After a disappointing series in Boston, the Cincinnati Reds (45-42) head southwest to Citizens Bank Park for a weekend series with the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies (51-36). It’s a battle of southpaws this afternoon on Independence Day in Philadelphia. Andrew Abbott takes the mound for the Reds, while Jesús Luzardo gets the start for the Phillies. First pitch is at 1:05 PM EDT.
The Phillies are one of the best teams in the National League and in first place in the East division. The Phillies steal a lot of bases, 76 up to this point in the season, which is good for 4th in the NL. They can also pitch well. The Phillies have a team ERA of 3.71, and their pitchers have 801 strikeouts this season, tops in the NL and second in MLB behind the Astros.
Lineups
Cincinnati Reds | Philadelphia Phillies |
| CF – TJ Friedl | SS – Trea Turner |
| DH – Matt McLain | DH – Kyle Schwarber |
| SS – Elly De La Cruz | 1B – Bryce Harper |
| LF – Austin Hays | 3B – Alec Bohm |
| 1B – Spencer Steer | RF – Nick Castellanos |
| C – Tyler Stephenson | C – J.T. Realmuto |
| 3B – Noelvi Marte | LF – Otto Kemp |
| RF- Rece Hinds | 2B – Edmundo Sosa |
| 2B – Santiago Espinal | CF – Johan Rojas |
Starting Pitchers
| Pitcher | IP | ERA | WHIP | BB | K |
| Andrew Abbott | 80.1 | 1.79 | 1.02 | 22 | 76 |
| Jesús Luzardo | 95.1 | 4.06 | 1.41 | 32 | 111 |
| Links: Andrew Abbott’s Stats | Jesús Luzardo’s Stats | |||||
Andrew Abbott
Abbott’s last start against the Padres was a struggle for him, simply because he gutted through 102 pitches in five innings. The Padres were on base frequently with seven hits and two walks, but Abbott held them to just one run. Abbott’s pinpoint command and 23.8% strikeout rate are really helping him out with being able to limit big innings by opposing teams. With a 6.9% walk rate, he limits walks, which limits runners on base, and he also limits hard contact. His HardHit% is 32.6%, good for top 9% in baseball.
Abbott has pretty even splits, except for the fact that opposing teams don’t let lefties face him. He overwhelmingly faces right-handed batters, only facing lefties 82 times this season. Abbott has given up a lot more hits and home runs to righties, but that is to be expected when he faces them significantly more than lefties.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB% | K% | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 238 | 45 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7% | 24% | .204 | .261 | .330 |
| LHH | 82 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 6% | 22% | .200 | .259 | .333 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-Seam | Change | Curve | Sweeper | Cutter | |
| Velo | 92.3 | 84.4 | 80.7 | 82.5 | 87.5 |
| Usage | 48.0% | 20.8% | 14.8% | 13.3% | 3.2% |
Jesús Luzardo
Like teams who face Abbott, opposing teams also stack the lineup with right-handed batters when facing Luzardo. He’s only faced lefties 86 times this season in 95.1 innings, and for good reason–he has struck out lefties 36 times of those 86 plate appearances. Luzardo is definitely a high-strikeout pitcher, with 111 strikeouts and whiff rates above 35% on three of his five pitches this season. However, he’s also been hittable, especially of late. In the month of June, Luzardo had a 5.40 ERA in five starts, and opposing hitters hit nearly .300 against him. This actually was an improvement from May when he had a 5.56 ERA through six starts with opposing hitters hitting .314 against him.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB% | K% | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 322 | 84 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 9% | 23% | .290 | .354 | .421 |
| LHH | 86 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3% | 42% | .217 | .244 | .277 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-Seam | Sweeper | Change | Slider | 2-Seam | |
| Velo | 96.4 | 85.9 | 87.9 | 86.6 | 95.8 |
| Usage | 34.5% | 27.0% | 18.7% | 10.1 | 9.7% |
Game Details:
- When: 1:05 PM EDT
- Where: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA
- Watch: FanDuel Sports Network
- Listen: 700 WLW (Cincinnati area)
- Weather Forecast: 82 degrees, sunny, 0% chance of rain
News and Notes
Two Players Return from Injury
The Reds got better today, as Noelvi Marte and Graham Ashcraft were activated off the injured list. Marte was crushing the ball on his rehab assignment at Triple-A Louisville, and as a result, he’s in the starting lineup today. If you were looking for the corresponding roster moves, Redleg Nation has you covered here.
Updates on Injured Players
Connor Joe has also started a rehab assignment, per Charlie Goldsmith.
Connor Joe is starting a rehab assignment today.
— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) July 4, 2025
Minor League Recap
All the scores and stats from the Reds farm teams on Thursday.
Baseball is the Best
There’s nothing quite like baseball on the 4th of July. Have a happy and safe holiday!
— Spotrac (@spotrac) July 4, 2025
Division Standings
| Team | W | L | GB | Fangraph’s Playoff Odds |
| Chicago | 52 | 35 | – | 92.1% |
| Milwaukee | 48 | 39 | 4.0 | 55.7% |
| St. Louis | 47 | 41 | 5.5 | 37.7% |
| CINCINNATI | 45 | 42 | 7.0 | 15.4% |
| Pittsburgh | 38 | 50 | 14.5 | 0.5% |
Happy Fourth everyone — GO REDS!
Great to see Steer in the lineup. Welcome back Marte.
Go Reds!
Espn has the Reds at 19% to make the playoffs.
Lloyd Christmas:
What are the chances of a guy like you and a girl like me… ending up together?
Mary Swanson:
Not good.
Lloyd Christmas:
Not good like one in a hundred?
Mary Swanson:
I’d say more like one in a million.
Lloyd Christmas:
So you’re telling me there’s a chance?
There’s a chance.
Reds need to drasticallyvimprove against NL central Teams first of all
Seems to me at times these Teams have very well scouted Reds, While it seems like Reds are playing against them for the first time
Actually, 19 in 100
Mary Christmas
Happy Independence Day my fellow Reds fans. Kind of sorry not seeing CES in the lineup today. Guess it’s because of the reverse splits. Go Reds
sometimes I feel like you have to throw numbers out and go with a feel or the hot hand. CES was making solid contact even on his outs in the last game
Happy Independence Day everyone!
A look at a “Tale-of-the-Tape” since June 9th! When the Reds started the current stretch of 24 games starting on June 9th against Cleveland and finishing this weekend with the Phillies, I was hopeful the Reds would win half of those games!
Going into the 3-game series against Philadelphia, the Reds are 12-9 during what is arguably the toughest part of the 1st half schedule!
Hoping to start this series off with a win in Game 1 as the pitching matchups do not favor the Reds in Games 2 &3, especially Suday’s game with Burns vs Wheeler!
Let’s feed on that awesome comeback win against Boston on Wednesday and start the fireworks (scoring) a little earlier than the 7th inning!
Tough series but I like this lineup. I see Chase Burns gets Wheeler. Welcome to the big leagues kid.
I noticed that not a single pitcher has a hit against Burns so far in his MLB career. Don’t figure Wheeler will get one either. It’s the nine position players Burns needs to worry about, not the one player he can’t control and doesn’t interact with. I doubt Bob Gibson or Nolan Ryan or a hundred other quality starters worried who the opposing pitcher was on any particular day.
This is a pretty bizarre response to a simple comment about a pitching matchup.
Hate to not see CES in the lineup following his big GS last game. We definitely need game 1 because 2&3 are even tougher matchups pitching wise
I think today’s game offers to the Reds the best chance to win one game in this series…The remaining is really tough due to the Philly’s pitchers… But this is baseball and surprises occur… The Brewers swept Phillies at the end of May in Philladelphia…
I remember that MIL@PHI series.
The Brewers absolutely destroyed Luzardo.
…The Brewers have far fewer problems with LHP than our Reds have.
“When in the course of human events…”
Yep. I almost posted a link to the entire transcript, but decided someone would probably get out of joint that it was “political”
It”ll be fast..
McLain and Elly swinging high balls out of the zone…Be patient please….
Again, it’s called plate discipline! It’s been a problem all season!
Philly manufacturing a run.
Austin Hays just looks like one of those old time old school baseballers. Meant as a compliment.
i totally agree!! it helps that he doesn’t wear batting gloves either. just a cool classic look
Then a blast
Abbott is lacating really bad….The worst thing could happen is Abbott getting rocked in the first inning… 3-0 hole is tough
The fireworks not in our favor thus far…
This is not looking good
Batting practice for thee Phillies thus far!
Ia Abbott tipping too?
Philies line-up with Good experienced hitters… while Reds is pure talent in development
1st runs allowed in the 1st by Abbott all year.
31 pitch 1st inning….another 5 inning start…not what you want
Phillies have 5 batters/players over 30. I thought according to some on rln, 27 was the peak? Interesting lol….
Needless to say, NOT a good start by Abbott! Three (3) runs and a 31-pitch 1st inning!
Getting a win here is going to be tough, the pitching match ups aren’t good. Today was the best and so far so bad.
It would be a real good idea to get at least one run out of this opportunity.
Any way to get a run. Nice to get more.
Did that ball hit his helmet as it was falling off his head?
After replaying…yes…
The helmet fell off…hit his foot….it kicked up and deflected the ball as it was approaching.
That takes skill Hinds!!!
I thought it hit his shoulder
Me too. It looked like the shoulder from what I saw.
Got 1 back.
sighed so hard when hinds of all players was the one up with bases loaded. he almost completely blew that and got lucky. i’m really not a fan of his
He still swings at a lot of pitches out of the strike zone. Makes it easy for pitchers to get him out.
To get anything out of our 8th & 9th hitters is a bonus I guess
Great recovery by Abbott!
Nice 10-pitch bounce back inning by Abbott! Now, let’s get back to work!
Ready for a few of your zingers today!!!
Luzardo is trying to implode so let’s see if the Hitters can help. Not good in the stretch.
Reds making Luzardo work
Nice job Elly.
Great ab by Elly
Castellanos. He is such a joy to watch in Right. NOT
LOL
Come on Steer make it hurt.
Ouch lol
Storming back!
Great hitting this inning. Thank you Steer.
Put it away before the bullpen comes in for the Phillies
How about all these oppo shots JB?
That’s how I know Stephenson is on.
Go REDS GO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hitting is contagious!
Keep going boys, may need a lot today.
As I have gotten older. I just never understand booing your team, or players. I get it it’s what fans do. Just don’t understand why.
They booed Santa in Philly 🙂
Well I mean you are correct!!! LOL
They pummelled him with snow balls.
Threw snowballs at him, too.
Remember that a few years back the fans at a Philadelphia Eagles game on Christmas day booed Santa Claus during the halftime show!
Early fireworks from Reds. The hits keep on coming.
i think this reds team is just better at responding to what the other team does rather than taking initial control of the game. it makes for a stressful watch sometimes, but i think it’s fun!
It’s weird but they seem to do that.
Marte does what’s needed. Just put him at 3rd and leave him there.
Already in the Phillies bullpen in the 3rd inning! That’s a good thing, right?
14 runs in the last 6 innings. Offense is on a roll. Good to see Steer back in the line up and hitting. Welcome back Marte
I root for Hinds, and remind self this is his second season with Reds. Still young and work in progress
I’m a fan of Hinds too but he may do well to consider getting a pretty good hair cut so that he can focus on playing the game of baseball rather than keeping his hat/helmet on his head.
9-8 game today? Abbott is not on either.
Needed a double-play there!
Nothing against Espy but he can’t turn it like Mac.
+10000
Abbott simply does not have it today, bull pen had better be ready quickly.
Based on 3 softly hit singles in the 3rd?
89
90
90
They got him but due to it being in Philly they don’t overturn it so the umps can get out Alive. Lol
Even the Phillies booth said he was out.
Thats’s awful.
He was out. Closer than it should of been. Yet he was out, the ball hit the web of steers glove before Nick touches bag. Good grief
And they say umpiring doesn’t affect the outcome of a game? The 1st base umpire should have pointed at 1st base with a white cane for emphasis!
Who said that?
The ump probably called it on the sound. As noted, the ball was straight into the webbing of the glove and likely did not make much of a sound. So, the ump likely heard the thump of the foot on the base before he saw the glove closing.
Also, I noticed on super slow/ stop action replay, it is possible the underside of Castellano’s foot just ahead of the rear cleats may have actually touched the front of the base while the front of his foot was still in the air over the base. Uncertainty about that could have cost the Reds the overturn win.
You could hear Cowboy wavering in his initial certainty that it was an out as the replays continued. Since the call was out, uncertainty was all it took to uphold it.
Tito asks ump why he wasn’t out and the Umps says you remember what they did to Santa?
Hahahaha
There is no excuse for not turning a double play on that
He was out though
I responded to quickly, yes they should of turned it easier, however he was out. NY got it wrong
Thrall really giving it to the NY umpiring crew for that call. Don’t normally hear him do that so vociferously. (I’m listening, so didn’t see the play myself.)
When they take that long to decide the appeal, they’re fixin’ to get it wrong.
The problem the Reds have now is they are seeing a right handed reliever without Lux or Benson in the line up.
I’ll be at both games Saturday and Sunday in my Reds gear. Any flak jackets you can loan me!? ANyone?!
Prayers sent.
Thank you VaRedsFan! LOL
Way to battle Abbott! Limited the damage to one run! Bad news is Abbott is at 61 pitches, so a long outing is probably off the books!
Bring Espy home now. Friedl as well.
1st & 3rd with no outs and MM strikes out? Simply have to put the ball in play in that situation!
I would have laid one down. Never expected it
Bunting is a lost art in MLB! Whether for a sacrifice or a squeeze play! Was watching the Boston-Washington game earlier and a batter for Boston laid down a perfect bunt hit which led to a 7-run inning for the BoSox!
Got one run back! Why stop there?
Tj and EDLC are back to hitting, good to see.
A real barnburner seems to be developing. …
That bunt is exactly what McLain should have done.
Maybe 9-8 is to low. I’ll go 13-11
Really other than the hr Abbott hasn’t been hit real hard. I assume the thinking is with Burns pitching Sunday, is get Abbott through 5. Doesn’t look good at the moment.
Well it’s up to the BP now
Wow Francona does not give AA a chance to finish the inning with 3 run lead.
I would have gone one more batter with Abbott and let him pitch to Schwarber! Lefty on lefty matchup!
Schwarber 0-4 with 4K’s vs Moll
Now a DP 0-5.
Why test the “Cannon”?
Phillies wanted to review.
Took too long.
Awwww
Looked like he got his hand on before the tag, but we’ll take it.
And that gents is WHY I am NOT a MLB manager!
But your funny as heck!!!
Just remember! There’s a fine line between funny and crazy!
True, however I am both so… 🙂
Marte gave it a ride. Went Oppo so that’s a great sign
Marte really looks like he belongs.
He’s having solid ABs, not swinging at stuff outside the zone, and is staying back, waiting for his pitch.
He looks calm, collected, and assured.
CES could learn a thing or two from watching him.
+1
In today’s game at least.
No, he looked like this before he got injured too.
He has picked up where he left off, which seems to show it wasn’t a fluke.
The more playing time and the better Benson looks. Without Fraley taking at bats from him I think he is relaxed.
They usually both played at the same time though right?
I mean now that Fraley is out. He will be called over Fraley for pinch hitting and Hays and Friedl basically play every day or should in my opinion.
And as long as Hays, Marte, and Lux are healthy, etc., there is probably going to be only one platoon spot for LH hitting OF named Benson or Fraley.
Also, don’t overlook that when Benson was on sabbatical at AAA, he played literally beside Rece Hinds every day. He saw/ knows what Hinds might be capable of if he gets over the hump. That could cut playing time even more for a platoon guy.
Again, Benson reminds me of a lefthanded hitting George Foster! Strong and dangerous!
In my mind’s eye memory, Yahtzee’s swing was much quicker to the ball. And the bat looked like a toothpick in his hands.
Good AB there by Benson. Keep the train rollin’!
… but not good baserunning, unfortunately….
I was just about to say, Oh, the enigma of Will Benson. Off the bench for a big hit, then a big time TOOTBLAN.
Following on gamecast. Admittedly Moll is efficient, but 1 pitch 2 outs is elite level.
Benson then does that. Jeez
Well if anyone has played the game they have made a bone headed base running blunder. Benson I am not even sure what to say
That one take the cake.
+100000
What on earth Will???
Cost Espy a hit.
How the heck did Benson get thrown out there???
Lol Benson….shades of T-ball with little kids in jeans running all over
OMG that made me bust out laughing
OK, be honest! Who had the Reds with 9 runs in 5 innings against a very good Phillies team?
Me!! LOL
Not 9 runs though through 5
Benson giveth, Benson taketh away.
Tbh, terrible pitching on Phillies side: walked Stephenson up 0-2, gave Wilson a good pitch at 3-2, etc. Anyhow this game is taking forever with walks and hits.
Great AB by Espinal…too bad Benak took his hit away
First TOOTBLAN in a while!
Nice cash on McLain run/Red Sox Over 8.5 parlay!
Espy with the ho-hum 7-4 fielders choice rbi
Good job Moll, bad play Marte. Dude needs to be a better fielder.
Holy Molly..Moll got hitters out quickly but Marte let him down
OK, we’ve checked 2 boxes! Followed up Benson’s TOOTBLAN with Marte’s error!
And now the umpire. Ball 3 was a strike.. smh
Why, why, why replace Moll with Richardson????
Saving Moll for next 2 games? Right on Right ab? Thats all I got
Richardson had a great comeback after going 3-0!!
OK, I respectfully withdraw my last comment and WILL NOT question the wisdom of Tito for the remainder of this game at least!
Oh come on, sure u will!!!
You have to admit this is one of the craziest games of the season so far!
Dennis how can you? we are only in the top of the 6th!?
Hinds fan and he is getting a chance, however once Joe gets healthy does Hinds go back down?
Hinds is young, lots to learn! Like his upside though! Strong, fast, etc.!
Agree.. kinda like Mclain and CES. Let him battling and see if he can get hot
I’m long on Hinds too; but, being sent back means playing every day. That’s what he needs most right now.
He made great strides after he was sent back in late May. He put a K rate under 25%, had a BB rate right at 10% and an OBP just shy of .400, and increased his AAA seasonal OPS from .899 to .929.
If he goes back again, that will give him a chance to apply what he is learning now at MLB.
Agree,
The umps call a lot of high strikes on Elly! Granted he swings at a lot also, but he seems to get a lot of called strikes that are balls!
Very true.
But he had to swing at the 3rd one because it was as high as the 2nd one.
Perfect situation for Richardson to pitch with Reds up 5. He just needs to work on his control a bit . His pitches are nowhere near the plate lol
I agree, and like how Francona seems to give him chance upon chance. When he throws strikes he is tuff, however as you mentioned he is a tad wild at times
I have never seen Richardson well.. Let’s see this time
..I meant.. “pitching well”
Why do Reds RPs insist on walking batters with a 5-run lead?
Walks with a 5 run lead are just horrible.
Dang that Schwarber
Rogers is a lot like Buck Farmer from last season! Good ERA but lets a lot of inherited runners to score!
+10000
How many inherited runners has Rogers allowed to score?
Don’t know what that number for the season but those last two runs count towards the total runs allowed season to date! My point is that ERAs for RPs can be misleading! Still puzzled why the pitching change with one out to go and Richardson appeared to be doing OK!
I can’t decide if the Reds are working hard to lose this game or to win it.
Tito has to stop bringing in Rogers when they are winning.
He doesn’t get lefties out.
And there it is! A two-out double that puts the Phillies within striking distance!
Considering the state of the Reds’ middle relief, they have always been in striking distance.
Rogers should be last option period – he’s terrible and has been terrible … ALLOWS RUNS EVERY TIME HE PITCHES ALMOST !!! It’s ridiculous !!!
Phillies line up is very dangerous… experienced and with power…
They are all well paid for something… Reds need to score more runs
I mean when you score 9 runs, it should be enough.. one would think anyway lol
They both are checking what Team has the worse BP I guess… what a game
Lol. Agree
Rogers…master of lowering his era while the other team scores
1. Richardson walk
2. Elly shaded towards 2nd with your pitcher throwing 96? If he’s at standard SS position, Marsh hits into double play & inning over
More runs are needed.
I do not have a “peaceful Easy feeling” about this game! 🙂
Can Stephenson bunt? Need to advance runners whenever possible and Ty Steve has a high SO rate!
Pitcher never throws over, never looks over. Throws about 7 breaking balls to the next two hitters, but Steer never budges.
Been that way all year. I just can’t figure it out. Tito needs to realize this team must create offense not wait for the home run.
The Reds offense has done zip since Benson’s poor base running play. I am not sure a 3 run lead is enough and why not Ashcraft?
Dear front office, I hope you are paying attention. Francona is playing who he has in the bullpen. He doesn’t have a shut down type relief pitcher or two. Here lately it rears its ugly head.
Agree 1000% with this
Not saying they will lose, but 9 runs scored is plenty to win!!!
P.S. The Reds fans have remained failthful, even though you (FO) have done diddly!
NJ, Barlow.
You are correct 9 runs should win but you never know.
Why wasn’t Bohm ejected after throwing out the bat and argue?
Remember Santa in Philly?
Maybe the umpirenndoes
I think he was more upset with self for taking the pitch.
The Reds have not played good defense on this day.
Tony has converted me. I’m a believer now. 4 outs vs a monster lineup.
The Reds offense has said 9 is enough to the pitchers.
3 more outs….
Ty Moll, Barlow, Santi, and Pagan.
Reds win !!! Not exactly pretty, but good game! Happy 4th!
Another shot at 5 over on the horizon.
Pagan Baby !!!
That’s a big win against a very good team. Takes the pressure off for the next two. Let’s find a way to win the series now.
Agree 100% Need to win one more game in this series and head back home 4 games above .500!
GREAT WIN! Reds got the mission accomplished after won this game on an awful outing by Abbott although the offense did the job scoring 9 runs… Now they come back to season-high 4 games above .500
Another great job putting up a big win by this good Reds team. Fun stuff!
Moll gets the W. Good for him. (Whats up with AA?)
People may argue but I could see Pagan in the All Star game.
May be one of the ugliest wins of the season but a Win is a Win!
Reds could have r players in all star game? Friedl, De La Cruz, Pagan, and Abbott?
4 players, lol
They will have one, which is required by the Majors.
And that will be De La Cruz. Maybe.
Impressed by the moxie the Reds have demonstrated these past two games. Let’s hope it continues — especially against division rivals like the Cubs, Brewers and Cardinals!