The Cincinnati Reds return home from a short road trip that saw them drop two of three to the Pirates despite giving up five runs in the series. They are now opening up a 3-game homestand against the 1st place Chicago Cubs and will be looking to get back to the .500 mark with a win tonight. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40pm ET.
Starting Lineups
Chicago Cubs | Cincinnati Reds |
| Ian Happ – LF | TJ Friedl– CF |
| Kyle Tucker – DH | Santiago Espinal – 3B |
| Seiya Suzuki – RF | Elly De La Cruz – SS |
| Pete Crow-Armstrong – CF | Austin Hays – LF |
| Carson Kelly – C | Spencer Steer – 1B |
| Michael Busch – 1B | Tyler Stephenson – DH |
| Dansby Swanson – SS | Jose Trevino – C |
| Nico Hoerner – 2B | Connor Joe – RF |
| Matt Shaw – 3B | Matt McLain – 2B |
| Matthew Boyd – LHP | Hunter Greene – RHP |
Starting Pitchers
| Pitcher | IP | ERA | WHIP | BB | K |
| Hunter Greene | 45.2 | 2.36 | 0.81 | 8 | 61 |
| Matthew Boyd | 51.1 | 2.98 | 1.23 | 13 | 53 |
| Links: Hunter Greene’s Stats | Matthew Boyd’s Stats | |||||
Hunter Greene
After missing the last 15 days on the injured list, Hunter Greene is back on the mound tonight in Cincinnati. He’s hoping to pick up where he left off.
The splits for Greene this season are good on both sides, but he has been significantly better against right-handed hitters. Lefties are hitting a bit better for average, and that’s carried over into a higher on-base percentage, too. But the real difference is that when they do get the occasional hit they do hit for power.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 76 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 26 | .151 | .184 | .274 |
| LHH | 100 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 35 | .194 | .250 | .398 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-seam | Slider | Split | |
| Velo | 99.4 | 88.5 | 88.3 |
| Usage | 59% | 33% | 9% |
Matthew Boyd
It’s been a strong start to the year for Matthew Boyd. He hasn’t walked a batter yet in three starts in May, throwing 18.0 innings and racking up 23 strikeouts during those outings.
The lefty has had some strange platoon splits so far this year. Left-handed hitters are hitting for a high average and they are getting on base against him quite a bit, too. What they aren’t doing is hitting for any power. Right-handed hitters aren’t hitting for a high average and they aren’t walking much, but they do show solid power against him when they do pick up hits.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 150 | 37 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 41 | .247 | .294 | .427 |
| LHH | 50 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | .302 | .400 | .349 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-seam | 2-seam | Curve | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 93.4 | 91.3 | 74.8 | 81.8 | 79.3 |
| Usage | 47% | 3% | 9% | 19% | 21% |
When and Where
- Game time: 6:40pm ET
- Where: Great American Ballpark
- Watch: FanDuel Sports Network Ohio, MLB.tv
- Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: 66°, cloudy, 5% chance of rain
News and Notes
Reds sign Garrett Hampson, option Rece Hinds
In a move that’s about as confusing as one I can recall, the Reds signed a no-hit utility player today in Garrett Hampson to a big league deal when he has no options available and sent Rece Hinds to Triple-A to make room for him on the 26-man roster.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand begins his rehab
Last night in Arizona the Reds infielder made his first rehab appearance with the rookie-level ACL Reds. He went 0-3 with two strikeouts.
Division Standings
| Team | W | L | GB | Playoff Odds |
| Chicago | 30 | 20 | 0.0 | 78.2% |
| St. Louis | 27 | 23 | 3.0 | 28.6% |
| Cincinnati | 25 | 26 | 5.5 | 6.9% |
| Milwaukee | 25 | 26 | 5.5 | 13.9% |
| Pittsburgh | 17 | 34 | 13.5 | 0.2% |
| Playoff Odds via Fangraphs | ||||
Yikes, Reds facing a Left Handed pitcher! It’ll be interesting to see if Hunter Greene pitches well. This kind of looks like a big mismatch this weekend as far as Offense vs. Offense, with the Cubs having a very good lineup. Will be interesting to see if the Reds can stay in these games and win one or two this weekend.
Doug, I love that you call out that move of signing Hampson and demoting Hinds; and in a professional manner. It really is a head scratcher. Feels like the team just got worse with a completely unnecessary move. Another tough pill to swallow amongst a whole bottle from this front office.
I’d say that this series will put the last nail to the coffin.
I think the 2nd series against the cubs coming up will be the end of the Reds hope to be a contender this season. Miracles can happen once in a while. Gotta play the games but the next 3 weeks, the Reds schedule looks very tough.
“Miracles can happen once in a while”
Princes Diaries? 🙂
The Reds have no one to fear and nothing to lose… The play to win, and either they will or they won’t. I thought this series was going to be on the road, but obviously it isn’t. Let’s have no pre-gone conclusions. This is baseball. If we can lose to the Pirates, then the Cubs can lose to us. Let’s beat these Cubbies !
Love your optimism! Every game has it’s own challenges and opportunities! Hope for the best, pray for no injuries. In the end, tomorrow will still come! If the Lord doesn’t come back before then!
Not to be overly dramatic but this may be the most important series for the Reds in this young season! The Reds have fallen six games behind (in the loss column) the Central Division leading Cubs! While a series sweep would be ideal, winning 2 out of three would at least send a message to the Cubs and others in the division that the Reds are a team to contend with in the long haul.
As far as the NL Wild Card race, the Reds are five games back in the loss column there!
Hopefully, Greene is fully healed and ready to go 5 or 6 innings tonight! Let’s make it easier on him in his return by scoring some runs early! Will be a challenge with the Cubs throwing a lefty tonight!
Maybe the Reds can be inspired by the awesome comeback by the Indiana Pacers the other night! Not a big Pacers fan but did live in Indianapolis for 8 years in the late 70s and early 80s! Rooting for the Pacers because I simply cannot and will not root for any New York sports team!
Let’s get back on the winning track!
Hope Hampson hits a homer as pinch-hitter today
I hope I win the lottery. Neither of us has a chance.
😀
I don’t understand why Hampson isn’t in the lineup. With him and Joe we will be forgetting about the 75 reds and that domination. It’s the new Big Red Machine!
It may be a new Reds machine but it’s definitely not big at the moment.
Freaking 4 cylinder.
Great game the other night. Hopefully my boys will finish the game tonight.
3 cylinder Geo.
Aside. Knew a guy with one and it struggled to get over the Continental Divide.
More like the little red vibrator.
Hunter souped-up!!
Yeah, he’s firing 100 mph heaters. Let’s hope he keeps mixing in some sliders.
Hunter Renfoe got released. Hope Krall can pick him up and send down Benson
hahaha 😀
hahaha The poor ball kid is in big trouble.
He’s not going to get any free signed balls from Friedl. haha
Saved him from risking the first out at third base. He was doing God’s work.
Friedl kicks things off with Dbl !
That’s one way to get a run in !
Boy that was a DUMB play.Thank you Cubs.
Espinal got all of that one
haha You’re cracking me up tonight. 🙂
Yeah, but the luck is on our side this time.
Wow, two more hits in a row, and no outs !
And now Steer Dbls home another run ! Runners on 2nd and 3rd, with on outs in the first.
Good job by the top of the order 2-0 and runners on the corners no outs
We’ve TWO runs already.
Make that 3 …
As odd as it is, the Rockies and their 8-42 record are the ML leaders in triples with 14.
That is odd
But they have no singles, doubles or homers. That explains it.
It’s an offensive EXPLOSION.
Ty Steve just worked a 10 pitch walk… I’m smiling.
Couldn’t get out of Pittsburgh fast enough, eh?
Well what a surprise… and so far Sadak is only one talking is Larkin there?
Oh there is Larkin lol
Wow really good at bats through the first six Reds batters
Great spot for Hinds here. Oh wait….
hahaha
Too bad it ended at 3, but a great start in any event !
Rally killer double-play , Connor Joe… Reds can’t take advantage completely of this inning, at least 4 or 5 runs have been scored
Good inning, but could have been so much. Hinds for Joe would sound good.
I will leave the Joe thing to people who know better then me.If somebody finds out why he is still getting at bats and Hinds is at Louisville after we sign who ever it was to a one year deal let me know.
and lost the challenge
that 1/2 inning was a snapshot of the entire reds season….great for three runs and everything looks fantastic….followed by total ineptitude…3 men on with no outs & you get nothing more….insane
I have absolutely zero clue what they’re trying to do with Joe and Hampton. Maybe they’ve written off guys like Hinds (and unfortunately they’re probably right) but even veteran guys like Joe and Hampton aren’t the answer. Neither dude has hit for years.
Francona said Hampson gives them versatility off the bench and can play multiple positions. Paraphrasing..
Said Hinds needs to play and isn’t a 4th or 5th outfielder.
Still dont like it….
“Said Hinds needs to play and isn’t a 4th or 5th outfielder.”
I agree.
So why not play him over retreads??
Greene doesn’t look TOO rusty. lol
I think this current roster could start every inning with the bases loaded and no outs and still only manage to score an average of less than 1.5 runs per inning.
had a pitcher totally on the ropes & could have knocked him out & screwed up the Cubs pitching for the series, and they let him off the hook…for now
We all hope that doesn’t come back to haunt us.
But when do we ever get what we want?
Find the way to score more runs
Well, that’s simple: Hire some guys who can hit.
Holy cow even McLain got a hit.
That’s what were we talking about….the oppo approach.
I know! Why can’t they do that every game? So frustrating
Good piece of hitting by MM right there.
Nobody rocks the City Connect uni better than Elly.
Even the top is buttoned all the way up tonight.
Yes and I’m happy about that.
Logged in late … imagine my surprise … 😮
You missed all the fun.
Boyd bounced back…. or Reds hitters started to cool off?
Elly only featured one off speed pitch last half, a splitter. One pitch at 99-100 will take him only so far.
How ’bout that pitching to Ian Happ ? Got ’em with the Fastball to end it.
*Greene* not Elly.
Well he threw 34 pitches in the first and 13 in the second and we got a hit.Two hitters fanned and Elly did on 3 pitches so to me its just what we see a lot.
No change in Elly at the plate.
Despite Greene throwing 100 MPH often the Cubs are almost making contact to all of pitches
Nice to see Greene back and getting some run support.
Is Trevino the starting catcher now?
He should be.
No, and no he shouldn’t be.
Yes he should.
Sure, everyone has their own preferences.
Trevino Career: .241/.279/.373/.652
Stephenson Career: .264/.341/.423/.763
I know who I’m starting.
Stephenson should be a starting DH and a back up catcher to Trevino.
Greene had a hard-working inning throwing more than 20 pitches…a lot of fouls
Yeah, and he gave up a Dbl on a slider, so he’s working his other stuff now too. Gotta keep the batters off balance.
Not a bad first 3 innings back from Greene. The one hit was a weak blooper into no-man’s land.
Armstrong totally blew that fly ball
Nice triple from Hays. Let’s get him home!
My gamecast says, “Hays scored”, but no mention of how…
Passed ball
Thank you !
We will take it but Boyd actually threw a strike on 0-2 so lets get Hays in please.
Guy on 3rd and no outs.Not good for the Reds. Boyd helps them out.
Cubs are playing tonight like the Cubs we all know and love.
I sense some irrational exuberance creeping into the comments. Boycotting the game, which sends a statement that should make the Castellinis mend their penurious ways.
Wow. When this man has lost his optimism it’s not good. Probably the nicest and most patient poster in RLN.
A few years ago went to a Reds game vs Cubs. Cub fans some of the nicest I have met at gabp
Just not who you want to sit next too during a Reds game.
They sat beside us and we talked, Like I said nice fans or at least in my experience
Austin hays is a ball player
I think tito knows who his guys are but keep focusing on player 26!
Valid point OS
Hays was a great pick up by the Reds.
Which 26th? The Reds have so many.
Well TySteve battled and got hosed
Bad call. Big time hosed.
Yep but it was a great 11 pitch at bat.That gets Boyd closer to being out of the game.
Great ab by Stepheson even though it ended in a strike out
I like seeing that constipated look on Counsell’s face.
LOL
Come on MM its your time right here.Be patient and get it done.
Stephenson took the 11th pitch for a called strike three, but Trevino then gets walked on 4 pitches…
Connor Joe gets some redemption, runners on 1st and 2nd, but two outs.
Let Boyd off the hook a little bit, but his pitch count isn’t pretty.
Hoping Hunter can get through 5 and we keep the lead for him.
Cubs bullpen is ranked 19th in ERA. Reds are down to 6th.
Thanks for Info..
Friedl catches that ball and shotguns a Budweiser. Guy is a savage.
Maybe one more inning for Boyd.Would love to see the Cubs pen in early
Robo Zone and Challenge System Please … this trash chumpiring is getting old
Had Suzuki struck out!!!! Just a terrible miss considering he has called that against the Reds
Should be 4-1 just annoys me how these umps continuously inconsistent. Do something MLB
I still think PCA is somehow overperforming… 13 dingers?
Power bats matter they just matter.
Uh Oh, the Cubs hit one out with one on, score now 4-2 Reds.
Greene walks the next guy. Needs to settle down.
Should be 3 outs and Greene back in the dougout
Yes but the Reds should have 5 or 6 runs at this point not 4.
True, however all I am saying Roger is the ump missed strike three and it cost Greene. a two run homerun and a walk. We see this all the time and now as I type Greene cant find the strike zone.
I am with you Kevin and you right about the missed call and it costs a run and more pitches.Robo umps can’t happen soon enough.
Ok these back-to-back walks aren’t a good sign
Greene letting that homer get to him. He has to let it go and attack the zone.
Time to go out and talk to him…
Throw the splitter !
Probably Greene’s last inning.
No need to go any further with him.We need him down the road.
Now Greene is battling ugh
There are times when Greene looks so relaxed with easy power and brutal command.
This is not one of those times.
A little rusty and fatigued. Hope he’s good for the 5th inning and that we pile on a few runs whilst chasing Boyd.
WLW feed now synched with the TV feed (or as close as I can get it).
Finish Nico off and go sit down, HG.
Whew ! That was huge ! 12 pitch at bat with two on… ends with a popup.
Unbelievable 12-pitch at bat. Last two innings cut short the Greene’s outing. Maybe Tito remove him after 83 pitches on 4 IP coming back from injury…
Nico to comfortable in the box. Throw one up and in. Get him off his timing.
Yep, they need to do that a lot more.
I am worried about that first inning coming back to haunt this team, 3 should have been at least 5.
Makes a big difference. I agree.
Greene’s last three pitches to Hoerner, in a 12 pitch AB, in a 37 pitch inning, with the sword hanging over him… all dots on the outside corner. Tough inning but way to finish strong.
Barlow is warming…Greene is out.
I’d like to see Suter come in. Different hand and speeds to keep them off balance.
agree 100%
Cubs giving us extra outs we need to take advantage.
Sure would have liked Hays to give Elly a chance to steal right there but well.
Barlow isn’t the first reliever I’m bringing out of the pen. Let’s cross our fingers
Barlow did very well.
Impressive vertical for MattyMc!!!
Tito shows a ton of confidence in his relievers and Barlow went 1 2 3 his last outing so maybe again tonight.
I hope.
Good! Barlow could tossed a scoreless inning
Nice job Barlow.
Bar-High tonight
Barlow fanned two hitters and hit 94 a couple of times.Got them in order and that’s as good as you can get.Great job now lets put up a crooked number.
Barlow through 5/11: 16.2 IP 13 K 14 BB
Barlow since: 4.2 IP 6 K 0 BB
I want to believe.
Stephenson has been showing signs of getting his timing back. This is a good thing.
Way to go Tyler!
Stephenson is due.. He beat me to the punch lol
Nice to see Steer and Stephenson getting some big hits for a change. We need them.
Nice for sure, it was just a matter of time.
Good piece of hitting right there by Steer.Two hits and a line out.Great job.
Nice swat from TySteve. Almost found that notch in Left-Center.
Good result anyway.
Nice hitting, by the way, for the Reds thus far against a starting LHP. We typically struggle monumentally against such.
Robbed by Shaw. nice play.
Benson ph… let’s go!!!
Come on MM make em pay for walking Benson.
Friedl in the clutch!!! RBI to pad the lead to 4 runs again
This team is so hard to figure out.
Let us know if you do. 🙂
Lmao….
This team would make a schizophrenic confused!
haha 🙂
Been out cleaning my pool filter the last couple of innings before it gets dark! When I left Greene had just completed the first inning on 10 pitches! I come back and Greene is out after 4 innings with a pitch count of 83! So, that means it took Greene 73 pitches to get through innings 2 thru 4. That’s 24 pitches per inning!
I want to cut Greene some slack given the fact that he’s just back from a groin injury but if he wants to be an elite pitcher he has to cut down on the walks and the high pitch-count innings. Ideally, he should be able to extend thru 6 or 7 innings per start!
Hey JB. That Friedl guy looks like a l… Like a le….what kind of player is he like again?
He is Legit. It’s those black spikes
😀
Espinal due for a hr….
Big hit by Freidl, he is having a very good year, my team MVP thus far.
That reliever is done for the next couple of days although may like to see him again but he’s out after 37 pitches.
TOOTBLAN to end the inning, but we did get the 2 runs back.
I hope that wasn’t the get caught in a rundown and the guy on 3rd tries to score crap. I thought they let Bell take that stupid play with him.
I am going to believe someone missed a sign..
Someone may have missed a sign there on that steal attempt. 6-2.
Well, the base running remains a problem.
That sucked to all get out. Somebody was sleeping.
Francona making all the right moves so far!!!
Is Lodolo pitching tomorrow? I dislike the way they changed the reds/mlb website page..
It’s a complete KRAP redesign. You can’t scroll through games to see that. The bar across the top only takes you to the “buy tickets” page. P-Thet-Ick!!!
The best Barlow’s outing this year
Barlow gets 4 hitters in a row and punches out 3 of them.Great job by maybe the last man in the pen.Tonight he was first up and did a great job.
Rogers manages to finish the inning after fall 3-1 on the count against Busch
Out of baseline??
Okay can someone explain out of baseline to me?? As wasn’t he out of baseline,
The Cubs can apparently go anywhere.
There really is no set “baseline” … as per the rule the runner establishes his own baseline and can’t deviate from it to induce contact like in a rundown situation
How is sliding in the infield grass not out of the baseline?!?
Man another ball hit into no man’s land…
Up 4 get the sure out Mclain, terrible decision.
Not really on Gibault that inning. I thought the runner was out of the baseline, but it was borderline. And that “single” was just a tough play.
And the inning got complicated… I don’t know why Tito didn’t go with the usual trio Ashcraft-Santi-Pagán to 7th, 8th and 9th… Of course Gibaut has been a little unlucky too
I agree! That rotation has been effective more often than not! I am not a big fan of Gibaut!
Bad luck for Gibaut that inning
McLain should have taken the sure out at first. Just asking for trouble giving the Cubs extra outs.
Gibault for Richardson = dumb
How is that Gibauts fault?
Well he did give up 3 runs with 1 out.
Tucker hit that first pitch slider like he knew it was coming.
Why does it feel like the Reds are gonnna Cub tonight at this point?
That’s a Clete for me.
Tony throws up all over the mound. Pretty sure Tony leads the Reds relievers in Inherited runners scored.
Nope, Rogers does by far, entering tonight Santillan only allowed 2 of 11 IR to score.
Really bad pitch by Santi… It’s known this cubs are hitting a lot …
Gas can Gibaut started this crap.
Gibault wasn’t bad tonight. Defense did him no favors.
That is why the Cubs are where they are at and why we are where we are at.They can hit with power and we don’t.It just that simple.This game is over and it should never have been close.
Yep send down a guy who provides power for 2 guys that are at end of their career that provide no power. Reds baseball …catch it.
Oh just sit down Armstrong. In old days you would be thrown at your next ab. Clown
Saw the same thing Kevin …What a chump
If the Reds don’t find a way to come back in this game, I don’t have a lot of hope for games 2 and 3! This looks all too familiar to some of the bullpen meltdowns last season!
Mclain’s decision and Gibault in both poor decisions.
Complete implosion by Tony
Truly it was. It happens, however doesn’t make it any easier to take.
Santillian picked a bad time to have a bad game. Ugh
Yep and I leave him right out there to finish this mess.You don’t think the Cubs were setting on Santy’s slider go ask Tucker and the kid that hit the grand slam.
This is one of those games where Benson needs to take over.
Santi has been a disaster today , Francona is giving up the game?
How is Francona giving up this game??
I thought Tito was going to keep Santillan on the mound to face more hitters, it’s evident he hasn’t it
My apologies for jumping on your comment…
So Gibaut gets an out and then Hoerner gets a hit. McLain misses the tag on what should have been a double play out of the inning. Then next batter hits a bloop that Espinal can’t hold onto. Gibaut is replaced and Santillan gets ripped and it’s Gibaut fault? Lmao
Exactly, not on Gibaut tonight.
I thought I might at least make it to June 1st on my FD Sports subscription, but that’s looking real iffy at this point.
Krall is a joke. Cubs trade away Baez and wind up with PCA, an MVP candidate. The Reds dumped Castillo. They dumped Gray. They dumped Winker, coming off his All-Star season. All for junk pieces in return.
And this offseason, the Cubs acquired Tucker, one of the best hitters in baseball this season. But don’t worry…Krall saved his prospects so they can join an incomplete roster in 2028…
Krall didn’t dump Castillo. Ownership didn’t want to pay him $100M and chose to rebuild. Hence, no use for Gray. Phil Castellini made it clear they were going to build from within. If Krall were to trade away prospects he’d be going against the edict set forth by ownership. What part of this do you not understand???
Yep, new organizational direction to build through development. Many don’t want to acknowledge it and continue to scream at the clouds to for their small market team to build through free agency that they can’t afford.
I don’t understand the logic behind it. We already know the team refuses to spend money on free agents. So if they’re not going to use some of their prospects to acquire pieces to fill the holes on the roster, what hope is there to ever be anything over a .500 team?
@Tom I’d be okay with not signing free agents if they were at least trying to fill roster holes via trade. It’s worked pretty well for Milwaukee over the better part of the past decade. And they’re a smaller market than Cincinnati.
@Richcringe Jon clearly pointed out the Krall got nothing for trading away a bunch of good players which is true. What do you not understand?
The results. The results have not been good Richard, not sure whats hard to understand about that? Look at the players Nick Krall has traded away and then look at the players the Reds received in those trades. Its clear you are a fan of his, but the results have not reflected well on Nick Krall. They are not developing players under his watch. They have not reached the post season under his watch.
The team still struggles the same way year after year. Bad fundamentals, lack of timely (or consistent) hitting. Bullpen has been inconsistent. Their “star” player has not improved and is making the same basic mistakes as the previous year. They still continue to sign journeymen, cheap players who have no business being on the roster in place of guys like Rece Hinds who you need to figure out if he can be a good big leaguer. I cannot see a single thing Nick Krall has done to move this organization any closer to being a consistent winner. He sure knows how to find a cheap backup catcher maybe? Still waiting on someone to explain his credentials to even run a major league baseball team?
This could now turn into a series sweep and put the Reds in a deep deep hole. The Richardson decision was just stupid.
I know folks may say it’s only May, but I personally believe there needs to be a sense of urgency this weekend. It’s not just another series. You don’t wanna find yourself 8.5 games out come Sunday.
Oh, and Crow-Armstrong needs to shut his yapper.
Keeping the score to two runs is huge at this point… Suter gets the 2nd out with a K.
I’m at the game, but went to the Family Zone with my daughter right before the Grand Slam. Not sure I can go back to my seat. Not a lot of hope they can come back the way this team has been hitting.
Well all I know this team is due to comeback. Hasn’t happened much this season, yet feels like tonight maybe the night.
That’s a strike clown
Awright ! We’re two down but have 3 innings to get ’em back !
Wait til your father gets home. I’ve said since week 2, wait til we play the Cubs to evaluate our pen
Gotta know when to hold ’em and when to fold ’em. Are the Cubs really this good ? We shall see.
Cubs are a bunch of whiny punks. Was a strike. Take it and play the game.
Crowe-Armstrong needs to get drilled in the back or leg ….don’t want the guy to get hurt , but somebody needs to send that cocky punk a message
Reds will probably not even get a base runner.Its over cause the Cubs will score more.Sweep is on the way.
How can a player and coach both get in an umpires face to argue a strike call and nobody get tossed?
All year Francona has used Santillan in the 8th inning with no one on base. He brings him in to replace a reliever after a bloop single. Why!!!! TONIGHT he doesn’t look like a HOF Manager. Several questionable moves tonight.
I disagree, he has managed the game solid. Gibaut had some tough luck. Tony just didn’t have it tonight
For once I agree with you.
Abbott tomorrow
Thanka Mark
Steer having a 3-hit game thus far… I think he hasn’t done that since long time go
Nice to see him back to himself.
Steer is in a groove right now for sure.
Easy to say in hindsight, but maybe better off with Ashcraft to put out the fire vs Tucker/Suzuki/PCA up 4 with the bases loaded? Probably your best “avoid HRs” guy, and a bit tougher on LH.
Santillan just didn’t have it at all tonight, but…
Agreed! The Richardson decision was awful and now Garrett Hampson? This organization is an absolute joke!
If nothing else, it definitely sends the wrong message. Like winning THIS year is not a priority.
Mclain fails and people may disagree but his poor decision last inning really hurt. It should have been 2 out runner on 2nd = whole different inning.
Yep, McLain messed up and Espinal should have caught that pop up that ticked off his glove.
Yeah. That was unwise, that out would have helped a lot.
Cubs Crow-Armstrong first pitch down the middle hits for grand slam. Reds McLain first pitch down the middle takes for a strike. That sums up an important part of tonight’s game. Not sure who else the Reds have in minor leagues, but maybe time to send McLain down to work on his hitting.
This game is literally on McLain , Santi and maybe Tito
I agree 100%. I have seen enough of Mclain for awhile.
McLain is not getting sent down and to do so would be a horrendous decision.
Noone on this team (short of a couple of pitchers) should feel safe from being sent down. Especially a guy who has half a season of success under his belt coming off a major injury. Makes absolutely no sense to say Matt McLain is immune from being sent down to get himself right.
And Suter. Imagine having guys in your lineup that can actually hit home runs…
Just joining. Bullpen meltdown, I see.
It was a nice evening for a ball game, but it’s pretty frustrating watching this team right now. They had a pretty favorable schedule the past couple of months and still only managed to hover around .500. The Schedule is going to be brutal for the next six weeks or so. It will be interesting to see where the Reds are at that point. I’m not optimistic. Would not be surprised if Tito goes back into retirement after this season.
I fear it’s gonna get pretty ugly. The Reds are gonna pay a heavy price in the next month by not taking advantage of a weak schedule. Things have a way of coming back to haunt you if you don’t seize opportunities.
OK, I’ve seen enough of this dumpster fire! This old man is tired and will tune in tomorrow!
That’s a wrap.
Reds bullpen having a bad game. It happens.
Okay rally reds!!!
6.5 GB
You need to hit home runs in this park. Tonight 3 to 0, and Hinds sent down. What is wrong with this team?
Biggest thing along with Hinds being sent down is Espy has no power nor Joe nor Lux nor Friedl nor Trevino and guys that do have power have been struggling such as Ty Steve and Steer and MM.Then there are the guys on the IL like Marte and CES and Candy that do have power.Cubs got 9 runs on homers.Enough said.
Well, this sucks. Royally. Very disappointed. We had a 6-2 lead late in the game for crying out loud!
And there it is. Limiting a mult-millions dollar ace to 80 pitches. Bulllen gives up 1,000 runs.
No. Our ace is coming back from injury. Of course he’s limited to 80 pitches.
He does not need limited to 80 pitches. These are the best athletes in the world.
The story of the Reds for several years now: score runs, pitching fails-can’t score, pitching is great. We get one or the other, but both only about 40-50% of the time.
I know this Cubs team are hitting a lot and overperforming but I insist Tito has managed the bullpen something weird today…I would rather he had continued his usual plan for 7th-8th-9th when Reds lead…Now you leave Suter gets crushed by Suzuki with 2 runners on base in a 2-run game
This game is actually on Gibault, which means Krall. Tito may be a good soldier publicly, but I hope he’s laying it out behind the scenes.
Nope, not on Gibaut tonight. He did fine, his defense failed him.
Gibaut. 3 runs allowed tonite. ERA 7.11 ERA. BAA .296
REALITY.
Did Tito take this job believing that ownership was fully committed to winning (increasing payroll)? If not, I can’t understand why he would sign up for this.
Reds got two more games but the Reds are getting out homered at home cause this roster right now is not built for GABP.It just that simple.Cubs got 9 runs on homers with a lineup full of home runs hitter except Hoerner.Happ kills the Reds and he didn’t homer nor Tucker but they will and often especially at GABP.
After this disaster the Reds will be 25 and 27. However let’s call it like it is the pitching until tonight has been ok but the bottom line is that the 2 guys who were supposed to carry this team have failed miserably. You tell me who they are.
Mey hadn’t given up a homer since 2 years ago… It’s unbelievable what is happening to the bullpen tonight…
Reds have given up 11 runs in less than three innings.
11 runs on homers as well.
I need someone to provide a reasonable theory about why players like PCA are developing and growing, and Reds young (should be) stars are choking left and right. Coaching? Talent? I don’t get it.
Years of bad development approach, centered on grip & rip. 5 years of winning doesn’t matter and we’ll get them tomorrow. One of the worst FOs in professional sports. One of the worst ownership groups in sports history. Only 50 games of Francona – not enough time to fix things. Most folks knew this year would be painful. And Krall/Castellini did nothing this off season to mitigate that. Hays, Trevino, et Al were not enough and everyone here who viewed it honestly knew that. Hopefully, next year is better.
Well said LDS and no argument from me.
“One of the worst FOs in professional sports. One of the worst ownership groups in sports history.”
Correction: The worst FO in pro sports. The worst ownership group in sports history. The 30 years of zero postseason winning makes that concrete.
Krall and Castellini thought getting Francona was “enough”.
Bullpen worst game by far.
My comment last year some of these youngsters need to become dudes. Not even a HOF manager had improved this team one bit. This is not one good bat away from solving the problem. This is a team problem. The Cubs are a real team that knows how to hit.
Another great night of baseball. What a great game is baseball, every night is an adventure. Let’s go get them tomorrow.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Lost in all this is the Reds battled against a good pitcher tonight. Bullpen had a uncharacteristic game for sure. It looks bad as they just lost 2 to the pirates. Cubs while good aren’t the 1996 Yankees.. lol….
I think the Cubs have a World Series type of starting 8 potentially, but not World Series pitching staff. I think a few moves at the deadline by them and they could be a contender to truly win it all.