rookie growing pains. Got to hang in there.
Cease 1.2 ip, 7H, 7ER tonight.
Yikes.
Dangerous to assume anything
Giolito got lit up earlier today
This Bell line up has to many holes.
They didn’t go get a better righty stick then Newman and Senzel. That’s on Krall
What holes? The only current holes are in are current starting pitcher rotation.
Williamson had such good stuff in the 1st. Kind of a bummer, better go get him soon
He needs to get 15 outs. Hes got 14
Hopefully he scraps through 5. But no way more than that.
HE gets pulled .. there is going to be some major league AAA shuttle bullpen moves every 3 days the next few weeks
Would Mclain had gotten that ball ?
Yep
Lively trusted his heater too much. BW not enough. Both long HRs on offspeed. If you miss, have to miss down
Morels plate coverage and swings reminds me of Javy Baez. Will chase anything but will crush your mistakes.
Fairchild had no clue
That’s bs. Farmer just dotted the corner on Morel for strike 3
These #$& umps
Gotta make that catch in the ‘show”.
I thought Fairchild should have had that.
You think! He butchered that
And defense is his forte. LOL
Not to pick on Fairchild but this is another reason I’m for EDLC in CF. When is the last time we had a CF with great speed, great range, great arm, and that could hit really well?
Visiting teams play so tentative in that outfield. Plus the chance of injury is so high.
That wasn’t a full speed play though. If he were running towards the wall I would agree.
He was back there with plenty of time to get to the wall and catch it.
Well the umpires have been doing it all night he took strike three but he didn’t give it to the Reds he’s been giving that pitch to the Cubs P all night but not the Reds P and then Fairchild just totally blows that cstch in CF…that was not that hard of a catch… that was brutal
Fairchild, you have to make that play.
That Farmer 2 strike pitch got more plate then the K to CES
We get cheated almost every game
Great play from Newman.
The Reds pitching just put 4 zeroes in 13 innngs since yesterday
Couple bad breaks for Farmer. He threw strike three and probably should have had fly ball out. Big strike out against the Cubs best hitter. Good concentration and professionalism by Farmer.
Probable? The ball was in the air for two hours.
Our OF is 0-3 vs the ivy
This umpire tonight is really pissing me off. The important borderline strike calls are going for the Cubs and against the Reds pitchers… it’s just not right. Should still be 5-3 Reds except for the biased/bad hhome plate chumpire.
This series huge. Reds lost to the Brewers. If they want to play in the post season…next 2 games matter. they had this game. Gotta win or arent really better than the Brewers or Cubs. See what they do.
Brand new game. Let’s go.
Bell has to realize that defense matters, I believe Freidl makes that play.
Yep, the misplay by Fairchild cost 2 runs…not good at all. He looked completely lost on a ball that he was under and that didn’t touch the wall… and he just wiffed on the catch. Friedl likely makes that play without much trouble. And it doesn’t make sense that Friedl wasn’t starting because Smiley’s splits were very tilted towards left-handed hitters getting the better of him all year.
Freidl and Fraley both missed balls just like that on Monday
In defense of our outfielders the Cubs really NEED to pad that wall. It’s just ridiculous.
Tired of listening to AAA stats . AAA pitching garbage . they play 6 games in a row against each other and it’s august. Anygood pitcher would be in MLB already.
Bell just can’t help himself! Why not let Williamson see if he can finish the 5th!
But No! Gotta start with RP Roulette hoping that all 4 or 5 RPs are on their game!
So, we get the BAD Astronaut Farmer tonight and now a tie game giving the Stupid Cubs hope that they can win!
And, don’t forget, we have Dream Weaver pitching tomorrow which will, in all likelihood, require more than one relief pitchers!
The minute the Cubs put a right handed pitcher in Bell should have put in Freidl and EDLC for defensive purpose. He never thinks ahead. Three more years of this poor manager.
Baseball is a thinking man’s game which is a challenge for Bell. Slow to react, never thinks ahead! But the players like him so that warrants 3 more years!
Farmer walks the leadoff hitter.
Get him out! Now!
Just curious. Did that leadoff batter walk score? 🙂
We lost
Buck Farmer is Heath Hembree and Hunter Strickland
He stinks .. Hes done. Hes terrible.
They have a ton of guys already and now Gomes is on fire
OK, I’ve seen enough! Time to Clete! Maybe Weaver will throw a No-Hitter tomorrow!
So glad Krall didn’t make a trade for pitching. This pitching staff is going to be just fine.
yep
Bottom line in a game the team really needed Bell put a C line up out there and it is burning him.
As soon as I saw the lineup after yesterday’s game and starting line-up I thought the same thing. I can’t believe he’s starting the C line up two games in a row vs the red hot Cubs. Newman looks slow both games.. turning out into hits because he’s not getting to the balls quick enough hit to him at 2nd.
Nick Krall has no idea how bad this Starting pitching staff is or how massively overused the BP is….this is on him.
A lot of game left but gotta stop the bleeding here. Can give up any more runs.
Williamson walked leadoff and he scored. Buck walks leadoff and he scored. Had a 3 run lead twice. I think we’re going 1-3 in Wrigley. They’re hot, but they have 6 with Atlanta and Milwaukee can’t do squat.
We just have to take care of business at home and if we split this series then it’s a bonus
That’s a stat I’d like to see. How many times have the Reds walked the leadoff batter and that runner scored this year?
I would imagine Bell will actually start our best lineup again tomorrow and there’s a good chance we’ll win and split in Chicago, which is fine. Im done watching this trainwreck tonight, cya tomorrow.
That hurts.
Last night was the perfect example of why don’t the Reds have a long reliever. Cubs had a guy come out of the bullpen the first game and throw 50 pitches and kept them in the game and saved the bullpen. Last night Lively wasn’t on but the Reds were only down 5-2 early and still in it. Yet they send Lively out there, who obviously didn’t have it. Reds got a bunch of one inning guys and wonder why they are burned out. Last year they had Hoffman and Lorenzen use to pitch multiple innings when he came out of the bullpen. Now they have about 5 guys who lead the league in appearances. Not good
I thought Kennedy the older guy who started the Nationals game in Wahington would have been perfect in that role and I thought he had the right demeanor for it too….but what do I know
Cubs will end up winning the Central.
Man, off the bat that looked catchable.
Farmer and Sims, smh
I took a nap so I will watch as this game reaches double digit scoring on both sides, as long as the Cubs take out CFY (my shorthand for average pitchers that the Reds turn into studs – hint the C is for Cy and the Y is for Young).
We don’t even have an out yet.
Sims out of the 8th evidently? So Gibaut is the setup now? We better hope Antone is back? Maybe try Richardson and/or Phillips
The baseball seems to show to Krall the Reds pitching staff weakness since yesterday … Incredible how the Cubs are hitting even after scoring 20 runs…
I am out as well.Williamson walks the lead guy in the 5th,Fairchild gift wraps 2 runs,Buck walks the lead guy in the 6th and he scores just like the lead guy in the 5th.Stayed last night but not tonight.As old school said if we cant beat the Brewers and the Cubs well you know.
It feels like it’s getting late. Both for me and our Reds. I’m afraid I need to wrap my commenting. Still not over by any stretch.
Until that add on.
Cubs might get to 20 again
Sims allowing .153 I think and they’re just whaling on him
Sims needs to go. Yesterday.
Agree, if he never pitches again for the Reds it’s a plus
1 infield hit and 1 floater over the infield. It happens.
By time the season is over these guys are going to have about 70-80 appearances. That’s not good for this year or next.
Counting on Weaver to save the day. Uh-oh
The good news is that the Reds didn’t mortgage the future by adding a couple pitchers who could have helped win this year. And the players really enjoy playing for Bell, so his strategic decisions don’t matter. It’ll all work out great, I guess.
Hey Indy, these bullpen guys remind you of David Hernandez?
No, he was hopeless at the end. These guys have been really good except for Farmer. We should’ve went out and got Brook Raley or somebody though
These guys arms will fall off like Hernandez at this pace.
Sims just needs to get hit around before he realizes that he has a game to pitch. It’s like he sleep walks his way into it. Smh
Maybe Sims is about to have a “shoulder strain” so they can bring up a new toy for Bell to play with for a few days.
The Fairchild non-catch was the turning point in this game
Side rant why does Children’s (the only game in town) need to waste money on advertising?
When the Reds hit well and run the bases well, it’s supposedly because they like playing for Bell so much, and he makes them want to play really hard. Ok, but where is all this desire when Fairchild makes that rather weak effort to catch the fly ball, Senzel can’t make a relatively easy (for him) throw to first, Newman makes a rather weak effort to play that ball yesterday, Elly has continued refusing to take pitches out of the zone, guys continue to strike out on check swings and called third strikes, nobody knows how to move a runner over, relief pitchers keep walking the first batter they face, etc. etc. Does playing hard only apply to hitting and running the bases?
Sorry, obviously not meant as a reply to your rant. (That would be a really weird reply…)
Defense not so good tonight. Bad play by Senzel. Cost another two runs.
Not to mention the Cubs are stealing everything. The Reds are not…. Again
Yep. Not playing “our game” tonight so far. Hopefully we can still come back. Not too often you can say defense lost the game but that’s pretty much the case tonight so far. At least it’s playing a big part. Still time to redeem ourselves. 🙂
I think we got rattled a bit tonight. Give credit to the Cubs though. They put balls in play, forced out to make defensive plays and we just didn’t
the walks weren’t in play
Senzel not having his best night. I say pitch Maile again and they’ll be tired of rounding the bases vs Weaver
these last 2 games makes me remember when they played at Coors field…Holly sh…
Fairchild was in the ivy? Idk…could’ve caught it but I said the same thing Monday.
I thinking turning point was borderline 2-2 to Morel called a ball. Same pitch they rung up CES on in the 1st
That’s on Ty…refuses to frame pitches.
It changes EVERYTHING.
Shaky defense is making subpar pitching even worse. Last night and tonight. It is very hard to watch.
The team looks lost and a lot of that is on Bell and his crazy line up construction. Another issue is Stephenson behind the plate, he is horrible.
5 runs by the 5th? He can’t win with RLN.
Pull Elly he stinks. Sits him and he’s still wrong
Some many bad things have happened tonight. We are still a long way from being a team that compete for championships. Need starters that go 6 innings consistently. Need to play a lot better defensively. Need a bullpen with at least 2 or 3 shutdown relievers. Also manager needs to step his game up. We are a lot better than I expected this year except for Lodolo and Greene.
Friedl has been mostly awful in July. Rather just let Fairchild hit.
Of course. I’m claiming credit for the reverse jinx!
That didn’t age well
It obviously only happened because I posted.
Got anything to get us 6 runs?
Nick Krall thinks he is a genius..he is not. Any idiot could see this pitching staff needed massive help
Stevenson refuses to take a walk…this at bat was typical…gets up 3-1 & then swings at ball 4…then rolls out weakly…sick of watching it
There’s one.
Cubs down to 3. I recommend they win tomorrow
Friedl!! There’s one back. 🙂
Taking pitches is not in the Reds criteria.
Brewers have given the Reds a chance to build a bigger lead in the NL central but they can’t take advantage of it. Very very frustrating.
Need to put the best team on the field (on a regular basis) regardless of who’s pitching.
Well an argument can be made tonight that our “subs”, Fairchild, Newman, and Senzel, haven’t played their best this game.
If they never throw another strike to Happ or Yelich I would be very happy.
HR derby. Ridiculous tonight
Well we better ramp it up vs Miami, Arizona, and SF. That’s 10 heads-up with wildcard competition and that’s where we might be headed. SD only 4.5 back too
The Cubs are killing Reds pitching. Weaver will throw a gem tomorrow because it’s baseball.
Better hope the wind changes.
I guess Young is the mop up guy tonight.
Outfield defense has been exposed this series. Somebody put a fork in the ball
Can’t say the infield has been good either can we?
Reds bullpen tired and worn out, it shows tonight. Also, Lively and Wiliamson not going to go 6 innings with 3 runs or less every time out. Lets hope this is just a off night or bad night for the Reds.
Again?
Getting our butts kicked again.
Senzel. Oooh boy. That’s was six feet over Votto’s head that time.
…and another error on the next play. Get him out of there although it’s probably too late now.
Embarassing.
Embarrassing! What a circus.
Cubs go out and get Candelario from Gnats to improve their team before playing their division leaders. He has three hits and three runs in this game. As I said in previous posts, our competition got better before the trade deadline and we really didn’t. I certainly hope our returning IL guys can stop the bleeding
Can Senzel hit the showers already please
Why is sadak so excited about the cubs kicking the crap out of us?
As I said above (inadvertently responding to a different comment), I wish I saw evidence of the Reds wanting to play hard for Bell in the form of taking more walks, not striking out on check swings and called third strikes, making better efforts to catch fly balls at the wall and block grounders rather than swiping at them, executing situational hitting, attempting to steal bases when it makes sense to steal bases, not walking every first batter you face, making sure the runners are being held on base, etc. etc. Every time they score runs — especially in comeback wins — we hear about how hard they play, and supposedly this is because Bell is such an excellent motivator, but there’s more to winning games than hitting the ball hard and running hard from first to third. I wish I saw maximum effort in all of these other areas, but I don’t. I see a lot of mental errors and sloppy baseball, which I think a different manager would be able to do something about.
But they’ll still be in first place after today, and I’m told the pitching will be fine, so no worries.
When there is no accountability, you get nights like this
But they run really hard around the bases whenever they get a chance, and apparently this means Bell is pushing all the right motivational buttons. Never mind the fact that nobody wants to walk or learn how to bunt or move a runner over or throw strikes or hold runners on base or frame pitches or play fly balls correctly… they run really hard from first to third so they play hard.
Agree. I believe it is okay to let theses guys receive some tough love. Most of these guys will make more in a year than some of us will see in our life. All of these guys want to see the big market money eventually. They need to learn and play each game like it is the most important game of their life.
4 errors in 4 straight batters?
Wow
Are the cubs going to score 20 again tonight? This is embarrassing.
Wow, these Cubs hitters are relentless. Our pitchers not up to the task — 2 nights in a row. Disappointing.
Also not up to the task, I should add — our defense.
Better get Maile up in the bullpen.
He’s worn out after last night maybe? lol Maybe try EDLC. That would be interesting. Don’t want him to get hurt though on a comebacker.
Let Senzel pitch and get some payback 🙂
Okay. Got out of that one…finally. We only now need eight to tie…in two innings. 🙂
Baseball is a crazy game. Williamson Kd the side 1st inning and was mixing it up beautifully. They still score a million again
One of the worst games this season, even worse than yesterday’s
I agree. I’m going to bed.
Three errors alone by Senzel tonight. Not good.
Just as we had all praised his great defense at 3B.
It surely got into his head mentally….which shouldn’t happen.
Anybody that thinks tomorrow is going to be any different is dreaming. The Reds needed pitching and got nothing. The way things are going by the time some of the pitchers come back it won’t matter. Krall really let this team down big time and now it is starting to show on the field. Big game tomorrow and Weaver is pitching.
Enjoyed the next 24 hours my friend. It’s probably our last day in first place for awhile.
This seems eerily like 2021. At least Nick Krall got us two relief pitchers that year.
How do we know if Krall failed the Reds or the Bobs?
Money was not an issue in many of the possible trade scenarios. $2.5M Chapman went for 2 non top 30 prospects. Other teams gained solid starting pitching for Prospect #21 and #25. Many folks on here believe he didn’t need to trade for pitchers. I wasn’t one of them. Time will tell.
Reds will likely to be 7 games out before Hunter Greene throws his next ML pitch.
Just a shame Nick Krall could not help this team at the deadline. I actually don’t blame Krall. My guess is he wasn’t permitted to add payroll.
Regardless, I think the Cubs are now the best team in the NL Central. Probably, the second best team in the National League.
Let’s see their half derriere starters do vs Atlanta this weekend first
I’m thinking Over….like wayyyy Over
Agree with everyone on Stephenson. Wouldn’t be upset if Maile got half the starts in a little competition to start
A subpar marginal manager gets a three year extension, a general mgr that fails to see the dire need for a proven starter, a tired bullpen working on fumes. So much for not trading and basically standing still when your rivals, bolster their chances by doing so. The chickens have come home to roost. Pathetic!
McLain just keeps on going man. Good hitter/player.
By far the best player on the team.
It got ugly quick. Defense cost the team tonight.
Cubs have so far scored 39 runs in 3 games versus the Reds. It’s pretty sad. I am about to stop watching the boys for awhile. Maybe they will turn it around in the meantime? Good night everyone.
And for the love of … Maile again. Maybe they will reach 20 runs in back to back games. That may be a record?
Just a terrible performance by the pitchers and the defense again tonight.Four errors on 4 straight at bats by the Cubs is a very telling sign that this team is not ready to play.I know they love Bell but with his new 3 year deal he can afford to close the door and kick some backsides.This is little league the last two nights and he needs to let them know it is not acceptable.
If he kicked backsides they wouldn’t love him as much. He’ll quietly tell them he’s disappointed and looks forward to a better performance tomorrow, and we’ll see more of the same. And the players will continue to love him because he’s “got their backs.”
“If he kicked backsides they wouldn’t love him as much.”
You guys are cracking me up tonight. 🙂
I think Krall just got a little to cocky without looking at the big picture and boy is he paying for it.
We will have to see the impact Krall no trades had on this team. I wouldn’t worry about Aug, 1-2. Let’s see where we are in a week or so. I know the party line from the Reds dugout is that we kept the crew together. Words don’t count. The 6-8 games after tell the tale. He certainly knew we had a burnt out bullpen and needed some longer starts. But one time through the rotation means nothing. Check back after next Friday and see if we have gained ground on 10 over 500. Saying I don’t know the answer and the data will tell what the dugout believes. But I know a couple of us preached about bullpen workload overload…..The last few games have not been kind to Krall.
here comes Maile in to pitch. I guess the cubs are going to go for 20 runs.
haha Maile throwing batting practice. HR first pitch. These guys saw him last night. They’re ready. lol
…and another one. 🙂
Insult to injury. Maile again. Pitiful
Bell’s thinking of a group hug after the game to show the love.
“Bell’s thinking of a group hug after the game to show the love.”
hahaha 😀
This is going to hurt Maile’s confidence in his pitching. 🙂
Off the top of the wall. ALMOST another one. lol
Has to be embarrassing NOT to jack one.
He’ll be unavailable tomorrow night.
Duarte probably tosses 7 innings tomorrow after Weaver.
He had a clean era up until last night )
Another football score the Bears are back!
Bobby Douglass with 100 mph passes that no one could catch!
Hopefully Luke Weaver will get a bit deeper in the game tomorrow. I’m not sure Luke Maile can pitch three days in a row.
Come on! Ten to tie. Despite all it’s speed, this team resembles last year’s team for the last several days.
This young team may have a hard time getting over these last two, most likely three, nights. Ashcraft has a must win start Friday night. They will most likely go home 7 over for a 6 game home stand need to win at least 4.
On the bright side, we have David Bell locked in through 2026.
😀 Cut it out guys. You’re killing me.
Did we consider that Maile May not be able to pitch tomorrow. Like 40 pitches in the last 2 days. Needs a couple days off.
Better send someone down and bring up another catcher/pitcher. 🙂
I just said the same thing…
Hahaha ?
He was one of our better relievers tonight, That 65 mph fastball ,,,
Moll: “Please send me back. That team was better.”
Im glad the players don’t sweat it like you guys. 20-9 or 3-2. What’s the difference? Loss is a loss. Win tomorrow and mission accomplished. I wasn’t saying 2-2 after the Reds win game 1. Their lineup is no joke and they’re hot.
Correction. I was thinking 2-2 after Game 1 or 3-1 at best
The Reds are going to have to put Maile and on the IL and bring up Chuckie Robinson so he can pitch a couple innings tomorrow.
Can’t wait for the pitching help to come at the end of August. Not getting any help is the biggest blunder in a very long time. If we were Sellers, we certainly would have seen deals in abudance. #notseriousaboutwinning
The end of August may be to late, thanks Krall.
Reds hit nine groundouts. Cubs 2. There has to be a different approach.
Are the Reds pitcher’s puting it on batting tee’s or what? 36 runs in 2 days. This is the stuff that happens when you wear out your bullpen.
So Lively was pitching hurt yesterday and Reds front office decides to not acquire a starter. The manager decides to keep an injured pitcher in game. Manager makes a mockery of the game by allowing a non pitcher to be in the mound to throw batting practice. Reds will run out Luke Weaver tomorrow to allow Cubs a 3rd straight game to score ten plus runs.. Amazing how Reds ownership and front office don’t care about winning… You are in first place at trade deadline with desperate need for pitching and a loaded farm system and you do nothing.. I don’t understand it… Did ownership not give okay to take on any salary or do they really believe they are just
running a non profit and winning doesn’t matter…