The Cincinnati Reds are in Chicago tonight to take on their NL Central foe. The Cubs are in second place behind Milwaukee after leading the division for much of the year. Tonight begins a 3-game series in the Windy City. First pitch is scheduled for 8:05pm ET.
Starting Lineups
Cincinnati Reds | Chicago Cubs |
| TJ Friedl – CF | Nico Hoerner – 2B |
| Matt McLain – 2B | Kyle Tucker – RF |
| Elly De La Cruz – SS | Seiya Suzuki – DH |
| Austin Hays – LF | Carson Kelly – C |
| Gavin Lux – DH | Willi Castro – CF |
| Spencer Steer – 1B | Justin Turner – 1B |
| Tyler Stephenson – C | Ian Happ – LF |
| Jake Fraley – RF | Dansby Swanson – SS |
| Ke’Bryan Hayes – 3B | Matt Shaw – 3B |
| Nick Lodolo – LHP | Michael Soroka – RHP |
Starting Pitchers
| Pitcher | IP | ERA | WHIP | BB | K |
| Nick Lodolo | 128.0 | 3.09 | 1.05 | 24 | 123 |
| Michael Soroka | 81.1 | 4.87 | 1.13 | 24 | 87 |
| Links: Nick Lodolo’s Stats | Michael Soroka’s Stats | |||||
Nick Lodolo
It has been a good, and more importantly healthy season for Nick Lodolo in 2025. The lefty has made a career high 22 starts and he’s thrown two complete games this year. Over his last four outings he’s walked just two batters and struck out 30.
In the first two months of the season, left-handed hitters were hitting very well against Lodolo. Or at the very least they were hitting a ton of singles against him. But over the last two months they have hit just .237/.297/.339 against him. Right-handed hitters haven’t found much success in the average or on-base percentage departments. When they do find hits, though, they are showing solid power.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 401 | 79 | 15 | 0 | 15 | 17 | 97 | .211 | .258 | .371 |
| LHH | 120 | 31 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 26 | .292 | .353 | .406 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-seam | 2-seam | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 93.8 | 93.7 | 87.8 | 81.9 |
| Usage | 25% | 25% | 28% | 22% |
Michael Soroka
Acquired at the trade deadline from Washington, Michael Soroka will be making his Cubs debut tonight. He pitched against the Reds two starts ago when he was with the Nationals and allowed a run on two hits while walking three and hitting three in 5.2 innings in a game won by Cincinnati.
The splits against Soroka are big. Right-handed hitters are hitting for a low average, not walking much, and they aren’t hitting for much power. They do, though, get hit by plenty of pitches. In fact they’ve been hit more often than they’ve walked against him. Lefties are not hitting for much average, either, but they walk more often and hit for plenty of power when they do find hits.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 148 | 26 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 37 | .197 | .284 | .311 |
| LHH | 195 | 42 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 17 | 50 | .244 | .328 | .448 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-seam | 2-seam | Curve | Change | |
| Velo | 93.7 | 93.3 | 80.4 | 84.3 |
| Usage | 46% | 9% | 34% | 10% |
When and Where
- Game time: 8:05pm ET
- Where: Wrigley Field
- Watch: FanDuel Sports Network, MLB.tv
- Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: 76°, cloudy, 5% chance of rain
News and Notes
Hunter Greene’s rehab start
Last night in Omaha Hunter Greene made his third rehab start, and his second with Triple-A Louisville. He struck out seven batters and didn’t allow any earned runs in 3.1 innings while throwing 66 pitches. We’ve got some video and more information from our write up this morning if you missed it and want to check it out. Manager Terry Francona said this afternoon that Greene will get another rehab start.
Lyon Richardson back to the minors
Cincinnati had 27 players for Saturday/Sunday for the game in Bristol. For some reason for these special events teams get an extra player and Richardson, who had been optioned on Saturday was allowed to be called up on Sunday, and now he’s back in the minors.
Playing well, but not well enough
Jon Morosi of MLB Network noted earlier today that the Reds are tied for the 3rd best record in the National League since June 1st, going 29-24 in that time. Unfortunately the Cubs are also 29-24, while the Brewers are a league best 36-16.
Division Standings
| Team | W | L | GB | Playoff Odds |
| Milwaukee | 67 | 44 | 0.0 | 98.2% |
| Chicago | 65 | 46 | 2.0 | 97.7% |
| Cincinnati | 58 | 54 | 9.5 | 10.2% |
| St. Louis | 56 | 57 | 12.0 | 3.9% |
| Pittsburgh | 48 | 64 | 19.5 | 0.0% |
| Playoff Odds via Fangraphs | ||||
What I like about Lodolo is that he throws 4 pitches at nearly equal rates. That’s a big deal and I don’t think there are many pitchers who can or will do that.
76 and a chance of rain; the over/under is 7.5, meaning that the wind is expected to be blowing in.
Wrigley is a major pitcher’s park when the wind blows in.
I mean the chance of rain is very, very, very low. It is not expected to rain.
Good lineup for the boys. Seven strong from Big Nick Lodolo and first game of a Reds sweep of the Cubs in Chicago. Austin Hayes and Jake Fraley with the big hits to lead the offense.
Can’t say I agree. With our lack of offence, benching Marte with his .802 OPS in favor of Hayes with his .575 OPS seems like an egregious mistake.
If it’s a rest day for Marte, that’s fine I guess. But my main fear after trading for Hayes was that he would be an everyday starter vs a supersub/defense guy.
Marte on the bench tonight is puzzling but I guess we might consider that every time the Reds go to a new stadium, Marte has never played OF there. Let him get a rest tonight and give him an extra on-field warm-up to learn the RF lines and walls for tomorrow?
Of course, he could DH.
I think maybe we’re seeing Tito go with “proven” vets. I don’t love it but it might be what we see for August.
Maybe Marte is sitting on the bench tonight thinking real hard about how pretty that 112 MPH single off the LF wall looked yesterday.
I’m not disagreeing Tom, but there’s other ways to address that without hurting the team as a whole.
Yeah, Marte kinda cooled off in late July but was maybe starting to bounce back with .300 BA in his last five games.
Lux has just been steadily poking singles since the end of June.
Nothing special since a really nice stretch in mid-April.
It wasn’t talked about a lot, but I was in favor of trading him.
@Chad just tryin to be positive
Cubs vs Lodolo:
Happ, Hoerner and Suzuki combine for:
59 PAs
18 for 48
8 doubles, 1 HR
10 walks, 8 strikeouts
Suzuki has 5 hits and 8 walks in 21 PAs!
Here’s the good news:
Dansby Swanson
14 PA
1 double, 1 HR
0 walks, 7 strikeouts
Pivotal series for our Reds.
Hoping Lodolo gives us another quality start and that the bats get on track. McLain sub .200 avg and mid .500 OPS in road games should not be hitting 2nd.
Nice to see that hopefully Greene is getting closer.
Crunch time. The pitching matchup favors the Reds so they’re probably doomed. And I agree, after the Punch and Judy shows we’ve been seeing I d rather see Marte in the lineup than either Hayes or Lux, even if Soroka throws right handed. The Reds are in desperate need of offense and especially power. Nevertheless… Go Reds!
Soroka lost against Lodolo in that game won by Reds where Lodolo shutout Nats. Now Soroka is pitching for a quite better club, hope Lodolo could keep pitchng masterful today…there will be a lot press in this game to the Reds
Marte over Hays, Lux or Fraley. Tito needs to stop this all singles attack.
Don’t forget the walks! 😉
Marte has 0 walks in his last 15 games.
.355 SLG%
15 days is a small sample size. However, 151 at bats shows he’s currently the 3rd best hitter on the team this year, and for some reason sitting the bench tonight.
Well, he gives Tito one heckuva pinch hitter!
And don’t forget about the new guy Andujar 😉
Not a lot of Reds PAs vs Soroka
Fraley and Lux are 3 for 10 with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts.
Everyone else on the roster is a combined 0 for 20 with 4 walks and 5 strikeouts.
(Hays and Elly are 0 for 11)
Starting tonight against The Stupid Cubs, the next 13 games will probably determine the fate of this 2025 Reds team as it relates to any chance to make the postseason!
Following the Cub series the Reds travel to battle those tough Pie-Rats in Pittsburgh for a 4-game series. Then back home for 3 games against the 1st place Phillies followed by 3 more games against the NL Central leaders the Brewers! A 7-6 record after those 13 games would leave the Reds 5 games above .500 and hopefully still withing striking distance of the Padres and Mets!
A win tonight would go a long way to setting the winning tone after that disaster in Bristol TN yesterday with 10 hits but only 2 runs due to 12 LOBs!
The keys, as always, are scoring early and playing solid defense in order for Lodolo to be great!
McLain is his last 95 PAs:
.285 BA, .735 OPS
20 singles, 3 doubles, 2 HR
8 walks; 22 strikeouts
3 for 4 on SB
13 runs
Reds were 12-10
Not great but not really dragging the offense down like he had been.
His 50 PAs before those ^^ 90 PAs:
.195 BA, .485 OPS
7 singles, 2 doubles
3 walks, 11 strikeouts
5 runs
Reds were 5-6
McLain is 1 for 10 at Wrigley. No extra base hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts.
He shouldn’t be hitting 2nd.
His road numbers on the season:
33 for 171 .193 average .586 ops 57 strikeouts 5 doubles, 5 home runs.
6 for 15 in his last three games.
That’s all I got.
😉
But yeah, Soroka will strike him out in the first inning.
When did I get old enough that an 8:05 start is a “late game”??? 😮
I’ll hang in there as long as I can tonight. Hoping we can pile on runs early.
Let’s Kick these Stupid Cubs out to Waveland Avenue!!
The Cubs pitching is MLB-average (99 ERA+) but they don’t walk many.
1. Twins 289
2. Cubs 294
3. Cardinals 297
7. Pirates 323
15. Reds 353
~ MLB Average 356
19. Brewers 369
The Cubs pitching staff is 28th in MLB with only 831 strikeouts.
Reds are just over MLB-average with 932
MM will play regardless and he will be right back at second base next year.No issues for me cause he has 600 at bats total in the big leagues.That and his age and speed and defense more then good enough for a big league second base man.
@ Tom Diesman you could be right if so Tito needs to spread the love around some more.
I can’t really think of who provided any power in July and nobody is jumping out at me as I look at the Reds stats.
Here’s to Nick having a stellar performance.
+1
Lodolo’s last 8 starts:
4-1 with 2.00 ERA
53 strikeouts, 8 walks
(4 of those 8 starts vs LAD, NYY, NYM and PHI)
He only has 70 career starts. This might be the best stretch of his career.
The kind of numbers u post after a game so not to jinx…
Marte one of very last players we can afford to sit. We are so loaded with hitters
BTW, who came up with Stupid Cubs and when? Growing up, they were always the Flubs to my friends and me.
I believe it either came from Doug or Chad Dotson … but I know I first read it on RLN.
Always the Cubbies where I lived (Chicago area from 1975 to 2015). Not even Sox fans called them anything else.
The Reds are a .500 franchise going back to 1882 except for the Big Red Machine in the 1970s. My favorite team but pretty meh overall.
As a kid I enjoyed Cubbies games at Crosley Field when the great Charlie Grimm was third base coach for the Cubs with his humorous antics. I agree with the overall view of the Reds except during the great BRM era. But the Reds are one of the few original NL teams.
Doug? Now, that’s an amusing possibility. No idea who Chad is.
Original “owner” of the forum I believe. Or co-owner. Used to do a Friday “viewer mail” post.
?
CB Buckner behind the plate … prepare for the worst, expect even worse than that.
Benefit to us on the MM AB.
I said the sane thing to my wife. He is horrible. And that worried me with Lodolo on the mound.
It didn’t take long for you to be proven correct. Awful.
Our best defensive lineup, minus Trevino. Sure. Why not.
Great start our two best players both strike out and don’t even make contact.As Mark would say you just can’t make this kind of stuff up.
Let’s see what the strike zone looks like this half inning.
Reds got 3 struckouts with a walk. Not a great start by the offense
17 pitches.
Nobody made contact.
Reds only got two singles off of Soroka when they faced him two weeks ago in DC.
Oh oh Soroka is a soft thrower, a bunch of change up and sliders. Not going to be too. Hope I am wrong.
Yes and nobody even made contact.Now again you can’t make that kind of stuff up.You just can’t.We have no power and now no contact.Sounds good
Reds players like Goldielock pitchers, dont throw too hard Dont throw too soft, throw just right and right down the middle.
Is Trevino unavailable tonight? Looks like he’s not in uniform. Sadak and Cowboy saying he’s the one who has been catching Lodolo.
Another Steer highlight reel play … Ho-hum 😉
Yeah, something must be up?
Because Trevino could hit this guy… of course.. so can Stephenson.
Three grounders to Steer in the first inning… Good start by Lodolo
Steer flies out = surprise.
Stephenson!! Good at bat
Yep. Took four pitches then fouled one off then… kaboom.
Finally!! The “easiest” field to put one out tonight. Nicely done, TySteve.
Cowboy has to be gritting his teeth every time Sadak says “slurve” … which is what just got swatted out 😀
You have to admit, at least it’s nice to see a throw from 3rd hit Steer in the chest.
Oh boy.
A blister opens the bullpen gates?
Here we go.
Blister alert
NO … NO … NO … NO!!!!!!!!
And Buckner was in “strike mode” too 😮
Seasons over yall. Wish I could say it’s been fun.
And that will about do it. We’ll get alot more of the new guy throwing 91 mph meat and less HG & Lodolo & Burns
This is why Martinez is in the pen. Hope he’s good into the 6th tonight.
Ball game and season. Those who wanted to trade Lodolo, not me, were right. This is so sad.
Trade Lodolo??
That’s loco.
Full disclosure also think it’s loco
But he’s worth nothing on the IL for 2 months every season with a freaking blister
Don’t recall people saying Greene was worth nothing on the IL for two months. Double standard maybe?
Doc there is zero shortage of people losing patience with Greene also
If this team ever wants to have a serious window those two HAVE to stay on the mound
They were not right.
I don’t recall anyone saying that.
Again? How many times have you declared that this season? LOL
nightly. multiple times.
Love these comments for their over-the-top irrationality.
Bring me all your babies!
I have some bathwater to throw out!
Uh! come on , that is pretty bad luck …unbelievable….
Why oh why didn’t we trade him. We could have gotten top 100 prospects + bullpen MLB pieces.
You are right and I was wrong, should have seen this coming.
At least we didn’t trade our top prospects this year.
Martinez is pretty good at Wrigley.
4 games; 70 PAs
.250 BA, .640 OPS
4 doubles, 1 HR
Cubs vs Martinez
Hoerner
5 for 11
Crow-Armstrong
4 for 8
Swanson
4 for 14
4 doubles
Suzuki and Happ
3 for 22
Who is coming in, Marinez?
It’s a good thing Martinez didn’t pitch yesterday. If Lodolo heads to the IL, Martinez can slot back into the rotation and Richardson back up due to injury. Burns will see one last start on 8/8 before Greene returns barring any setbacks.
While Martinez warms, we get an extra helping of words from Sadak … 😐
Lodolo was kind of jinxed recently everyone saying he’s been healthy all season
I just don’t understand how this can continue to be such an issue. They were talking on the broadcast recently that Lodolo grips his breaking ball unconventionally and that may contribute to it
Don’t you think if that was the case…you’d stop doing that??
Is there any merit to extending Martinez another QO?
I believe you can’t QO 2 years in a row.
BP game for everyone … 😮
Picking up a starter at trade deadline was genius 🙂
Kind of looks that way at the moment.
He needs to see a dermatologist. There are some skin conditions where the top layers of the skin slough off with minimal trauma.
Hayes hasn’t K’d yet w/the Reds. Something I guess
Martinez has been a great Red and insurance policy. Kudos to the Front office for recognizing there’s never enough starting pitching. Maybe Littel gets lit up but it’s about innings from SP and not burning the bullpen. Hopefully martinez glues this pitching staff back together and saves a potentially bad situation with the debacle in TN and now Lodolo blister issues.
But yeah, ObVioUsLY ShoUlD HaVE tRAded LodOLo
Is the blister real or just suspected? Has the reason he left the game been announced?
He had issues with his finger.
We are assuming.
Welsh said he has had an odd blister issue before.
Cowboy commented on it and Lodolo motioning to the bullpen with his hand. Yes ,reported as blister left index finger although Jim Day saying the makings of a blister and perhaps pre-emptive
See after the game.
Unbelievable, lots of people toughen their fingers against blisters from martial artists to musicians. Starting to remind of that old commercial for dish soap (Palmolive?) that supposedly kept your hands soft. Maybe Lodolo is dipping into his wife’s hand cream or something.
Is this the game Brown comes in and goes 6 innings in relief?
No, this is the game where brown comes in and pitches 7 perfect innings on 30 pitches
Is Soroka hurt too? Ben Brown shutout the Reds last time and they couldn’t figure him out especially the knuckle curve did much damage…
Reds vs Brown
Friedl, Fraley and Hays
8 for 17
TJF has 2 HR
Elly, Steer and McLain
3 for 25
11 strikeouts
YIKES!
0-2 fastball right down the middle then a hanger for 2. Bristol was the end. They might be 7.5 back w/10 to go and some will still be hanging on
But its over
I usually don’t agree with your posts cause you stay pretty negative
All year but yes it’s absolutely over
Let the batting practice on Martinez
commence …..
This is upsetting…
Sadness…
With the only chance of hitting a home run being to left, It’s makes no sense to not play Marte. Game most likely over.
Just crazy ! I agree totally !
Reds killer Happ strikes again! He scores at least one run in every game he plays against the Reds!
Happ career vs Reds before tonight:
121 games, 480 PAs
.275 BA, .970 OPS
75 walks, 31 HR
Crazy numbers.
Let’s get some offense going.
There is plenty of time left
3-0 with the wind blowing in….riiiiiiight
Stay aggressive Elly
Failed ambush
Gonna make this chump look like Cy Young again …. Pathetic
Brown is not a bad pitcher.
He’s only 25. Had a good season last year in only 20ish games
He pitched well against the Dodgers, Brewers and Tigers this year.
But he’s given up a lot of HRs this year… and the Reds don’t hit a lot of home runs. And the wind is blowing in at Wrigley.
One run wasn’t going to win this game.We just need to do better then 1 hit over 3 innings against an average at best major league pitcher.Its a blister not an arm.Its OK Reds have to start scoring runs.Krall said you were good enough.FIfty games left so either continue to fight or roll over.They will fight.
The Reds look bad against Brown.
Bucknor strikes again
Elly seems to be hitting way too many ground balls lately, Matt is pulling off everything, and Steer is reaching and hooking everything. This team needs to make adjustments that are obvious to any even average joe that played ball at any level.
Our lame bats combined w/Buckner. I can’t do it. Go Reds
Now the feeling of the game is over after trailing by 1 run in the 4th is back…
Buckner stinks now , stinks always . Got ZERO business being an MLB ump . Stealing his paycheck ….
How long will Chumpires like Buckner last in a league with ABS/Challenge? They’re gonna get overturned on a frequent basis. Maybe they’ll improve or just fade away due to embarrassment at being that bad at their jobs.
Reds are down 1 run after 3 innings and the fortune tellers have arrived. Game over.Season over. You might be correct. You might not be correct. How about we just watch the game?
Reds season is better than the Cards and Dbacks and Giants and Braves who have quit. THey are literally next team behind the Padres with 2 months to go. None of you predicted the Reds would be relevant in August while those 4 franchises mailed it in and quit already. Im not ready to quit on the season.
Terrible K on Lux from a terrible ump
+5,000
+1
(I DON’T have a good feeling about this game but it seems like there is already enough grumbling here, so I’m gonna find some puppies and rainbows and chocolate chip cookies to share with ya’ll.)
+2
Would that be the Braves team that just won 2 of 3 and 5 of 7 on the season? Or the Cards, against whom they are 3-4? At least, they are 3-3 against SF and 3-0 against AZ. I won’t say the season is over just yet, but Krall did his best to kill it. Playing as they have since the deadline, it may take a couple of weeks before we can call it done.
I just have to stay positive. Plenty of time left. Go Reds go!
For the 100th time Electronic Strike Zone. MLB should be sued by gamblers all across this great land.
Austin Hays 10 for his last 50 with 0 extra base hits ain’t cutting it.
I’d let him walk away big time at years end ….
I must be in a bad mood today … even Cowboy in the booth can’t lower the Sadak factor and his 2XL bag of words.
Ahh your crazy, Sadaks enthusiasm is the best. I hate watching baseball w/o him.
Dude can’t shut his mouth for 15 seconds … needs to come up for air sometimes
When I watch other teams it’s like 40% dead air. So you prefer that?
The ABS doesn’t need to be a challenge system. It needs to completely replace the umps calling balls and strikes. They’re so bad a challenge system would honestly make it worse. As soon as a ump is challenged, they’ll have no reason not to punish the challenging team and you a lot of these umps will do it.
You do have to consider how they will react to becoming less relevant to games.
But the challenge system is already in place in MiLB. So many players have come up with it as the normal state.
Agree about full ABS.
Not so sure about them holding grudges though.
Totally agree
As I say, when was the last time you saw a line call argument in tennis?
With each game or loss, the pressure is going to ratchet up on this team. I don’t think that is a good thing for this club. They seem to play their best when loose. They may publically state they are happy and energized, but there are also little hints of tightness and frustration. Hope I am reading this wrong. This Cub pitcher is their worst.
OK … we score this inning. Put money on it.
Austin Hays has become a real problem and he continues to bat 4th.
Yeah, he can hit lefties but he’s not done much other than that since a hot start in April.
One hit! One measly hit by the Reds off of a Cubs SP with an ERA of 6+! This offense is, well, offensive!
Same old, same old. Doesn’t seem to matter who pitches
@pharmer
You’ve already forgotten about Friday’s 8th inning?
And the end of Thursday’s Dodger game?
Hays will get lots of chances.Lets see if he gets it done.
Man BUCKNER IS AWFUL !!!
I mean these home plate umpires are the worse I have ever seen in 2025 !
Almost thought Angel Hernandez was making a comeback with some of these calls…BAD…
BCB has always been just as bad a Angel
Wow
Gold glover Swansby with a boot.
McLain GG back hand play. @ Doug…. Is 2nd base a premium defensive position? Asking for a friend.
One hit thru 5 … wow this is just plain and simple brutal …. getting worked by a dude with a 6.22 ERA prior to this game …
. Disgusting
Knuckle curve killing the Reds. Not a common pitch.
Maybe 2nd time thru the order helps.
Does anybody think the Reds will score again tonight?
Magic 8 ball says not likely
The Reds destroyed this Brown guy in May.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN202505250.shtml
Barlow already?
IT’s incredible how Brown not being a good pitcher can fool the Reds hitters with a lot of knuckle curves ..Can’t they make adjustments? Fraley got 5 knuckle curves in a row all out of the zone and struckout…
Dug an early hole, filled it in a bit, then finished digging.
Even a blind hog finds an acorn … can’t believe he called that strike. Definitely on the edge.
Fraley saw 6 pitches….not a single strike, yet he strikes out….not good
I thought Martinez was going to toss at least 4 frames… something is happening that I can’t understand
Yeah I thought he would pitch 5 or 6 innings. Thought that was the plan for moving him there. Don’t knoe if Tito has turned over the managing of pitching changes to Johnson or not but if he has he needs to take it back.
Kerry Wood is reborn
Don’t remind me … 😮
IF Martinez has to leave the pen and resume starting, that means we will have made zero improvement to the pen and may even be need of a starter. I don’t think we have anything at Louisville that Tito or I would trust in a pennant race. We had some hopes for Petty in 2025 but that evaporated after 2 starts. I have clue where this guy would come from. Looking more and more like a nightmare scenario for Krall and his non adds to the pitching staff.
The Reds traded for a starting pitcher last week.
And Hunter Greene should be back soon.
I was conjecturing if Lodolo had to visit the IL for 15 days. Martinez and Burns to be starters thru August 20? Not so sure.
Petty went 6 innings 1 run in his last Louisville start but had 4 walks.
Petty and Maxwell continue to struggle with walks in Louisville.
McLain swinging bunt. See if Reds can manufacture a run.
Well they scored
Well thank you Elly. That was nice!
Alright boyz!!!
Happ completely misplayed that and then airmailed it to nowhere.
You have one job here, Mr. Hays …
That was NOT supposed to be on your agenda.
And Hays struggles continue…
Mclain and Elly speed merchants!
Good read and send by House and MMC
Marte should be batting 4th all the time period. Hays is awful.
The check swing hit might be their best play.
Lord knows plenty of those type of hits have gone against them.
Hays pull mode is ruining his season. He had those 2 HRs to right-center in NY….idk what happened
Suarez-itis
reds can’t score a runner from 3rd with less then 2 outs…..tell me if you have heard that before?
Reds with man on 3rd and less than 2 outs:
255 PAs
.340 BA
Cubs (#1 offense in MLB) with man on 3rd and less than two outs:
255 PAs
.335 BA
Yankees (#2 offense in MLB) with man on 3rd and less than 2 outs:
245 PAs
.345 BA
Dodgers (#3 offense in MLB) with man on 3rd and less than 2 outs:
215 PAs
.370 BA
It happens. It happens a lot. To all the teams.
Another runner on 3b with less than 2 outs stranded… can’t take the lead…
Hays is fading fast
At least he didn’t strike out and hit the ball hard. Thought Elly should have tried it after thr throw was made.
Min on third , less than 2 outs again and again and again and again … and this team fails , fails , fails and fails again … HORRIBLE
Fraley and Friedl taking some ugly swings. Looks like they want to jack every pitch regradless where it is.
Can’t stand PCA – one of the biggest HOT DOGS in the game … sit down chump!!!!
Way to battle TJ !!! Nice !
Thanks for that aggressive approach PCA.
He seems like such a punk. Probably not fair to assume he is but I don’t like him. Happy when he strikes out.
I think we’ve all got opposition players we feel that way about. Just love to see them whiff like that.
Reds “hitters” have 8 SOs thru 6 innings! Sounds about right!
Freidl K
McLain 52.1 mph swinging bunt single
Elly 78.6 mph check swing double RBI and Error LF
Hays 92.3 mph out 3b
Lux walk x Buckner calls a strike and 80 mph fly ball
Reds score a run. hays hardest hit ball
They manufactured a run and tied it up. Umpire stinks both ways.
And Barlow with the 2-out WALK! Usually means a HR to follow or at least the batter who walked scoring!
X2 now, yikes!
A Buckner-assisted free pass
Barlow is taxed, absolutely running on fumes… fastball at 90.6 MPH… Has thrown 31 pitches tonight
He’s been used a lot for sure.
Well, that’s one way to respond Barlow! Follow the 2-out WALK with ANOTHER WALK!
One of those is on Buckner, not Barlow.
Pitched around Tucker
Barlow gave up 0 runs and struck out 4. I also gave up 0 runs but struck out none. How many for you?
Steer saved his bacon on that side-arm throw.
I’m in for at least the 7th here. I suppose I can sleep when I’m dead.
That’s the spirit! Sleep is overrated.
Barlow could finish the inning scoreless , pure heart… It seems the guy is pitching everyday…
well i would give up on the reds like most of y’all seem to want to but baseball is a streaky game and we are without a doubt diverging from the norm considerably especially with the bats. averaging basically 2 extra base hits a game for most of a two week span is not a sustainable slump and our hitters are not that bad. we will have another streak of playing great baseball in us before the season ends and possibly pretty soon as this can not go on much longer at this frustrating pace, we are not the rockies or pirates and these pitchers destroying our hitters will all come back to the norm and suffer from whatever mistake pitches they will begin to make to our powerful and talented yet presently slumping bats. good times will arrive and we will get on a winning streak the only question is when and for how long and will it be enough??? oops that seems to be three questions. Hang in there reds fans giving up is embarrassing.
Good post! Its always dark before the apocalypse…I mean dawn
Agree. The Reds don’t have a lot of power, but August and September could easily be better XBH months than July was.
Mar/April – .395 SLG%
May – .400
June – .415
July – .370
2024 Reds SLG% was .390
2023 Reds SLG% was .420
1976 Reds SLG% (non-pitchers) was .440
😉
Looks like a line-drive in the box score 😉
Very true. Except a line drive would have given us the lead.
So thats how Hayes is over .300 w/risp lol. Actually his swing looks pretty good
38 rbis with RISP on the season is solid stuff.
10 ft hit for Kebrien. It’s something, anyway.
I checked the box score and there is no asterisk!
I pay a lot of money to Adobe each month. If you ask nicely I can put one on there.
Fraley 104 mph double and Hayes 38.6 mph swinging bunt single.
Friedl needs to keep this 2 out rally going.
I like your confidence, I just don’t believe it.
and besides we got ozzie smith at third base for the rest of his career with a bat that is gonna start smoking
Ozzie Smith had 13 GG. Hayes has one GG. You and I have none.
Ball game right here right now. Time to come through.
Did Angel Hernandez train this home plate umpire?
Yup
That’s getting it done, TJ!
Terry Lee comes through! That’s nice to see.
FRIEDL in the clutch….Reds go ahead
Scrapping one out … I’m sticking for a bit now.
Reds can’t score more than 1 run in an inning since yesterday
Wish Hayes could’ve stole 2nd, but lefty on the mound probably killed that idea.
TJ big knock though
Marte needs to be playing just about every game and should be hitting 2nd.
Please get McLain out of the 2nd spot hitting.
Even Sadak can’t stop talking about the Bizzarro Zone varying from inning to inning (or worse). Completely unpredictable.
The inconsistency of the zone is inexcusable.
Manfred must not get MLB games on his jet. He may not know how bad the umps really are.
LOLOLOLOL
+25,000
Hold your breath !!! You know who ….
The original Jekyll and Hyde.
TJ! MM……idk
does anyone trust Ashcraft with the lead?
I don’t understand Ashcraft here one single bit
Nice play Hayes!!! Now get Ashcrap out the game !!!!!!
Hope it’s the good Ashcraft
and there goes the lead….it was fun for a minute
No….He is out!
Ashcraft can’t do the job again …he’s pretty unlucky too…
uuHH! call overtuned! that’s fair for Ashcraft
I do think he hit the bag
hes out
Dont
Gonna win this challenge. Ball in glove before toe drag.
Out… he missed the bag
Very fortunate for the Reds.
Nice play Hayes.
Awesome!
Wow that’s absolutely massive. Baseball is so dang silly
Ke’Bryan is the truth.
Is that the turning point in tonight’s game?
Let’s hope so.
That’s why they go through first headfirst sometimes, I guess.
Hayes paid dividends there. Our other 3B candidates never make that play…ever
GA needs to attack. Nibble nibble nibble.
Cleveland blew 5-0, then 5-5 bottom 9th w/1 out bases loaded for the Mets. Cleveland held on won 7-6. Mets are the only other team I could see possibly imploding a little bit
For someone who can hit 100, GA seems like such a comfortable at-bat. You know it’s hard and you know which way it’s moving.
WOW
Elly and Hayes won that inning.
C’mon naysayers. This is a great entertaining baseball game.
Maybe Reds lose and bullpen implodes. Maybe they go 82-80 and finish 5 out of the WC, but Im not quitting on this team or this season and Come late November, you all are going to wish you could spend a half hour watching Reds Cubs sold out in a battle for a post-season.
+1
Come November I’ll be worried about how the bengals are gonna dig out of their 0–4 start in to make the playoffs
Rogers lol.
Revenge Of The Sad Sack
Seems like an old movie with Jerry Lewis
Good play but Sadak has definitely been told to do everything he can to hype up Hayes.
Dude doesn’t throw strikes ! Don’t help him out – he’s terrible .
Just what Cowboy said and Elly and Hays both swinging at balls 2 feet inside. I’m sorry. I don’t really have a good feeling about how this game will end. Hope I’m wrong.
Elly swung to the 4th ball only to popout
why does every pitch that hays swings at looks like he’s swinging to hit the ball onto the street…2 strike swing…he comes out of his shoes
Dude is going south fast …. Let him walk at year end …. Use that 5 million on something else …
Yeah, he’s not a big strapping guy and he has second-half dips in his production throughout his career.
(1H: .275 BA, .790 OPS vs 2H: .245 BA, .710 OPS)
I’m not optimistic that he’ll contribute much down the stretch.
And I think Tito will probably play him and play him and play him.
Plus, he has an injury history.. let him walk, please.
I have been saying for weeks Hays is lunging at the Ball, start Marte in his place.
Hays with another bad at bat.
Taylor Rogers already crushing our best batters! He has something to prove and he will do it this inning!
Can’t believe Rogers pitched that inning without a single walk. Amazing
Andujar struckout against a lefty?
Yeah. He took the first four pitches then fouled one off.
I was feeling good about that AB
Did Roger ever throw a 1-2-3 for the Reds?
Reds swung at some ball 4’s though
If he did, it wasn’t often.
I can’t completely object to that approach to PCA … not intentional but only 1pitch.
stolen base incoming.
He didn’t budge.
At last Tonyhit the right guy.
Nice baserunnnig
Punk Armstrong !
Wow … wow … WOW!!!!! 😮 😮 😮
THAT could be the game saver.
Has John Sadak been this fired up all game? LOL
Not quite. He’s taken it to another level with these defensive plays.
I heard the excitement with the Hayes play. I got home in time to see that.
Wtg, Tony!
El Tigre pitched like he meant it.
Santillan is a stud. Dude just knows how to pitch.
+1
Arizona bases loaded no outs up 1. Could be a nice night for the Reds somehow
“Struck him out on 3! Bend the knee!” Cmon how can anyone dislike Sadak?
+1
He’s too much too much for me, but I get that people enjoy his style.
Like Gus Johnson…
No thank you, but you go right ahead and have fun.
+5,000
D-d-d-defense! Reds suddenly have one of the better infields in the league. Shoutout Santillan and Stephenson for bolting PCA down on first, too.
Tony the Tiger gets it done and Reds defense this game is getting outs and saving runs.
But…it aint over. Tough 3 outs in the 9th needed. Very tough.
The Reds may win this game, but it will not due to its offense. Six hits, a single walk and eleven strike outs through 8 innings.
And a number of the hits weren’t hard hit balls at all.
But sometimes on weird nights with the wind blowing in at Wrigley and both teams’ starters out early with injuries…. you get a win because somebody has to win every game they play.
Weird Nights at Wrigley …
There has to be a song or a book or a podcast in there somewhere.
3 more hits than the cubs. Hope it holds up
Over to Pagan …
Everybody hold on to your butts!!
This is going to be a rough 9th inning. What an entertaining game and yes, id rather be up 8-2 and not have Pagan with zero margin on no rest but….here we are against one of the best offensive teams in baseball needing 3 outs. Someone check on Dennis please!
Please don’t walk anyone
Which of the following players (if any) do you think the Reds will bring back in 2026?
Nick Martinez
Emilio Pagan
Austin Hayes
Jake Fraley
Will Benson
Santiago Espinal
Gavin Lux
I hope Pagan.
I think Benson has 2 more years
yep, Benson is a no-brainer from that group
Pagan high heater on 3-2
Need 2 more
that’s what I like….a 9th inning with no drama!
Ballgame!!!
Catch y’all tomorrow.
Great job, pitching staff!
W! Thank you Reds.
Nice win !!!!
Gutsy win. Still think it’s over w/o Lodolo. Who would we bet starting game 3 even if we snuck in?
I do not think Lodolo will be out long.
Really good win and Reds fans should smile. that was fun.
I will miss this night this winter.
My sentiments exactly
Awesome win.
Tune in tomorrow when the season will probably over again.
So, clarification: is the season over, or not?
It’s Schröedenor’s season!!
IMHO I don’t think the season is over because I think there is a chance that either the Cubs and/or Mets could totally collapse in the final 8 weeks of the season. Whether the Reds can capitalize on it or not is the question.
Heck of a win, Reds!!!!!
Reds Win! huge game….The bullpen was outstanding picking Lodolo up… The offense wasn’t good but found the way and did enough …
The offense was better than the Cubs That’s all counts on a given day
So what does that say about Cubs offense? Reds outscored them for the win and out hit them.
I don’t think it’s inconceivable that the Cubs and/or Mets have a total collapse. It’s not likely, but it also wouldn’t be a complete shock. Let’s root for both teams to collapse Kevin!
Let’s go!!! LOL.
I know cubs are good, but through all my complaints about lack of movement at trade deadline. My hope is reds offense can someone take off??
Reds now 4 behind Met’s, my best bet, and 3 or 4 behind Padres.
Great job by the bullpen picking up Lodolo and the team. Gutsy win.
1 down 6 to go. Gotta to score a TD.
Pagan leads NL with 42 games finished and 24 saves in 27 opportunities.
Santillan leads MLB with 55 games (appearances) and has 28 holds.
Both of those guys are pitching at such a high level. They’re fun to watch.
Would love to see the Reds go on a winning streak of 10-0. Would love to see Hays and Lux get hot as well as Elly.
I truly think Reds haven’t had that hot, hot streak yet.
Stick with my boy Jake please! Marte will be back in RF and Lux > Fraley every time per Tito. Jake w/a 104 mph wall banger to end up scoring the winning run. I bet Lux hasn’t hit 10 balls 104+ all year.
Fraley 0.9 war
Lux -0.1 war
For whatever thats worth. Their OF play must be factored in?
You are missing the point Indy. War likes speedy middle infielders and CF athletes with power. It hates slow bad defenders who hit. Look up Dante Bichette career WAR
Lux is an important role player. He is here for one reason and thats be a professional hitter against righties with bat to ball skills and get on base and he does it as good as anyone on the Reds. I was at Fenway and watched him hit against Aroldis throwing 100. Great at bat….got behind 0-2…took 2 100 mph balls at his head and worked a 3-2 count and still put solid contact on it. Lux is a professional hitter and those wanting CES with his 2% walk rate or Hinds with is 47% K rate are going to be unhappy.
Over on Cub-Leg Nation they are saying…..
“How can we lose to this team after their starter leaves….PATHETIC”
“We only had 3 hits…ZERO Excuse for that….HORRIBLE”
Sounds like rln at times lol… fans all the same i guess
Thanks VA. Great win and I had a fun night. I hope everyone else did. Wont be here this winter!