After clinching the series win Tuesday night, the Cincinnati Reds (60-54) look to sweep the Chicago Cubs (65-48) this afternoon during a Wrigley Field matinee. First pitch is at 2:20 PM EDT. The Reds will have Andrew Abbott on the mound, while the Cubs counter with their young pitcher Cade Horton.
Lineups
Cincinnati Reds | Chicago Cubs |
| TJ Friedl – CF | Nico Hoerner – 2B |
| Spencer Steer – 1B | Justin Turner – 1B |
| Elly De La Cruz – SS | Seiya Suzuki – DH |
| Austin Hays – DH | Carson Kelly – C |
| Gavin Lux – 2B | Pete Crow-Armstrong – CF |
| Tyler Stephenson – C | Willi Castro – RF |
| Noelvi Marte – RF | Ian Happ – LF |
| Jake Fraley – LF | Dansby Swanson – SS |
| Ke’Bryan Hayes – 3B | Matt Shaw – 3B |
Starting Pitchers
| Pitcher | IP | ERA | WHIP | BB | K |
| Andrew Abbott | 108.2 | 2.15 | 1.11 | 33 | 96 |
| Cade Horton | 73.2 | 3.42 | 1.29 | 25 | 53 |
| Links: Andrew Abbott’s Stats | Cade Horton’s Stats | |||||
Andrew Abbott
Andrew Abbott’s last start against Atlanta wasn’t his best of the season, and it was still pretty darn good. It was a shorter outing for him due to a high pitch count–he walked five batters in 5.1 innings–but he allowed just two earned runs. He has pitched against Chicago twice already this season, allowing just one run on seven hits with 12 strikeouts over 12.2 innings.
Abbott’s splits are pretty even between left-handed hitters and right-handed hitters. He faces many more lefties, which is typical. However, even though his numbers show more hits against righties, including seven more long balls, it is a low percentage in relation to the number of times he has faced righties. Both lefties and righties have a slugging percentage below .400 against Abbott.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB% | K% | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 335 | 66 | 12 | 0 | 9 | 8% | 22% | .215 | .275 | .342 |
| LHH | 107 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 7% | 21% | .227 | .286 | .330 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-Seam | Change | Curve | Sweeper | Cutter | |
| Velo | 92.5 | 84.4 | 80.9 | 82.6 | 88.4 |
| Usage | 47.9% | 19.8% | 15.8% | 12.0% | 4.5% |
Cade Horton
Horton was the Cubs’ first round draft pick in 2022, and this season he made his MLB debut in May. Horton had a rough time in his early starts, but recently has shown why he was selected seventh overall. In the month of July, he had a 1.52 ERA with 17 strikeouts and eight walks in four starts and 23.2 innings pitched. This sparkling July ERA was even inflated by one start, a road game against the Twins where Horton allowed four runs and didn’t make it out of the fifth inning. Horton has started August the same way he pitched in July. In his most recent start against the Orioles, he pitched a five inning shutout while allowing only two hits.
Horton has pitched much better at Wrigley Field than on the road. In 39.0 innings at home, he has a 1.85 ERA compared to a 5.19 ERA in only 34.2 innings. Opposing batters have a .797 OPS on the road against Horton compared to just a .603 OPS at home.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB% | K% | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 137 | 27 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 9% | 19% | .225 | .316 | .392 |
| LHH | 170 | 43 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 8% | 16% | .281 | .335 | .359 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-Seam | Sweeper | Change | Curve | 2-Seam | Slider | |
| Velo | 95.7 | 83.8 | 87.8 | 84.0 | 95.2 | 83.9 |
| Usage | 49.7% | 21.4% | 13.3% | 11.4% | 3.7% | 0.5% |
Game Details:
- When: 2:20 PM EDT
- Where: Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL
- Watch: FanDuel Sports Network Ohio
- Listen: 700 WLW (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: 80 degrees, partly sunny, 0% chance of rain
News and Notes
Minor League Recap
See all the scores and stats for the Reds minor league teams on Tuesday, August 5th.
NL Wild Card Standings
| Team | W | L | GB | Fangraph’s Playoff Odds |
| Chicago | 65 | 48 | +2.5 | 96.0% |
| San Diego | 63 | 51 | – | 90.1% |
| NY Mets | 63 | 51 | – | 89.1% |
| CINCINNATI | 60 | 54 | 3.0 | 13.7% |
| San Francisco | 57 | 57 | 6.0 | 7.9% |
Of Cade Horton’s last 10 starts, 6 of them were scoreless, and the other 4 Horton gave up 4+ runs in 5 innings or less. Hopefully we get Mr Hyde and not Dr Jeckyl
Nice write up Ashley. It would look like a favorable pitching matchup until you look under the hood/consider the last half dozen starts.
The Reds may have the work cut out for them today.
Today’s a big day, a chance to move 7 over .500 and sweep the Cubs in Chicago. That’s a big step forward if the Reds can pull it off. And lefties do pretty well against Horton. So, rock his world early. And hope that Abbott pitches one of best games of the season. Let St. Louis deal with a frustrated Cubs offense – not the Reds.
Aside from winning as many games as possible, Reds shall also look for any of Cubs or Mets to do worse in order to sneak into the post-season. All other teams in (Brewers, Padres, Dodgers and Philies) look very solid.
Yeah, good point. I’ve been so focused on catching the Padres, but the Reds are also only three behind the Mets. I would not be shocked to see the Padres pull away from the Mets in the wildcard race.
Cubs are not a lock to hold onto a NL Wild Card spot IMO! Especially if they struggle to score runs like they have in the first 2 games of this series! I still like the Reds SP rotation over the Cubs and Mets assuming Greene & Lodolo return and return to form!
The Padres are 3-2 since the deadline, very small sample size, but face a brutal rest of their August.
3 vs Bos
3 @ SF
3 @ LAD
4 vs SF
3 vs LAD
3 @ SEA
3 @ MIN (their only easier oppo, but on the road where they’re .458)
They are catchable.
@Dennis The Cubs are slumping offensively as a team. We’ve all seen that. It very likely won’t last.
Dennis, if the Cubs miss the playoffs this year, I will buy the best steak dinner on the Internet.
It goes without being said that the first 2 wins of this series make the 3rd game even more important, at this stage of the season. Does this team have it in them to put one on the chin of their division rival, on the road, as the dog days begin?
Reds still at 3GB but there are two targets now: SS and Mets.
By winning this game, Cubs Will start in the conversation
Abbott needs to be sharper than his last start, particularly not giving a lot of walks. 5 BBs will not cut it. If offense can get 5 runs like last night, we have a good shot at it. Get a W please, so I won’t have to hear about bringing Hinds up for another day. Go Reds.
Most of you who frequent this site know how much I like walks by Reds pitchers! NOT!
I agree that 5 BBs will not cut it today against a Cubs team looking for blood!
Abbott had an incredible 11-game stretch in June and July where he had only walked 10 batters.
But he has walked 11 in his last 4 starts.
11 in 4 is not awful but I’m wondering if he’s wearing down just a bit.
AA started with a walk. Are you ok Dennis?
At work this afternoon so limited access to this final game in the 3-game series between the Cubs & Reds!
Hoping for some early run support for Abbott and that he limits his walks!
Get out the brooms and sweep these Cubs back into hibernation!
Let’s go, AA!
Anybody know if the wind is blowing in or out at Wrigley Field today?
Had the opportunity to go to a day game at Wrigley Field in the late 70s (while grad student at Notre Dame) before they installed lights! The wind is a huge factor there!
Not much.
Just 7 MPH…blowing in slightly towards the 3B dugout.
Excellent choice of a day off for McLain. He’s been scuffling so this gives him a couple days to reset.
He was hitless with a K last night but he had actually been hitting better through most of July and the first week of August:
100 PAs – .290 BA. .740 OPS
I don’t love that Tito is relying on him to bat #2 without evidently trying anyone else, but I do think McLain could be primed for a decent/good August and September.
And.. October??
😉
Steer getting on one way or another.
Horton has a tough change up. Wow.
Just noticed that Steer hitting 2nd. Not sure if I like that. Lux or Marte would be my choice. But I am not Francona, who is older and wiser.
Lux’s bat is quietly heating up since mid-July:
55 PAs – .325 BA. .745 OPS
Steer broke out of a 3 for 35 slump with a single and a big home run last night.
Lux hits for average and Steer for power (when RISP). Lux hits 2nd and Steer hits 5th or 6th makes more sense to me.
Elly’s last 18 PAS:
1 single, 1 double
1 walk, 6 strikeouts
Hays over Andujar – JUST WHY !!!???
Hays couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn right now .
I hit a barn once. We were playing homerun derby, using a tennis ball. It was in our backyard. Hahaha
Just hard to fathom isn’t it? Gotta get him going syndrome.
Hays needs a day off. STRUGGLING.
Elly 2-17 in August….excuse me double last night. He did line out hard to PCA
PCA – have another seat chump !
Once again a lead off walk is stranded.
The leadoff walk NOT scoring is all well and good! But it runs up AA’s pitch count and turns the lineup over sooner which may impact what happens later in the game! Little things matter in baseball! Just hope it’s not a HP umpiring issue!
Sometimes,however in this case it hasnt.
Abbott could bounce back to put a zero on the board
Steer is a wiz over there, but should’ve been 3-6-1 with the catcher running on a hard hit ball. AA didn’t cover I guess…but no camera angle
Jeff said he didn’t think Abbott was set up right. So good Elly didn’t throw.
Nice recovery there by Abbott. Let’s make this 3 wins over the Cubs for him this season.
Abbott issues a WALK to the 1st Cubs batter! Not a good sign! Luckily he was able to escape with no damage after the SO of PCA!
Hays is now 2 for his last 22
3 walks, 8 strikeouts
He’s supposed to be protecting Elly by batting behind him but Elly doesn’t look very confident himself. I think I’ve seen pitchers continue to give him junk on the bottom of the zone.
I would not be surprised if the 5-9 Reds hitters outhit and outscore the 1-4 guys today.
Abbott has just not looked as sharp since All Star break. Pitches just look a little flatter. Could be some fatigue I Guess. He did have the shoulder issues that came to the forefront at this time last year.
I know Abbott has stated a lot this season that he worked hard in the offseason to strengthen his core and overall conditioning to be better down the stretch when he’s regressed in prior seasons. Hopefully we see these consistent results he’s delivered all season through the end of the season.
Really hope the front office works to lock him up to an extension.
He’s set a high standard for himself based on his season so far.
Sometimes he’s going to be mediocre, which we aren’t used to.
Mets being no-hit. They are ice cold
Loving that.
Pete Crow Armstrong is one of those guys I just don’t really like but maybe I would if he was on my time I dunno…
The offense struggling early again…They get 18 pitches in the first inning, now Lux and Stephenson were so aggressive to fail both of them in just 3 pitches combined. Total 8 pitches in the 2nd inning by Horton
Horton has the Reds all tied up so far.
Horton has put up nothing but goose eggs in 4 of his last 5 stats.
Plus the two innings so far today..2 Reds Ks and he is not really a strikeout pitcher.
Reminiscent to me of what Waldrep did several days ago against Atlanta.
Nice job being tall, Elly!
😉
Sometimes being a 6’5″ SS is favorable.
He needed every inch there.
Abbott had some control problems in last outing against Atlanta. Today he has given up 2 walks in 2 IP… It’s weird… Is it concerning?
He’s not missing to my eyes by a lot, some close off the zone.
Not concerned.
Abbott with 2 WALKS in 2 innings! Again, is AA just missing or is the HP umpire squeezing Reds pitchers again?
He is missing. Umpire has been good so far.
Ump has been fair so far.
I’m watching the Cubs broadcast and they have the grey box up for the strike zone… Every call that I’ve seen has looked legit.
But I’m not able to watch every pitch.
I think Abbott might be hitting a second-half lull. He shouldn’t be expected to pitch as well as he did in Apr-May-June (1.80 ERA!) but hopefully he doesn’t regress beyond his career averages.
Abbott career
1H: 2.80 ERA
2H: 4.45 ERA
Gotta remember he only 26 and he’s not exactly a big guy.
The first decent umpire in the recent past
The good news…Horton limited to around 70 pitches.
The bad news….that might get him thru 7 IP
Mets no-hit thru 7. Williams at 97 pitches
Let’s hope for this Mets slide to continue.
Without SP this Team goes nowhere..
Is ist sustainable rely only in SPs ?
It’s not about they Reds don’t hit, is the way they don’t hit
AA not sharp. Bats are asleep. Idk?
21 of 42 pitches out of the strike zone.
He’s lucky it’s only 1-0 so far.
Elly and Fraley have saved the game so far.
AA missing Arm side up and away. That’s sometime a sign of fatigue.
Could be nothing, but it’s something to watch.
Thank you Jake. Lovely.
Recipe for disaster – ABBOTT falling behind in counts continuously
Abbott is often behind the batters 2-0 and 3-1 , that’s not helping
Abbott misses on some pitches aside, the Cubs aren’t exactly knocking it around with hard hits.
Ok they’ve hammered several balls but only 1 run
Abbott not sharp today! Gotta go into a meeting here at work! Score some runs Reds while I’m contributing to capitalism!
Abbott is very good at minimizing damage but he’s definitely not sharp. He has not been sharp.
Would be helpful if the bats woke up for the Reds.
Might take some pressure off of Abbott to be perfect with every pitch.
Yep.
Although Abbott hasn’t even been close to perfect today.
Horton is a 23 year old rookie with a 112 ERA+ and a 4.42 ERA (and dropping)
He was the Cubs first round pick (#7) in the 2022 Cam Collier draft.
The guy can put up zeros.
He just broke Kerry Wood’s longest-scoreless streak for a Cubs rookie.
21.1 innings of zeroes.
Might be 2 no-no’s today
At least you jinxed 1 of them.
Mets none thru 8.
Hays wakes up!
+1
I think they’re figuring Horton out a little bit.
Hays extra base hit sighting. Now can they bring him home?
There is a lot of baseball on tap this afternoon and evening for those with time to while away.
As this game is likely wrapping up, the AAA Bats will be kicking off a doubleheader at 5:05pm. That twinbill was created by a big rain which postponed the Bats’ last night (Tuesday).
Both games will be 7-inning affairs, so even most A.M. working folk on US Eastern time should be able to take in the whole enchilada.
If the lineup released ahead of last night’s rainout takes the field for the Bats, Rodriguez, Stewart, Benson, Hinds, CES, and Joe will be in the 2-7 slots.
Put Friedl at the top and insert EDLC at 3 (or 4), and that might be a better one through eight than the Reds field on any given day.
Jim, the Bats are a fun team to watch, especially offensively. I don’t disagree with your assertion on that lineup.
Hays maybe coming around. Lastnight wind knocked down a hr?? If the radio describe it correctly??
I should add he has been scuffing, nice though to see some hard hit balls. Lux was trying to go other way. Reds hitting some solid pitches there. See what happens!!
Wind definitely knocked it down. He knew it too.
Lux should be the strikeout-looking leader
Ty would like you to hold his beer.
Lux wanted that call on the backwards-K but it was a nice pitch.
Looked a tad high, however as long as ump is consistent with that high strike call. Okay.
Horton is painting the edges of the zone and getting every call. That is bad news for an already weak Reds offense. He also, has a low pitch count through 4 which is further bad news…
Abbott with a very solid inning there.
The best inning by Abbott thus far…Go! score runs!
Soto HR ends the no-no
Surprised Williams is still in there. 125 pitches and counting.
58 pitches through 5 for Horton. He may go 9….
Pitch limit of around 70
Is this where we’re going w/baseball? Everyone throws 97 and the umps just keep expanding the zone. Maybe 3-4 guys hit .300 in all of mlb. Not fun in my book
ABS cannot arrive soon enough. Whatever the zone it is set for, at least the batter will know (learn) what his zone is, and it won’t change from game to game, let alone inning to inning or pitch to pitch.
Did you see where Hinds got thrown out of the second game because he tried to challenge a pitch and umpire said he didn’t do it in time? From what I could see he must have been a half second too late. lol Evidently he said something that the umpire didn’t take too kindly to. lol
Red’s bats are silent, they can’t be satisfied winning the series they need the sweep and it doesn’t look good. No matter how you slice it this is just a weak offense.
Agree.
Williams at 125 pitches for Cleveland lol
Looks like Horton brought his A-game, unfortunately.
OK, if Marte can play RF in Wrigleyville, he can probably do it anywhere.
Heck yeah. And that was nice.
Another solid Abbott inning. Thank you for doing your job.
Bats?
Nice job Marte, now let’s get some HITS!!!!
Guardians with the Mets sweep. That’s lovely.
2.5 behind the Mets
Abbott settles and is dominating the Cubs. Just 64 pitches through 5 IP could go 7. I think Reds only scoring some runs would be enough
These pitchers unfortunately are used to a Reds offense that has had 36x of 2 runs or less.
Hopefully we can grind some out today.
The Reds are 4-4 against the Cubs this year.
They scored 31 runs in 5 of those games.
And today’s SP is a #7 draft pick rookie that the Reds have never seen before.
My comment was in reference to the season as a whole, not against the Cubs.
Overall they’ve scored runs against the Cubs.
36x with 2 or less runs scored though is rough.
Jeez…fastball after fastball after fastball right down the middle and nothing
Wow. Thank the Lord Counsel isn’t our manager, I’d be irate the way he pulls starters who are dominating.
I think he wanted to turn Elly around?
Surprised to see him pulled to turn around Elly
Another odd move by the Cubbies. Their pitcher is keeping the Reds in check, and Counsell is pulling him? ;]
That’s two beers Tito owes him now!
Horton is only 23 and only averages 85 pitches per game.
Short day for him but they may be saving him (the SP they just traded for went on the IL) and mostly.. they didn’t want him to face Elly there.
Elly might could benefit from a day off soon.
Elly back to scrubville vs lefties.
Elly seems to be in another slump, this is not the time. He has 1 hit on a check swing in this series.
He is about 2 for his last 20. He went through periods of these slumps last year. Not the time for this to happen .
nothing like the guy you count on to drive in runs not swinging the bat
Friedl has 1 steal since May 31. Thats a great way to negate getting on base a ton….leadoff man that never runs
Is he ok w/getting picked off though
That might be the ball game. Really difficult to see the Reds scoring three runs in this one.
Sad but true.
Meatloaf….2 out 3 ain’t bad
Bats are pretty silent today. I’ve got meetings the rest of my afternoon, so I’m tuning out shortly.
Hope for a miracle come-back. 2-run lead seems so large … 😮
It warms my heart to see Crow-Armstrong struggling.
+ 1,000,000
Abbott was not sharp early, but he has turned in another really strong start!
PITCHING!
GREAT PITCHING!
GO REDS!
Abbott has earned the benefit of the doubt this season. He’s been pretty much on the entire season.
Great effort on the mound again ——Zero support from anemic offense … wash , rinse , repeat …..
Though to watch as a fan.
Gotta wonder how these pitchers feel when these quality starts get wasted?
Hackman Hays … pitching him low and away and he’ll NEVER make contact … dude swings at ANYTHING almost
We just witnessed an immaculate inning and no one even mentioned it!
Crazy. Contact on only one pitch?
Sadak did.
Reds are just not good enough on offense to put together any kind of streak.Starters have done the job all year long.Hitters just haven’t held up their end.Still have 9 outs so do make it a game or roll over content with 2 out 3 and go face Skeens and the Pirates.
I Am agrado that against Skenes, Reds will have -1 or – 2 hits.
They are awful
Incredible an inmaculated inning…just embarrassing after this pitcher was crushed yesterday , now was unhittable today, unbelievable…
On the receiving end of an immaculate inning
Only the second immaculate inning in MLB this year
Reds already on the plane.So Sad
Not Andrew Abbott and Tito Francona!
Later, all. Hoping we can manhandle the Pie-Rats.
Double digit strikeouts again … Tyler Stephenson with his usual whiffs …. I like the guy, but Reds need to do better behind the plate . I mean do something in the offseason …. He ain’t it .
+ 1 mill
Obviously he’s not a great defensive catcher. He’s not terrible, but he’s not great.
If he’s not bringing quality at bats, yeah, you have to question his overall value.
Time to open up a can of bullpen now
I just don’t understand why the reds take so many fastballs that are very hittable.Especially when you’re down 2-0
Just when you think the Reds may have turned the corner, their offensive deficiencies show up again. Been like that all season.
team BA is down around .225 in August
3 runs look like an insurmountable deficit. But we scored 8 runs in 8th inning in Atlanta. It’s doable. Come on Reds.
It seems the game is done at this moment… Reds haven’t been shutout since May 31 in this park 2-0 that day… Let’s see …
Quality start (so far) from Abbott again …. Dude did his part … zero issues with his effort . Dude is daggone good and I’d take him on my staff all day long …. ZERO HELP , and I mean ZERO
Absolutely agree. He’s a guy you build around.
Elly and Fraley made nice plays on D
Sorry Abbott that your offense only gave you 2 hits.
Reds about to go 3-8 on Wednesday games this season.
Everybody is right this offense has stopped the Red’s from ever having one of those streaks that could really put them in a good position for a playoff run. The sad thing is you know how tomorrow will go against Skeens. They will be lucky to split the series in Pittsburgh where they never play well. This team is like a yo yow up and down up and down they just can’t get hot because of their horrible offense.
Pittsburgh plays well at home. Their pitching has been solid.
Can’t afford to not hit there like today has been for us so far.
Great pick by Stephenson there on ball 4.
Mey can be both fun to watch and frightening to watch and often in the same inning.
Huge upside and has been pretty good overall but you’re spot on.
Sometimes wildness can be incredibly effective.
Reds will take 2of 3 from the Cubs who have a great offense. I’ll take that any day. Move on and win the next series. Mets lost today and are struggling.
PCA is such a whiny b. That pitch caught the full plate and this ump has a gigantic zone anyway.
Reds have drawn 0 walks today.
Work meeting over! I check in and see that explosive Reds offense is still stuck at 2 hits!
At least the Mets lost!
Another wasted opportunity to gain ground in the NL Wild Card race!
The Cubs threw their future ace at us and the Reds couldn’t handle him.
And now (unfortunately) the Reds will be off to Pittsburgh where they have good/great starting pitching lined up.
Key word is “future.” He’s not their ace now. Just a rookie. Reds struggle against multiple “future aces.”
This game is about like the mini tablet I bought to stream the Reds and Bats while I had one eye and ear on the TV show my wife was watching.
It was a name brand device and well reviewed. However, as things turned out, it would stream everything well *except* the Bats and Reds. It is now on its way back to Amazon. It looks like if I want an 8-9″ tab for live sports, it will have to be (the brand you said you would not buy) 😉
I am sorry it is so hard to watch this offense day in and day out, even when they win.
Heading for shutout #10. Hey Nick, thanks for the bat at deadline. You did a bang up job. I’m sure Bob will reward you.
Yes. Everyone knew we needed offense. Batting .074 this game. Went and got a defensive whiz at third who doesn’t hit well, a guy who can only platoon, and the best pickup pitched last night. All good players and fine additions…for a team who needed those attributes! No pop added. Only half measures is ownership motto.
I would put Andujar in the line up ASAP, before he learns to hit like the rest of this sorry bunch.
Ha!
I kinda want Tito to really rock the boat an put Andujar in the #2 spot.
Seems like he needs to shake things up somehow.
I was starting to dream the wild card dream, but ugh…
I think I’m back to my limited no-fun optimism that they’ll get to 85 wins.
One of the worst offensive game by the Reds this season….And they didn’t face elite pitching today… Tomorrow they’ll face arguably the best NL pitcher…
Horton is really strong.
He’s not “elite” in anyone’s mind because today was today only his 15th MLB game.
Horton is among the hottest pitchers in baseball, if not THE hottest. He has shut out his opponents in 4 of his last 5 starts before today, now 5 out of 6.
I know the Reds haven’t been swept this year, but have they swept anyone? Can’t remember.
Guardians, I think
Probably another
Thanks. Rays too, fairly recently. Senior moment on my part
Yes. Swept the Rays just a week ago.
Also swept the D-Backs in June.
Swept Cleveland in May.
Swept the Rockies in late April.
And finally, swept the Pirates in early April.
So, once a month. Will look forward to an August sweep.
Yes, the Reds don’t look good today. Still, not much to complain about when you win a series from the Cubs on the road.
I get aggravated when people imply the Reds aren’t even trying in a particular game. I mean, the other team has MLB players too. The Cubs are actually one of the better teams in baseball, you’re not going to get ’em every time.
Exactly.
+1
I would challenge the Reds fans to sit behind any winning team’s dugout and tell the players and the manager and coaches that any they’re not playing hard.
In my experience, it’s just fans’ ranting bluster on the Internet.
I don’t understand why anyone thinks it adds anything to a conversation about baseball, but it exists and I don’t think it’s ever going away.
The concerning thing is they have played so poorly today that it may have taken away any momentum they had. Especially with Skeens pitching tomorrow.
I have always heard the saying “Momentum is only as good as the next day’s starting pitcher.”
I don’t think how the Reds played today has any bearing whatsoever on how they will do tomorrow. We were likely going to struggle against Skenes no matter what.
Exactly…the Reds had some great wins and these same guys said it should really be something that can start a streak….nope….that’s not how baseball works.
Happ homers and obviously scores a run! He just kills the Reds, year in and year out!
Zulueta is good at Triple-A but I don’t think he could pitch at the big leagues…The Reds not having another choice shows their weakness in the bullpen and depth…
He is just a place holder right now and a rested arm. But he does have potential. Just has to be more precise and less predictable.
Glass half full… Reds take 2 of 3 in Chicago, and leave with the main guys in the bullpen rested/somewhat rested despite the debacle of the speedway game followed by Lodolo exiting early with an injury.
+1
This is true. Nice to win a series at Wrigley.
Time to move some pieces around in the batting order though with this offense.
Silver lining to today = Pagan, Santillan, Barlow, and Ashcraft all get some much-needed rest.
The good news (maybe?) is that today they saw the “JV” version of Skenes so if they get a good night’s sleep and eat their Wheaties tomorrow morning… maybe?
😉
I checked. I can confirm that Skenes IS mortal…
The Cardinals beat him with no home runs and only two walks:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PIT/PIT202504080.shtml
Skenes is 6-8 this year. He is a great pitcher but obviously not invincible
I for one did not think they could take the series from the cubs but they did. So anything is possible
What I worry about is that the Reds play to the level of the competition
He is invincible. But the bullpen behind him and the offense with him are not.
The only reason Skenes is 6-8 is because the Pirates have one of the worst offenses in all of baseball. And the Pirates lousy offense has nothing nothing nothing to do with Paul Skenes.
A pitcher’s record doesn’t tell you a whole lot about how well he has pitched.
I just looked at his game logs. He has started 23 games and he has only pitched poorly three or four times, depending on how you look at the numbers in those three of four games when he did not pitch as well as the rest.
The Pirates are 11-12 in the games he has started. 11-12 is a better indicator than 6-8 to show how dominant he has been but it’s still a lousy way to look at his amazing season.
I looked at his game logs and I’m gonna say his record is 19-4.
19 good or great starts. 4 not as good.
You can say that I don’t get to do that … but I just did.
Someone shows me a “Pitcher W/L” and I’m gonna show them something that means just as little to me. 😉
C’mon. Pitcher wins and losses? Really?
Please … have a look at the numbers.
Some numbers other than “Pitcher W/L”…
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=skenepa01&t=p&year=2025
Reds can’t hit and today it wasn’t even a fair fight.Go back and look at the 7th inning facing the same kid they hammered last night.To all 3 hitters it was fastball fastball then slider and 9 pitches and one foul ball and 3 strikeouts.He just pounded the zone and they could not touch it. That was little league at bats.Just a repeat sequence to all 3 hitters.Where is that oppo approach?Did anybody notice a pattern?Embarassing isn’t even a good word to describe it .Power played today or at least the Cubs power played.Somebody hopefully will ask why Tito why he left AA in to pitch the 7th and hopefully he say well we were already on the bus so what did it matter.
I would have left Abbott in the game to pitch the 7th too. Our bullpen is still recovering from back-to-back games of covering 7+ innings (due to the rainout and the Lodolo injury) and the relief core is taxed. Abbott was also under 80 pitches through the first 6 innings, there was no need to take him out at that point.
I disagree with some of Francona’s bullpen decisions. But leaving Abbott in to pitch the 7th was an easy one to make.
I agree with you no doubt.My point was that it didn’t really matter for this game if it was 2-0 or 4-0 it still over.
Yep. With the way the offense looked, no need to burn any of our good relievers unnecessarily. Let Abbott go as long as he can, then use whoever to get through the rest of the game.
37x now with 2 runs or less of offense.
Reds can’t gain ground from the Mets, still 3 games behind and fall back 6.5 behind Cubs… Tomorrow there will be another tough game facing Skenes… It’s the 2nd attempt Reds miss to get 7 games above .500…
We all want this team to make the playoffs, they won’t, but can you imagine this offense in a playoff series. Repeat of 2020 and that was a much better offense. That team didn’t score a run in 2 games. This team might not get a hit.
The 2020 Reds had a better offense?
The 2020 team had a .212 team batting average. (.212!!!! Good lord, how is that possible?) Their slash line overall was .212/.313/.403 (85 OPS+), and they scored 4.0 runs/game.
The 2025 Reds are hitting .247/.320/.392 (92 OPS+) and are scoring 4.5 runs/game.
(In hindsight, how did I watch that 2020 team?!)
Yeah, I was going to say the same thing. The 2020 offense makes this year’s team look good in comparison.
I may be the minority
They have done better than I expected. Could it be better? Absolutely. But it could be one hell of a lot worse