The Cincinnati Reds will be going for a series win tonight after they took the first game of the 3-game set against the Twins on Monday night. Minnesota will be facing a mixing-and-matching group of pitchers tonight as the Reds are going with a sort-of bullpen day. First pitch tonight is set for 6:40pm ET.
Starting Lineups
Minnesota Twins
|
Cincinnati Reds
|
| Edouard Julien – 2B | Jonathan India – 2B |
| Jorge Polanco – DH | TJ Friedl – CF |
| Royce Lewis – 3B | Spencer Steer – LF |
| Max Kepler – RF | Jake Fraley – DH |
| Willi Castro – CF | Tyler Stephenson – C |
| Alex Kirilloff – 1B | Joey Votto – 1B |
| Ryan Jeffers – C | Christian Encarnacion-Strand – 3B |
| Matt Wallner – LF | Elly De La Cruz – SS |
| Kyle Farmer – SS | Will Benson – RF |
| Kenta Maeda – RHP | Fernando Cruz – RHP |
Starting Pitchers
| Pitcher | IP | ERA | WHIP | BB | K |
| Fernando Cruz | 60.0 | 4.05 | 1.17 | 26 | 88 |
| Kenta Maeda | 96.0 | 4.50 | 1.22 | 25 | 104 |
| Links: Fernando Cruz’s Stats | Kenta Maeda’s Stats |
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Fernando Cruz
Today will be the second start for Cruz this season, but he’s expected to just be used as an opener rather than someone who will give the team 3+ innings.
Cruz has been much better this season against righties than lefties, holding them to a .537 OPS on the season, walking fewer of them, and striking them out at a much higher rate. He’s been solid against lefties, with the walk rate against them just being a bit higher than you would like to see.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 140 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 52 | .173 | .237 | .299 |
| LHH | 111 | 22 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 36 | .237 | .351 | .387 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-seam | Slider | Split | |
| Velo | 94.4 | 87.4 | 81.5 |
| Usage | 35% | 28% | 36% |
Kenta Maeda
After a tough start to end August where he allowed six runs in 4.0 innings, Maeda has rebounded well in September. This month he’s made three starts and posted a 3.63 ERA. He’s allowed a home run in 11 consecutive starts, but only one of those games has featured more than one home run allowed.
The splits for Maeda aren’t huge, but they do exist. Right-handed hitters and left-handed hitters are similar when it comes to average. Lefties walk a little bit more, but the big difference between the two is that righties hit for a lot more power – having a 101 point slugging percentage advantage.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 204 | 48 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 9 | 58 | .249 | .289 | .492 |
| LHH | 194 | 44 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 16 | 46 | .253 | .314 | .391 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-seam | 2-seam | Curve | Slider | Split | |
| Velo | 91.0 | 90.3 | 76.4 | 81.7 | 84.1 |
| Usage | 27% | 7% | 3% | 31% | 32% |
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: 72°, sunny, 0% chance of rain
News and Notes
Graham Ashcraft to have surgery today
The Reds pitcher was scheduled to have surgery on his toe today to fix his stress reaction in his right big toe.
Wild Card Standings
| Team | W | L | GB | Playoff Odds |
| Philadelphia | 82 | 68 | +4.0 | 99.4% |
| Arizona | 79 | 72 | +0.5 | 54.5% |
| Chicago | 78 | 72 | 0.0 | 46.0% |
| Cincinnati | 79 | 73 | 0.0 | 43.7% |
| Miami | 78 | 73 | 0.5 | 42.9% |
| San Francisco | 76 | 74 | 2.0 | 13.2% |
| Playoff Odds via Fangraphs | Top 3 Make Playoffs | ||||
Division Standings
| Team | W | L | GB | Playoff Odds |
| Brewers | 84 | 66 | 0.0 | 99.9% |
| Cubs | 78 | 72 | 6.0 | 46.0% |
| Reds | 79 | 73 | 6.0 | 43.7% |
| Pirates | 70 | 80 | 14.0 | 0.0% |
| Cardinals | 67 | 83 | 17.0 | 0.0% |
| Playoff Odds via Fangraphs | ||||
Man, isn’t there anyone who can start a game? Seems like a real gamble to possibly wast the bullpen this time of the year. Are the starting options that bad??
They had a real starter last night and are scheduled to have one tomorrow. In fact, with the way the three remaining off days fall, they could possibly have a “real” starter in all the remaining games after tonight.
There is, but for some reason, Lively can’t start games anymore. Go figure. Bell ran ole’ Luke Weaver out there every 5 days, but Lively for some reason can’t start anymore. Lively was very solid.
Maybe the thinking is Cruz two innings, or whatever and Lively starts the 3rd inning. Pitches six innings and there is your nine innings?
He was very solid and he didn’t have any trouble starting games. He seem to get in a good rhythm starting games, so I can’t possibly imagine what the advantage would be in this situation to starting the bullpen first vs Lively who is a good starter. I would love to hear David Bell’s explanation as to why he would do it this way…like J says it’s probably just one of his little pet ideas he gets in his head where he thinks he’s really smart….hahahahah
Need this one, heck, need every one but especially the games at home. Just crazy how many bullpen games the Reds having to play and yet still be in the playoff race.
In regards to Ashcraft — wonder if any teammates will dub him “Sgt. Hulka”? Bet only Votto (and coaches) would be old enough to get that one though!
“Where is your sergeant, soldier?”
“Blow up, sir!”
“Are you telling me you completed your training on your own?”
“That’s a fact, Jack!”
This is the most important game of the year. Tomorrow will be the most important game of the year….etc. 🙂
Exactly until the little star (or whatever) that means in the playoffs is next to the Reds name in the standings table. And maybe even still then if there is a chance to move up the WC food chain further.
+100,000
Every series, every game, every inning going forward. Keep winning and it all shakes out.
CES at 3B and Joey at 1B weakens our IF defense … so that’s a good thing.
No Marte who is hotter than blazes weakens the offense … so that’s a good thing.
No actual starter leading to an opener who might go 2 innings is a crap shoot … so that’s a good thing.
Yep, I see no reason we should be able to Kick the Filling out of these Twinkies again tonight. Here’s to Maeda having a really off outing.
And yet isn’t it crazy that Bell actually runs better games in this continuous seat of the pants mode than when on an even keel???
Completely baffling. Can’t deny the most recent results. Whether “because of” or “in spite of” is something I’ll let others debate. Winning is ultimately the measure of things. And we are winning.
We only get glimpses of the dugout area; but; it seems to me that lately Benavides is much more obviously engaged and involved when we are seeing the dugout.
Votto clearly had a giddy up in his step last night. He accelerated off the field and gave good at bats. I think hes fine playing the final 10 + . I dont think hes fine for the 2024 162.
Big picture… marte looks like a smooth polished 3b and CES has absurd power. The infield looks really good the next few years.
Agree, especially with the 3 scheduled off days for the entire team, Votto might be available every day.
A little worried about Ellie’s sloppy play at defense at SS lately. I think Larkin should talk to the kid about his approach to plays. Also, his hitting has really not been anywhere as good as his minor league numbers. I know, he is only 21 needs time to mature I agree.
Shohei Ohtani underwent an elbow procedure today. The medical statement said he should be able to hit “without any restrictions” by opening day of 2024 and to both hit and pitch in 2025. It is not clear if the procedure was TJ surgery, the newer internal brace procedure, or some other procedure.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/09/shohei-ohtani-undergoes-elbow-surgery.html
The limited reading I did indicates the internal brace is an advanced TJ procedure. I’d guess that’s the route he took since he did it so quickly after packing it in.
Now we see who pays for potential 😀
I think in his last relief appearance Cruz pitched 2 scoreless innings. If he can give us that or even 3 good innings, we have a great shot at winning this. We should have enough offense with this line up and Marte/Martini/Senzel coming off the bench depending on match up sounds good too.
A few things to note.
I like the lineup.
Bullpen days make me very nervous.
Does Bell not realize they need to win practically every day now.
Guy drives me nuts sometimes. ok Most of the time. lol.
I think they should use an opener for everyone but Greene.
Don’t we hold the tiebreaker vs Chicago. If so, shouldn’t we sitting in the 3rd and final WC spot there?
The Reds do not have the TB with Chicago.
I think the do, Chicago and D-backs but not Marlins or Giants.
I think
We do hold the tiebreak with Chicago, but Chicago has played 2 less games than us so technically they have a better winning percentage.
The Reds DO hold the tiebreaker on the Cubs despite what some Chicago based media is saying.
The Cubs are listed ahead of the Reds because when the winning % is extended to 4 decimals the Cubs are higher since they have played 2 fewer games than the Reds and have 1 less win and 1 less loss.
Win
Again YES! Cures all ails…
Checking the stats, only Ashcraft averaged over 5 innings per start. How about have all our healthy starters throw 60-65 pitches every third day, using 2 for each game. That should get them 6 or 7 innings, then let the bullpen finish. We’re not getting much by letting them go longer, as they usually give up more runs and are then unavailable for 4 days.
Had to strike that last guy out twice based on what I saw.
Maybe one more out of Cruz. At least start the 2nd.
Personally I like this lineup setting plus or minus a player or two.
It’s got both strong and weak points. Can’t explain all the choices and don’t intend to.
Just see the ball; hit the ball; score the runs.
and Play Marte!! 😛
No comment … have a cookie 😛
Good to see Cy Young on the mound again tonight. Seems we face him at least once per series. And show him the respect due his high rank.
Spoiler alert … Maeda will soft toss low EVERY SINGLE TIME!!!!
Maeda looked good.
Please tell me the strikeout Reds aren’t back tonight. They are brutal to watch.
All that’s required is to check and see if the starting pitcher is a soft tosser.
Maeda – Check.
That was right on the money Elly. Stepho was noticably upset.
Had the DP, but Elly …???
Mediocre throw, terrible tag attempt.
The throw was weak due to the hitter getting in the way. Could’ve been called interference, IMO. Seems Elly has an error per game lately. Dang.
Ty needs to initiate the contact.
Automatic call.
I like EDLC and think he will be special but he needs to sit down for awhile, he is hurting the teams chances.
EDLC hitting .165 over his last 110 ABs and providing shaky D.
I’m looking for the upside of playing him every day.
There is none… and I would imagine the guys in the dugout are getting a little irritated with his all around play over the last few weeks and the fact that Bell keeps starting him for some strange reason
30-pitch limit it would appear. Too bad Elly helped extend the inning.
Cruz strikes out 4 of 6 batters, not good enough for Bell?
More evidence that he’s not really watching what’s going on the field.
Have to agree Harry.
It’s like Bell thinks Cruz will fall off the edge of the mountain if he has to get 1 more out.
The Book, Harry … THE BOOK sets the tone for everything.
Never has and never will watch what’s actually happening on the field in real time!
Hey Doug! Why aren’t my comments posting?
Because all new users must first have a comment approved before any of their comments are posted.
I make a comment and “Your comment is awaiting moderation.” shows up. Later it’s gone.
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Here’s an idea! Let’s not have Farmer toe the pitcher’s plate ever again in a Reds uniform!
Harsh
Sloppy defense … check
Walk batters … check
Give up an RBI hit … check
Now we get to come from behind again. So we’ve got that going for us.
Maybe somebody will move up in the box and catch something before it drops. If not it’s going to be a long night.
Bell over managed and De La Cruz failed to make a tag, mistakes you can’t make in this situation.
29 pitches is a lot for Cruz
Again! Please refrain from using the word “manage” and Bell in the same sentence!
Elly is going to hit a bomb tonight so I hope guys are on base
When I say “I think Bell pays more attention to his personal theories than the players’ actual performance,” I’m usually talking about hitting, but that pitching change would be another great example of it. In Bell’s mind, Cruz needed to be taken out, which clearly had nothing whatsoever to do with stats, or what was actually happening on the field, and was based entirely on a theory.
“Theoretical” vs “Empirical”.
We know where Bell stands most of the time.
It was based on pitch count
Yeah, based on some theory about an arbitrary number of pitches that Cruz must be limited to. Another four or five pitches and he’d have to be rushed to the hospital.
29 pitches is alot for a bullpen pitcher. Cruz isn’t a long man. I can see why he would be taken out.
So 29 is okay, but 34 is not?
How does one come to that determination?
oh I don’t know I am just guessing. Personally I would of liked to see Cruz finish that inning.
I am just guessing as to why he may have took him out.
How do you know he was going to throw 34? Maybe it would have been an 11 or 12 pitch at bat?
Maybe it would have been a 100 pitch at-bat! Or 500!! Nobody knows, and that’s why Bell had to get him out. Cruz isn’t able to throw 529 pitches. Bell did good.
The bats look silent so far tonight, this might be a bad match up.
That are going to hit a ball hard next inning…they are going to hit a ball hard next inning. If we all say it 10 times really fast maybe it will happen.
The bottom of the order is where the strongest offensive players hit, as one expects with major league teams.
Throw the freaking ball over then plate !!!!!
Ridiculous
Wait … Farmer threw how many pitches/innings? 😮
Got his leadoff walk out of the way, so now it’s time to bring in a new guy to issue his.
29 was too meant for Cruz, 12 for Farmer.
Bell rolling dice, reading tea leaves, consulting Tarot cards.
I guess Young is done at 9?
Tonight would be the last shot for Elly if it was me. McLain plays a better SS and if Elly can’t hit a soft tossing righty then who is he going to hit? McLain at SS and OF of Steer, Freidl, Benson/Senzel left to right.
The Reds play so many close games and that leaves Elly to pinch-run.
Gonna overturn this one. Twinkies loading up for a big inning courtesy of us.
this game could get away really fast
At what point would be s good time for johnson to come out and talk to a rookie reliever? I guess after a run has scored?
I’m not sold on Johnson AT ALL …
Where is Elly’s head???? He didn’t pay attention to that throw in from the OF. No damage, but still.
He needs to sit down. Seems out of it
I’ve been calling for Elly to sit down and just play periodically for 2 weeks but Bell does what he does
I guess Duarte has something against getting ahead in the count
Unbelievable …. These bullpen guys come in
throwing balls over and over and over
Feels like the 6th inning already … and a miracle that we’re only down by 1.
Shake it off and get the bats rolling.
Wow I thought that was hit better than that. Dodged another big inning.
Tight rope walking early by the bullpen. We need the offense to show up big time tonight, and soon.
Did I miss The Memo? The memo that mandates every Reds relief pitcher MUST walk a batter in every inning they pitch with a bonus for walking the leadoff batter!
Dennis, that memo was issued at least 5 years ago.
It gets reissued again every season.
It’s likely posted in the bullpen and clubhouse.
It remains of little apparent concern to team management or coaching staff,
Lets all take a deep breath lol 1-0 is the score
But 1-0 feels like its out of reach when they haven’t squared a ball up yet.
And while I’m breathing deeply, I’ll contemplate that the Reds have zero hits and 4 Ks and appear lost at the plate and the manager is running amok again with his bullpen decisions.
Certainly time to LOL and remind myself that things “will be fine.”
Yawn You bore me dude
Things will be fine as well. Win or Lose things will be fine
A yawn?
I didn’t think you could get any sleepier?
Marte should NOT be sitting for
De La Strikeout …
Nope… and Ellie is a huge liability in the field and has been for a few weeks. Why in the world would you not play Marte at shortstop and sit Elly…. oh that’s right….Elly’s a better left-handed hitter vs the RHP….even though he’s only hitting .160 since the All-Star break and Marte’s hitting .310 since he’s been up. Like we were joking about yesterday… Marte’s been hotter than a firecracker at the plate, so he’ll be sitting down soon…. and sure enough here we are today.
I can’t believe I’m saying this at this point, but I can feel a Clete loading already. This is just pathetic ball tonight on multiple fronts.
And I’m back leaning toward “despite HDTBell” in my analysis for winning.
Elly needs to just swing the bat early in the count, because when he gets 2 strikes, it’s over
And take a step up in the box against Maeda
^^^this^^^
Not just him either.
No chance they move up. They will keep taking and swinging over the top.
EDLC will have to concentrate, but the Mendoza Line is in reach.
May not be enough ABs left for him to cross it, but he appears to be making a concerted effort.
Strikeout parade in full effect against this bum
It seems will be a lot of Ks to the Reds tonight… How much damage this kind of pitcher like Maeda does to the Reds…Jess….
Test for RLN:
What pitch is Maeda going to throw with 2 strikes?
Answer will be revealed in the 7th inning.
Bullpen stinking it up … Young serves it up on a platter
The goal is to use 1 pitcher per inning on average, right?
Well, that stuff happens …
2-0 feels like 8-0
Can’t believe anyone would be dopey enough to swing at the first pitch thrown by a new Reds relief pitcher. THANK YOU.
28-year-old Chumpire already seems pretty variable with the zone from what I see. Out to prove himself, I suppose.
And our aversion to throwing strikes isn’t helping any
Young went south and he isn’t coming back. Have zero faith in him. Don’t let this get away?
Let’s walk some more – UNREAL …. Get this guy out the game … these walks are
inexcusable !
Now it’s Lively time. Maybe he won’t walk anyone.
Lively gets killed by lefties and they have a ton. Bell will force him 3+ innings and we’ll get put away. Need runs and a quick hook for BL too
Bell is on his 5th pitcher in the 4th inning? Bell the Brilliant strikes again.
Painful inning to watch. But it’s over.
Now if somebody would find Jobu and sober him up quickly between innings, I’d greatly appreciate it.
Giving Bell a bullpen day is like giving a four year old a lighter and a can of gas.
I imagine he walked around feeling 10 foot tall knowing a bullpen day was coming and he would get to “manage.”
Hopefully Indy gets hit. TJ bunts and they throw it all over letting them both score.
So, through 3 innings, 5 of the 9 outs by Reds batters have been via strikeouts! When did Maeda become the 2nd coming of Cy Young?
Lacked about 2mph on the way in to help it fly farther. But at least he hit it.
Zero baserunners against this dude …. Just amazing
Other teams move up in the box and smash his stuff before it drops. We want it to be more of a challenge.
Reds look like they are all trying to hit an 8 run Homer tonight. Maeda is a guy you have to think middle opposite on and sit back or he will make you look foolish with offspeed stuff and fastballs out of the zone.
It’s not just tonight Lark. It’s every time they face a soft tosser.
Steerrrr …. perfect-game or no-hitter KILLER…
Pitching coach to maeda: throw something low and he will roll over for a ground ball. (I hope I’m wrong)
Can’t hit into a double play this time
Time for a Ty Steph rocket just inside the RF foul pole.
Broke up the no-no … so that’s a positive turn … I guess.
Unfortunately we don’t have a clutch hitter in the #5 spot
Is Bell aware that this game and the remaing 9 games are essential to the Reds chances to make the postseason? Manage like you care please!
The consistent bashing of David Bell has grown tiresome on here. Truly suggesting he doesn’t care or doesn’t know what he is doing is just flat out crazy. Based on assumptions, this isn’t baseball talk.
This is bashing a baseball manager
It’s true Kevin.
I don’t like Bell, but he hasn’t even done anything wrong tonight yet.
Borderline removing Cruz after only 1.2 IP, but that’s at least debatable.
Okay, why didn’t he just start Lively instead of the bullpen? How did that give the Reds in advantage vs what has happened?
Lively gonna pitch 2-3 and give up 2 or 3.
Basically, that’s what happened.
They’ve been successful on bullpen days.
+ 10000
It’s really getting old. It’s almost like a sport trying to outdo each other.
The consistent complaining about the Bell bashing has grown tiresome. Can’t you think of another way to respond to Bell bashing that’s more uplifting? Why do you always have to be so negative every day when people complain about Bell? The Reds are having a great year. Can’t you just enjoy the ride? You’re bringing me down, man.
J, you are actually complaining about people who complain about those who complain about Bell? Perhaps if the Bell bashers would quit their chronic complaining there wouldn’t be an issue here. Would there?
You’re complaining about a complaint about a complaint about a complaint. Can’t you just enjoy the nice season and stop complaining so much?
It’s true what the Bell-basher bashes say.
There’s never been an MLB manager who has been disconnected or lackadaisical on the job.
There has never been an MLB manager who has made tactical or strategic errors of judgement, action or inaction.
Bell is no exception.
If he is an MLB manager, by definition, his decisions must be correct.
To question his decisions is evidence that you are a RFINO…Reds fan in name only.
During this game Bell-basher bashers have been fine with sitting one of the team’s hottest hitters and the shuffling of pitchers irrespective of their performance fearful of the impact of 7 extra pitches during a tight pennant race.
That’s been about it for the Bell-bashers.
Meanwhile, there’s been little “Bell knows things!” or “It will be fine!” bashing.
Or “Reds are only down 1-0…oops 4-0! LOL.” bashing.
Go figure.
Kevin, or how about the pitching staff is horrible because the pitchers give up too many walks. Like DJs plan is for Reds pitchers to walk batters
The Twins are letting us stay in this game…..lets take it !
That inning was … weird … 😮
How is that an E-4? Tough play India but Old man Votto cant stretch and scoop and at least knock the ball down???? Does Freddie freeman make that Play? How bout Paul Goldschmidt? Anthony RIZZO??? Spencer Steer? Votto is a putrid defensive first baseman.And folks want to sign the Geritol man for $13 mil more over guys who are 15 years younger. SMH.
Reds down 2 nothing and Larkin talking about Votto’s Spanish. How bout his hitting and defense and speed ? Same guy who said sign Farmer to a contract extension and name him captain this year.
Not looking good for the Reds tonight! Marlins are already up 3-1 on the Mets!
If Elly comes back next year & strikes out this much….what’s a waste of speed…..he is clueless at the plate right now….like watching a pitcher bat
Embarrassing offensive display ….
Embarrassing … these dudes have zero plate discipline , ZERO
Maeda K-Prop today 6.5
That was candy.
I don’t think any pitcher needs to worry about being posterized by EDLC.
used to watch Elly to see how far he would hit a HR, then I watched hoping to see him get on base to use his speed, now I watch to see how he will strike out
LoL
Cue Paul Simon …
Slip sliding away …
You know the nearer your destination the more you’re slip sliding away …
That’s very good
“Where have you gone Elly De La Cruz?
Redleg Nation turns its lonely eyes to you …”
That was time for Moll there. Go get’m tomorrow. Lively taking one like the kid Sunday.
Miami’s up. Really need Cubs and/or Dbacks to lose
Ballgame …. Lively bout to slam door … Reds sleepwalking … Bell just sitting there letting him implode
It’s not like they’re hitting him hard, but yeah
Let him run up Lively’s pitch count at this point. Saves the pen from more work in what appears to be a lost cause.
Twins are showing the Reds how to hit the ball the opposite way. It’s amazing what happens when you don’t try to pull everything out of the stadium. Reds had that approach earlier this year but its been all or nothing lately.
Since July
HG tomorrow. We need him to deliver
Clete fully loaded … catch you all tomorrow for the daytime affair.
For the record, I can’t blame HDTBell for what I’ve seen tonight. Still not a fan by any stretch, but the boys are playing beyond sloppy at this point, almost from top to bottom.
Bell has apparently conceded this game by leaving Lively in to throw batting practice!
Not impossible atleast
6th inning 2 run game , Bell sits there and watches game getting away like a bump on a log …. Not surprised none bit
Miami winning 3-1 in the 7th… Reds likely to get out of WC spot tonight so far…
Williamson and Lively aren’t holding up when we need them the most. Que sera.
Here we go now!!
These dudes strikeout like no other team … awful plate approaches
India hit a bullet. Stephenson missed 2 rbis by 6 inches. Not our night
EDLC may need glasses. He’s got more Ks than a Polish last name.
How many people do you need to see rung up before you realize this umpire has been practicing his strike 3 call in the mirror all day?
And how many walks by Lively before Bell makes a pitching change? Leadoff walk (again) scores on Castro home run!
Ten (10) strikeouts thru just 6 innings! Incredible!
Let’s walk some
More …. They have totally quit this game , totally
Twins took Maeda out so he could pitch again tomorrow.
now this game is out of reach…..I guess with 10 games left, you can just throw games away…..who knew
This quitting effort is unacceptable … and 3 more years of this clown manager
Still had 9 outs and they have 3 off days, but it was too easy to predict earlier. I should’ve bet Twins -2.5 or -3.5 when it was 2-0
It could easily be 3-0 if Bell tried
A pathetic performance for a playoff aspirant. And another pitcher left in to be shellacked. And some here don’t like Bell bashing. How many more games could the Reds have won with a decent manager? For all the Bell apologists here, that’s not a complaint. It’s merely a question.
Kind of an unfair attack.
The Reds have no pitcher with a name even approximating “Funkerbunk”.
Advantage: Twins.
Yep, sounds like a car from the 50s, like Studebaker.
Or what other MLB fans might feel about the Reds’ management:
“Schadenfruede”.
Now @Harry, that is funny.
Lively is the new Luke Weaver of Cincinnati Reds…
With this Reds starting rotation is hard to sweep or even winning a series to a good hitting team especially when it’s a bullpen day with Lively (or in other cases Spiers/Richardson/Kennedy ) in the pack
Bell’s tactics are questionable at best! But for a team that’s trying to secure a playoff spot EVERY game, every inning is critical. It’s a CLETE for me! I’ll check the NL Wild Card standings in the morning to see how damaging this loss was!
Horrible effort by the Reds tonight
Just not the Reds night.
What a catch. That hurts.
TS about 9 inches from 4 rbis
Just tuned in and see Lively is taking one for the team just like Spiers did on Sunday.Down 2-0 went to 6-0 last 2 innings guess we can pull LIvely now.
Bell has a LH pinch hit for LH Votto?
What’s up with that?
I can’t figure that out for the life of me
Injury?
I was so wrong when I stated earlier that we should have enough offense tonight.
Afternoon game tomorrow. Giving Grandpa some rest. Must win. HG vs 6’9 Bailey Ober. He’s strictly a 5 inn guy, but then HG is too for the most part
Stephenson with a 411-foot flyout at GABP… Martini pinch-hitting for Votto… Weird ugly game tonight in a pennant race with just 9 games left
Dream post game interview with manager:
“The Reds have been striking out at a prodigious rate. Tonight it was 12 (or 13 or 15).
Is this of concern to you as manager? If not, then why not?”
“The Reds relievers walk the first batter they face at an alarming rate? Is this of concern to you? What steps are you taking to limit this?”
How hard is that to do?
That requires a less than feckless reporter…something not found in these parts. Get used to it.
sorry….more than*
Yeah, I know, but it was presented as a “dream”.
The best we’ll get is “Reds’ rally falls short!”
It could be asked in an honest, sincere manner, like “We’d really like to know…..”
Even though the “Bell bashing” upsets certain people, I have to ask:
If you knew before the game even started that you were absolutely positively 100% going to let Lively throw multiple innings in this game, even if it meant basically allowing the game to get out of hand, why not just START with him and see what happened? You’ve basically wasted Cruz and Young in a game where they served no purpose, but you could only find out they served no purpose after you used Lively. Could have just started with Lively, seen what he could do, and if the game was out of hand after his 4 or 5 innings, then you use Law and maybe Duarte (or Maile) to finish up, and everyone else (most importantly, Cruz) is available tomorrow. If the game is close when Lively leaves, THEN you can use Cruz etc. to keep you in the game.
Not to mention, where’s Sims and Gibault? Why pull Young on 9 pitches? Oh, that’s right – handedness.
mets 1st & 3rd nobody out in the 9th , 3-1 game…..there is a chance !
Tie game! Thank you Mets!
Lively is averaging a run an inning and a WHIP approaching 3.0. And yet he’s still pitching. The Reds are really trying to win here, clearly.
WHIP approaching 4 now. Finally, we get Law. The question is which Law.
Now thats funny and the answer is no and they weren’t in the 6th or 7th either.
I guarantee Bell will praise Lively up & down for eating innings….the problem is, the bat boy could eat innings too if you don’t care how many runs he gives up or if you don’t care about winning the game
Barrero is 4-4 tonight. Since everyone, including the Reds FO considers him expendable, swap him and EDLC. Won’t be as exciting but definitely better defensively.
Nope that ship sailed back when Newman was at shortstop.Man I can’t believe what i just said.Newman has been playing some second base at Louisville.Guess they think Barrero is better at short but hey what do I know.
As Doug noted earlier this year, Barrero was the Reds best defensive SS, followed by EDLC, then McLain. As for Newman, he should never have been on the roster. He had some good games against LH’ers but his greatest asset was Bell’s adamant support.
Yeah but if we can hold right here at 2-0,I mean 4-0,well forget it cause its 6-0.Got here late and am just catching up.
It’s 7- 0, but who is counting?
At this point.
Yeah, and this is why it’s problematical about winning a Wild Card spot. Who knows who is actually going to show up at any given game?
Greene is starting tomorrow, ostensibly the Red’s #1 starter, but he might not “have it” either. And somehow, they have to score some runs.
Last night would have seemed to have been a YUGE morale booster, but apparently did not carry over to tonight.
It’s convenient to blame David Bell for everything, but he does not throw any pitches or take any official at bats.
It’s not simply a matter of convenience to blame the manager when an entire team seems to have the same kinds of problems night after night after night. It probably isn’t just a wild a coincidence that practically every position player is striking out at an alarming rate, and that so many relief pitchers seem to be unable to throw strikes when they enter a game.
Cubs 2 Pirates 0 just in the 1st inning…
Marlins won
is it too late to teach Elly to bunt every time up?
Friday-Saturday were great. Sunday was a bummer. Monday super uplifting and tonight is deflating. What a roller coaster.
The Cubs are going 5-1 vs Pittsburgh & Colorado. Their crowd gives them energy.
So back to 1 spot left. Be nice if Miami can falter because I think we could atleast tie Arizona
I think Miami is the team of destiny. They swept the Braves over the weekend. But then again, they have always had a “thing” for the Braves.
We walked 8 batters,punched out 13 times so far and have 2 hits.Kind of hard to figure after last nights game.
I think it’s no ideal Elly being embarrased in that way…it’s better benching him some games , no problem…
This fiasco might in some way be Bell’s push back against Bull.
“You can’t get us any SP help? Okay, here you go….”
Sure it’s a disaster, and perhaps the flat play is a response to it.
Comp it with the inspired play last night behind an inspired pitcher.
Players aren’t automatons despite their salaries and maybe even being in a pennant race isn’t enough to overcome the dismay over having to run out a bullpen game during a crucial series in a pennant race.
This one isn’t on Bell, it’s on the Bull.
14 whiffs and game ain’t even over … Reds need to get rid of clown hitting coach … this has been a problem all year
Marte and McLain need to play SS REST OF YEAR … De La Cruz needs to be on bench
Lively is who disappoints me the most….here you have a chance to show up big when your team needs you the most (like the rookie did last night) instead you come in and can’t even throw strikes….thanks for nothin!
I wonder if he’s still pitching hurt?
Seems a shell of the pitcher we’ve seen before.
He injured, then reinjured some key muscles.
He could be trying to muscle through it stoically and is performing poorly.
Wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen this.
Bull pen day without using Gibaut, Sims , Moll and Diaz. Farmer just tossed a few pitches…Hopefully Greene is gonna stop the Twins tomorrow and the offense could wake up again…
Wow Tyler Stephenson to close the game hitting into a double-play, what a pathetic way to finish this terrible game….
This one’s going to hurt. Marlins win, and Cubs probably going to win.
Well, the time delay on WLW versus MLBtv has forced me to watch Sadak and Lark the last week or so. Inasmuch as I can barely tolerate Sadak’s factoids and his rather frat boy rah-rah style, he does come in well prepared and his voice and tone are fine. The “Lark” though is just awful. He offers nothing to suggest that he was the exceptional one in his playing days. No analysis, no excitement, just nothing. How could the executive management allow him to do this? Maybe his “coaching” was not so valuable after all. I don’t know but I wonder how many fans are so appalled with this announcing team that their fandom is at risk. Count me as one.
Even with the exceptional preparation of the rookie class and a successful season overall, the crazy and mysterious gyrations of field management has made me realize that a large part of my fandom was due to the Cowboy and his knowledge of the pitching process. I will give Sadak credit for one factoid though. 14 Ks tonight, one of a dozen times they have had at least that number. Unbelievable!
Larkin was a great player & a nice guy…..but he does not belong anywhere near a broadcast booth
I enjoy listening to the Cowboy as well … he is 10 times the announcer that either of these 2 are …. And the guy knows the game …his pitching knowledge is indeed amazing.
I enjoy him too. He can breakdown details so effortlessly about pitching that we would not even think about, and the importance of why. Also will explain how advanced hitters are and details how they watch and pick up tendencies of pitchers. Like the way GA takes that deep breath and exhales and always throws to his catcher, base steelers delight.