Last night saw the Blue Jays and Reds battle it out in a scoreless game until the final play – a walk-off home run by Christian Encarnacion-Strand. Cincinnati will look for a win tonight that would give them a series win, while Toronto will be looking to even things up. The first pitch this evening is set for 6:40pm ET.
Starting Lineups
Toronto Blue Jays
|
Cincinnati Reds
|
| Whit Merrifield – LF | TJ Friedl – CF |
| Bo Bichette – SS | Matt McLain – 2B |
| Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – 1B | Elly De La Cruz – SS |
| Matt Chapman – 3B | Spencer Steer – 3B |
| Davis Schneider – DH | Joey Votto – 1B |
| Alejandro Kirk – C | Christian Encarnacion-Strand – DH |
| Cavan Biggio – RF | Tyler Stephenson – C |
| Santiago Espinal – 2B | Will Benson – RF |
| Daulton Varsho – CF | Stuart Fairchild – LF |
| Chris Bassitt – RHP | Brandon Williamson – LHP |
Starting Pitchers
| Pitcher | IP | ERA | WHIP | BB | K |
| Brandon Williamson | 81.0 | 4.33 | 1.22 | 31 | 70 |
| Chris Bassitt | 145.2 | 3.95 | 1.24 | 48 | 137 |
| Links: Brandon Williamson’s Stats | Chris Bassitt’s Stats |
|||||
Brandon Williamson
The first eight starts for Williamson were a bit of a struggle. He had a 5.82 ERA in that time, but since the start of July he’s made eight more starts and he’s been outstanding. Over those eight starts he’s posted a 2.98 ERA. He’s allowed one run in each of his last two starts.
Left-handed hitters don’t get too many chances to face Williamson and it’s for good reason: They can’t hit him. Lefties are hitting just .222 and have just two extra-base hits against him this year in 63 plate appearances. Right-handed hitters are finding more success against him, but it’s mostly coming from extra-base hits. They still aren’t hitting for much average and they don’t walk a bunch – they do hit for plenty of power against him when they do find hits, though.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 270 | 56 | 16 | 1 | 13 | 24 | 58 | .229 | .300 | .461 |
| LHH | 63 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 12 | .222 | .307 | .259 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-Seam | Cutter | Curve | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 92.9 | 89.0 | 73.1 | 81.7 | 84.3 |
| Usage | 36% | 28% | 7% | 14% | 15% |
Chris Bassitt
The last time out, Bassitt gave up four runs in 6.0 innings against the Cubs, but the time before that he allowed just one run to the Red Sox in 7.0 innings. That’s been a bit of the story for Bassitt this season as he’s had a few rough outings mixed in with solid-to-good outings throughout.
The splits against Bassitt are extreme. Right-handed hitters don’t do much of anything against him, posting a .575 OPS in 308 plate appearances. But lefties are hitting quite well against him. They hit for average, they walk at a solid rate, and they hit for plenty of power against him.
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 308 | 59 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 18 | 62 | .209 | .270 | .305 |
| LHH | 307 | 73 | 15 | 1 | 17 | 30 | 75 | .271 | .352 | .524 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-seam | 2-seam | Cutter | Curve | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 92.5 | 91.9 | 87.8 | 70.6 | 75.5 | 83.4 |
| Usage | 10% | 39% | 15% | 12% | 15% | 9% |
When and Where
- Game time: 6:40pm ET
- Where: Great American Ball Park
- Watch: Bally Sports Ohio, MLB.tv (out of market)
- Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: 82°, sunny, 0% chance of rain
News and Notes
Noelvi Marte called up
The team’s #1 prospect, Noelvi Marte is up, taking place on the roster of Kevin Newman who was placed on the injured list with an oblique strain. While he’s not in the lineup today, expect to see him plenty as David Bell said to reporters pre-game he’s going to start at third base every day (except today).
Standings
| Team | W | L | GB | Playoff Odds |
| Brewers | 66 | 57 | 0.0 | 81.5% |
| Reds | 64 | 59 | 2.0 | 34.3% |
| Cubs | 62 | 59 | 3.0 | 43.8% |
| Pirates | 54 | 68 | 11.5 | 0.0% |
| Cardinals | 54 | 69 | 12.0 | 0.1% |
| Playoff Odds via Fangraphs | ||||
Keep pitching well Brandon we need to stack wins and series. If he’s pitching well… I hope he doesn’t get the seemingly usual early hook.
KSR night at the ballpark; go Reds! Go Wildcats!
” expect to see him plenty as David Bell said to reporters pre-game he’s going to start at third base every day (except today).”
Hope that’s true. If so they’ll finally get to see the infield they envision for the future with EDLC at SS and McLain at 2B. I think McLain could play just about anywhere and get a gold glove. Again, this is not good news for the India injury front.
Looking forward to that group.
Yeah, not a good sign regarding Inda.
Nope. I’m still thinking a 60-day is coming and then they will move him (and probably Senzel) in the offseason.
Mark:
Agree.
Need to start winning consistently again and build momentum. Need to start now.
Should be interesting! Bo Bichette back in the lineup for the Blue Jays making a tough lineup even tougher!
Another important game as the Stupid Cubs beat the hapless Royals and the Brewers are winning against the Rangers!
The Snakes are winning the 1st game of their DH against the Friars but at least the Fish lost to the Dodgers! Giants at Atlanta a little later!
Let’s not wait until the 6th inning to get our first hit tonight! Go Reds!
+500
Let’s come out hitting, getting on, running and scoring runs.
Looking forward to marte elly matt infield
Go reds
Bichette in his first game back … maybe he’s going to need time to adjust and the junque Williamson is capable of throwing keeps him off balance. Maybe … 😮
Let’s pluck the Jays while we can. Maybe Marte gets into the game late, or maybe we all wait until tomorrow. September hasn’t had this much potential in quite some time (2021 epic collapse is something I’m working to forget).
All this and Annie on the pregame show!!! 😀
Just flipped to the WLW audio overlay in time to hear HDTBell say he knew CES had hit it out when he first saw it. His excitement in reliving that is almost contagious … 😛
OK, enough on that. Let’s play some baseball.
Nice work, Brandon. Solid first inning.
I applaud Elly, he does not demonstrate when he strikes out. He takes his “K” and moves on.
Umpires will file this away in the future when he needs a close call.
I like Elly!
Excuse my ignorance, but what is “HDT” Bell mean?
Handy David Tinker
😛
ARGH!!!!
ARGH!!!! X2
Do they really think Votto is better then CES at 1B? I don’t see it. CES is a decent athlete
See my comments immediately above. And now Williamson has to throw more pitches.
Only one person thinks that….the manager.
JV is 3rd best defender on the team.
The principal family loves this attendance. “Where you gonna go?”
Perfect example of how to hit soft tossing lefties…
Wait on it and go oppo.
Jays are doing it to perfection so far.
Great crowd tonight.
WLW booth is saying it’s giving Williamson challenges hearing PitchCom.
It is no longer Joey “bangs” votto…. it is Joey “hands” Votto
And just as we’re all grousing, Father Time pulls that one out of his back pocket.
Nice recovery, JV!
hahaha You guys must love eating crow with Votto. It’s almost like he sets us up. lol
It’s more than a little amusing, Melvin. I’ll admit to that much when stuff like this happens.
WHY is Votto playing 1B? He has NO range!
LOL I get it
Votto giveth; Votto taketh away.
+500
Votto!!! What do you know about that leaping grab with the bases loaded? 🙂
Joey with the hops.
Just when I disparage JV’s defense he show his jumping ability. I am not sold. He was in position. He did not aft to move. I could have made that catch!
I played some 1B (softball, long time ago, I’m only 5-9). I won’t say I could have snagged that, but your point is taken.
Also, the other one was slow enough the average MLB 1B’er SHOULD have made that play. He didn’t get leather on it.
Kudos for the excellent leaping catch, but it only made up for the miss. And the pitch count rolled merrily along.
BW dodged a BIG bullet there! Now, time to start hitting and putting up a crooked number!
My hypothesis on AAA hitters doing so well this year isn’t the poor pitching. It’s the challenge system allowing crappy umpires not to change ABs like they do in the pros.
+1,000
Interesting perspective. I wonder how we’d ever find enough data to back that up. In essence, you’re trying to prove a negative.
If offensive numbers shoot up next year in the big leagues with the challenge system, then maybe there is a correlation? Tough to prove, just my opinion.
True. Do we know for a fact MLB will adopt the challenge system for 2024? I haven’t heard, but I’m not paying attention to it either.
Lower K rate (especially looking) might also be a metric we could use.
+1000
That’s an interesting thought LarkinPhillips. You very well could be right.
Please sit VOTTO – dude stands up there and never swings bat …. Same with several others …. Never seen a team full of dudes stand up there and watch strikes go by like these guys …. Unreal
Five strikeouts in 2 innings … RIDICULOUS
Wait … I thought Cy Young was pitching again tonight for the Jays … 😮
He’s been pitching a lot against us lately. 😉
It’s normally the walks by Reds pitchers that drives me nuts! Now it’s the strikeouts by the Reds “hitters”! Five (5) strikeouts thru 2 innings is inexcusable!
Chill. These young guys are fun to watch. It has been a long time since I have been honestly been able to say that.
I believe CES as he walks back to the dugout is thinking that the ump can’t give both that strike 1 call to him that looked inside and that strike 3 call which looked to be tangent with the top outside corner.
Well, then Mr. CES needs to learn that MLB Chumpires each have their own quirks and none of them have any accountability to improve or get consistent.
Bring on the challenge system and robo zone.
That zone got huge that inning. Third strike to votto ans strike 1 and 3 to CES.
The 3rd “strike” to Votto was definitely a stretch.
Not good, Reds.
5 out of first 6 batters struck out
Bassitt is an assassin! This is the type of FA pitcher the Red’s should sign in free agency this off season.
Cy Young must be getting very tired! He has shown up a lot at Reds games this season wearing the opponent’s jersey!
Immortality will do that to you 😛
Steer getting a little workout. Nicely done.
Who would have thought the pitching would be keeping them in the playoff chase, because it sure is not the hitting.
Benson is due … overdue by my count.
Nope
Wait, I thought it was the ” old guys” who couldn’t hit? You mean the rookies can’t either?
😛
Until the 6th last night, none of them could. And I count only one “old guy” in the line-up for us anyway. 😀
LOL, Glad you got my humor.. Just tryin to lighten the mood lol
We’re all in this together, Kevin. At least most of us are.
Agree 110%
Nice to see you again Kevin H..erget.
Get him out the game … candy pitch
The hitters are making this look too easy.
The first pitch swing right after a first pitch out drives me nuts. This guy has 5 strikeouts thru 3 innings on 29 pitches. Ridiculous.
Well, no one was going to be caught looking that inning. Not too upset if a guy tries to jump on an early pitch if the pitcher is pounding the zone, but maybe not all three of them.
LOL,
4 pitch inning! The reds can’t wait to swing.
Benson running a little harder to first tonight.
Gee … I wonder why … 😮
Bassit just has thrown 29 pitches even though he’s 5 struckouts… Overwhelming so far… The offense is down completely it isn’t a matter of good pitchers
Are we forgetting that India and Fraley are out. Also 4 rookies who will go through ups and downs. This team finds a way we as fans need to have some patience
I know last night’s homerun walkoff was exciting, but I have some real concerns about our hitting. We now have maybe 3 hits in 12 innings? How sustainable is this? Its not. Hopefully they’ll get it going and maybe Marte will add a spark soon.
It’s not sustainable. This is where so many of us will rail on HDTBell and the coaching staff, especially given all the young guys playing. We can legitimately assume there is coaching going on, but we’re not seeing the results, even against the weaker teams.
Another quality pitcher making the Reds look overmatched.
It took the Reds until the 6th inning yesterday to get a hit. They only had four hits for the game. Three more innings to start this game without a hit. Where has the hitting gone?
Get it together Williamson.
Got behind, walked a guy, made a mistake and we paid the price.
And then THAT happens. Top of the order for the Jays is a bit murderous.
Wheels coming off. DJ needs to go clear his head for him.
Every batter knows Williamson is going to pitch away and they are swinging accordingly.
It blows my mind how other teams have game plans and we seem to never have one. Unless double digit strikeouts is our game plan
BW doesn’t have it tonight. No snap on the breaking stuff. That’s probably it with our hitting lately
As usual Johnson a batter or two late.
Side note … Varsho runs like a duck. 😛
Well , Blue Jays are securing the game just in the 4th after 2 outs and bases empty…
Walks, especially with 2 outs, always come back to haunt! And, in the Red’s case, usually score!
The extra pitches due to the JV misplayed grounder, this inning with the walk to a guy who can’t hit the size of his pants, and more pitches. Tough night for Williamson. Probably a long night for the bullpen.
“can’t hit the size of his pants”- classic
Well the good news the balls weren’t hit that hard, or according to game cast? Thats all I got
We’ll take anything at this point until the ghost of Cy Young leaves!
Shaky play by De La Cruz there but he got em.
8 hits to none. Lucky we’re only down 3
Time to start a comeback! Don’t need all the runs back in one inning! Plenty of time!
It will require the Reds to stop striking out however!
Like that?
Friedl heard you!!
TJ makes him pay for that cookie. And it’s only the 4th inning.
Maybe that will spark the guys tonight.
There’s one. Friedl!
When was the last time EDCL did something good? This is the time.
I asked and Elly gave. Awesome!
It dawns on my that, in the old days, with the US-Canadian exchange rate, we’d practically be tied right now.
Good AB by Mighty Mac. Need a good AB from EDLC.
Is Kirk that good that our fastest guys aren’t trying to steal on him?
Terrible relay throw and EDLC made them pay BIG TIME.
There ya go!!!! Reds baseball!!! Tie game!!!
Elly in the building!!!
Circles the bases.
ELLY -ectric
Great rebound second time seeing Bassitt.
Some De La Cruz magic and we are all even.
Watching that replay, Elly almost caught MattyMc. He was approaching 3rd as MattyMc was about halfway down the line to home.
Elly is terrible.
Seriously, one at bat. Seen his at bats since the All Star Break? That’s delusional.
He is 21 and in the Majors. You are not.
Have to Agree with JB, He is 21 and in major league baseball. We are not, and more in likely no where near a mlb field at age 21
So since we aren’t in the majors we can’t criticize or comment on players? Going to make it tough on doug if that becomes a rule.
went from perfect game to pretty good red inning real quick
Wow, unbilievable quick Reds offense response! What a team!
That’s the way to have your pitcher’s back. Got 3 runs back to tie the game. TJ woke the offense up.
This just in …
MattyMc is very fast. EDLC is nuclear reaction fast.
Making a little more contact. Maybe exercising a little more patience. Feels a bit more like the stuff we did over a month ago on that wonderful winning streak.
Hope this settles Williamson down so he can give us one more inning.
I smell another one on the horizen
De La Cruz got behind in the count 0-2 or 1-2 and battled. Good to see. He truly is a good baseball player. Still young 21 and learning as he goes.
I keep reminding myself about that and the whole idea that none of us would have predicted we’d be in a pennant race in 2023.
+10000
I tell myself that I am happy with how this season has unfolded and so what if they don’t make playoffs. As this year is a bonus, however truth is I want them to make playoffs and go to world series. I think it can happen.
Batting Votto 5th is becoming an issue.
Yep. But where else are we gonna go, right? 😮
Hopefully he’s setting everyone up for some more crow. 😉
Schneider who?
Cookie that didn’t fool him.
Typical Reds move right there … tie game up and give it right back … candy pitch
Question. Is Stephenson previous injuries last year and I think a surgery still affecting him. I don’t see a player of his caliber struggling this bad like he has
Most likely in my view.
Yes
+1,000
I’m thinking that and the grind of a “recovery season” is what we’re seeing. I still think he’s a quality starting catcher, but the injury aftermath is still nagging him.
Tyler Stephenson has basically no business in this lineup … has been awful this year
The number of times he’s hit two or three bouncers to shortstop this year is kind of mind boggling
???
Playing with a few emojis. We’ll see if anything works (then I’ll share what I learned).
Nope. Nevermind.
And Benson isn’t due just yet 🙁
Figure out a thumbs up emoji.
It appears the site only translates VERY basic character stuff.
I’m done experimenting for tonight.
Maybe Doug will figure it out for us some time. 😉
8D
>:(
XD
Fairchild up right now. Might be his last start for a good while with Marte here.
That is one pathetic inning by TS, Benson, and Fairchild. Benson needs to stop learning from Votto, stops staring at strike 3, smh.
I totally agree ! … SWING THE BAT !!!!
Twice in this game that exact thing can be said. They at least saw more than 4 pitches this time. Only because Benson struck out.
Only down 4 to 3 but at the same time only have 2 hits.
See if Williamson can get one more inning. A clean inning of course
Williamson has been off today but has grinded it out and made it into the 6th.
Yep and two hits won’t win this one for sure.Their guy is just following the script on our aggressive young hitters.Only 65 pitches after 5 sure will get it done.
Shrug emoji
Opps, that was suppose to be for Mark who was working on different Emojis
See above comment. Looks like the site only translates the most basic character emojis into images.
Nice job Williamson …. Just a few mistakes … he’s come a long way though and will be a solid rotation piece in future
Yep. The kind of #4 guy you want all season long.
Nice hit kid.
Almost a pop up HR to left there by De La Cruz. 🙂
Rainbow double high off the wall. Almost got that one.
But all for naught.
Steer in a slump….
He is. We need his bat to wake up badly.
It was all about approach for the Jays against BWill…
They had a plan.
Soft contact mostly, going oppo.
The HR was the only real bad pitch.
Friedl and EDLC are the only batters into this game.
All the rest of the Reds better get with the program!
Big crowd and Elly has them buzzing. See if they can ride that to a late push.
Cruz is looking like the set up man now.
+500
Capable of more than 1 inning and normally fairly efficient. Opponents just don’t see enough of his more nasty stuff to figure it out on short notice.
Cruz bared down and did what was needed. Now back to the hunt for a drunken Jobu under the Purple Bridge and our bats.
You could tell Marte would love to get his first shot tonight.
C’mon Votto. Time to rally.
“It’s coming together, I’m almost there, I’ll retire if I can’t compete…”
I know what you are talking about bro. I am his harshest critics. But we need his bat to win us a couple of games.
Votto 3 for last 23, no hrs
Don’t do that. That’s just plain depressing to see. 🙁
Went with that pitch and bled it into RF. That works. Now did anybody else pay attention?
Not our fastest guys on base, but the both did what they needed to do.
Time for a little redemption, Will.
We have a player that had been playing that is playing just because of his hitting. because he is below avg. on defense and absolutely cannot run the bases. He is hitting .206
WHY is he playing????
Don’t we want to play our best!!’
Wow Mazya impressive stats for the Jays
TS has hit in back to back game. Good sign.
I’m not sure why we used our only LH bat off the bench as a switch hitter there when we’ve got several other RH bats but he did get on. Fairchild walks. Time to do damage Mr. Legit. 😉
Not this time.
I try not too, however I at times wish analytics wasn’t depended on so much. Benson was capable in my opinion.
SQUANDERED OPPORTUNITY AGAIN!!!
Marte not if the lineup down in AAA tonight. Oh yeah! 😉
I think he’s already in Cincinnati.
Good bullpen work again. Mm gets on base and EDLC drives him in. C’mon
Good idea. 🙂
Reds are 2-5 in 1 run games at home since the AS break. Can’t do that and make the playoffs
We have Hicks number! Let’s go!!!
Hicks throwing over 100mph.. geesh
Does every team have at least 1 pitcher throwing 100mph+ now?
I remember even just 10 years ago that was still pretty rare, but now it seems like everyone has at least 1 or possibly 2 or 3 pitchers who can hit triple digits.
Pretty much. And where it used to be the odd reliever, it’s now starters as well.
And the fatigue and TJ surgery seem to increase for no apparent reason … 😮
I’m gonna have to say it. I feel it brewing inside me. I don’t want to, but I don’t think I can fight it.
This team just cannot maintain anything.
3 hitters 3 runs to start that inning and the crowd is going nuts, but then nothing. Atleast 4-5 dead spots in the lineup every night
Their team approach to hitting all changed during the 20 game HR streak.
Yep, HDTBell … leaving Young in worked perfectly … SMHXH!!
Time for Bike Helmets. Bring on The Law.
That dude can’t win. If he takes him out after pitching well he’s wrong. If he leaves him in after pitching well, he’s also wrong. I think you bring a lot to the table with your comments but the constant use of stupid nicknames for the guy doing his best for the team is REALLY old.
That shot with the light fixture makes Mr. Redlegs look like he was missing a tooth.
😀
They need to walk these guys off again, just so they can shut the mouth of the Jays fan in row 2
Phillies, Brewers, Cubs and DBacks won. Miami lost the first game. SF is leading 5-4 in mid 6th. DBacks are going to start the 2nd game against SD and Miami does the same vs LAD. The night is not good so far…
Romano 29-3 with saves, but we have to get to the dugout 4-3 first. We need some more magic
That should have been the DP I was asking for.
Maile gets him there I think. The ball beat him, but TS bounced it
He rushed a throw he didn’t need to rush.
Send out an alert the next time Stephenson doesn’t bounce the throw to 2nd…dude was out by 5 ft with a decent throw
Ty needs to hit the batter there, drawing the interference…out.
Do coaches teach these things…almost once a week things pop up.
Bullpen allowed no hits and 3 walks in their relief innings. Not too bad
Law hasn’t allowed a run in almost a month. Only 3 hits.
Votto/CES with back to back HR? 🙂
Thrall said nobody up in the Jays pen, so if it’s still Hicks, he definitely provides the power needed.
Nope, it’s their closer Romano.
Joey walk Marte run?
Good AB by Votto. Marte to PR?
Welcome to The Show, Marte!
What happened to Steve S? Banned?
Wrote more novels then Hemingway on why CES should never be called up….lol
Wish Stephenson could bunt. Maybe try it anyway.
Hit it to right Tyler.
On the ground… On the ground. Smh
Better than a DP there.
I flat out don’t get it… Stephenson is a double play waiting to happen, you have to bunt there to get the runners to second and third with one out. How in the world do you let him swing away there David Bell
Terrible AB Stephenson , terrible !!!!!
Woah. That was gutsy.
You have to bunt there. It’d be different if you didn’t have you worst hitter in the lineup up. That is a wasted AB by tysteve.
He is safe.
Back to AAA Ramos , pathetic AB
This call stays. Opportunity knocks VERY LOUDLY!!!
Dude has that bronson Arroyo leg kick going
Come on. Got to make contact Ramos.
Pooooop!!! K is NOT what we needed.
That is a perfect example of why I don’t think David Bell can ever be the guy. Even if you have to pinch it there you have to bunt for Stephenson…its just ridiculous
Make a believer out of me Fairchild.
Now it has to be a hit, not just a Sac Fly.
Tough loss. Such a tough loss.
Major Stink. Fish. Pot!!!!
I told you it was coming.
What a good baseball game. They battled. I do think India and Fraley being out had hurt the offense MOJO a tad.
Great game though
Fail again
2 and $#&@’n 6 in 1 run games at home since the break
AND 8-12 since Bell was extended! Can’t wait for Bell’s excuses on the post-game interview!
Poor fundamentals, terrible execution, and finding a way to lose a one run game. That is the exact definition of a David bell managed team. Terrible terrible terrible way to lose tonight. But thank goodness Bell got an extension so we can have three more years of this crap!
Very poor ABs there by Ramos and Fairchild to end it. An argument can be made for very poor managing by David Bell there by not trying to bunt Stephenson with two on and no outs down one run in the 9th.
The end result after TySteve didn’t was the same, though. 2nd and 3rd with only 1 out. And Ramos couldn’t put wood on it to save his life tonight.
These guys just act like they have no concept of situational hitting and baseball in general. Ramos was obviously swinging for the fences there when all he had to do was make contact. Kd on a bad pitch. Give me someone like Lopez in that situation over most of these guys. smh Put Lopez on the 40 man roster.
You mean “Small Ball”? Bell has never heard of it and couldn’t spell it if you spotted him the Smal and Bal.
Ramos has been pretty much useless since he was called back up!
For the record, I had on the hat and t-shirt tonight. Fat lotta good that did … 😮
Back at it tomorrow for Marte’s first start.
Two RISP and 1 out but Ramos and Fairchild due up, it was an easy job to Romano.
Ramos is not a big league hitter at least not a clutch one…
Neither is Fairchild. He’s not anywhere near an average corner OFer, as some here state. He’s pretty solidly below average as a corner.
Hopefully adding Marte to the positional lineup pushes Fairchild out.
10 more whiffs tonight …awful ABs in the most crucial situations time and time and time again this year has cost REDS numerous wins
Makes you wonder what the hitting coach is telling them. Or maybe the pressure of being in the playoff hunt is getting to some of the players and they’re pressing too much.
Still, that’s the coach’s job to calm them down and get them to play the best they can.
Over the course of a long season, things tend to balance out.
During the Reds’ winning streak back in June, they were the kings of 1-run games. Now they can’t win a 1-run game to save their dog’s life.
It’s one reason why baseball is such a beautiful sport. They play so many games, there can be no doubt at the end of the season that the records accurately reflect the teams.
Unfortunately I think if Maile starts instead of Ty the end result might have been very different. Stephenson has been an anchor weighing this team down all year.
Have to say Stephenson is not looking good right now at a crucial position. Maile is better at the moment.
Didn’t you know we were going to do it in the 9th. And there it all unfolded. 1st and second with no outs. Then 2nd and 3rd with one out. No way we wouldn’t score at least one. I thought, now Ramos gets his redemption, and he strikes out on three pitches… That was the crucial at bat. Great drama but a sad ending today… Looks like no help from the baseball gods…
Bell, at his best, no managerial skill. Why did he let Stephenson hit, no bunt attempt. Again, clueless on the game situation in front of him. Unable to make the tough call when it’s needed,.
Once again the Reds fail to take advantage of the opportunities. Unlike the sales mantra “always be closing”, they go with “no rush, we have plenty of time”. They are more fun than years past, but still not strong team – they need to hit better. It seems like a totally different team than the one that won 12 in a row. They are 5-11 for August – another 2nd half collapse.
I thought it was a mistake to put Ramos in for Benson. Benson can hit. Ramos has not really shown me anything in the majors.
Reds 0-6 with RISP! That and the 10 strikeouts spells DOOM!
Fraley and India being hurt hasn’t helped. Stephenson doesn’t strike me as a person who can bunt. Also not sure how this loss is Bell’s fault.
But I guess fans need someone to blame a loss on. I choose to tip my cap to the jays solid pitching.
Oh and one more thing you wanted the “rookiescalled up” well here we are and some still complaining.
Very simple @KevinH, when a team routinely exhibits the same faults, makes the same mistakes, the lack of urgency, etc. whether in baseball or the real world, it’s time for a management change. Watching Bell manage is like letting the orderly conduct brain surgery just because he’s the owner’s son.
Reds back in 3rd place in the NL Central AND on the outside looking in as one of the 6 teams in contention for the 3 NL Wild Card spots!
I would not pull Benson for a career minor league player especially looking ahead to the 9th inning & a right hand closer.
Bell has never grasped the analytical part of handedness is that you have to factor talent into the equation.
To understand talent you have to recognize talent! That is not a skill that Bell has mastered!
He bought into to analytical concept without a respect for the talent required.
Reminds me of the engineers that my company use to send me to train. Most could not comprehend the common sense/practical aspects of our industry, and most lacked the people skills to relate to the workers. It wasn’t in their manuel.
Analytics will tell you the fastest why down from the top of a sky scraper is to jump out of a window. Analytics is a valuable tool but it it does not always the give you the right answer.
Moon – That’s funny. 🙂
Response to Moon:
Yes, just an extra tool.
To paraphrase Braves Mgr Brian Snitker when asked about it. “We use it some”. He stressed the eye test is how he manages. Who’s hot who’s not, is a pitchers stuff working or not, is my pitcher tired, who needs a rest day were examples that he through out. Now there’s a novel idea huh?? Lol
Wow. Probably just coincidence that they’re considered the best team in baseball. A manager never has much to do with it. 😉
Yeah, Melvin! Not a thing! wink & a nod! Lol
+10,000
That’s +10,000 to Melvin, not myself!! Lol