The Cincinnati Reds picked up a much needed win on Tuesday night in San Diego, but it wasn’t easy. The game was tied heading into the 9th inning before a clutch home run from Tyler Stephenson put the visiting team up and in the bottom of the inning the Padres were unable to answer as the Reds held on to win the game and even the series up.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (73-72) | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| San Diego Padres (79-66) | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| W: Phillips (2-0) L: Suarez (4-6) SV: Pagan (27) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
It didn’t take very long for Cincinnati to grab a lead as Sal Stewart hit a solo home run in the 1st inning. They would tack on another run in the next inning when Will Benson crushed a solo homer of his own. The bottom of the inning came to an end when Benson made a leaping grab against the wall in right that left him on the ground and shaken up for several minutes before he got out and walked off on his own. He would remain in the game.
In the top of the 4th inning the Reds were on the receiving end of an outstanding catch at the wall by the right fielder. After Gavin Lux walked, Tyler Stephenson hit a long line drive to right but Fernando Tatis Jr. leaped at the wall and robbed Stephenson of a 2-run home run and nearly doubled Lux off at first base on the play.
San Diego wasn’t able to get much going against Zack Littell through the first four innings, but that all changed in the 5th. A leadoff walk would come back to haunt as Jackson Merrill followed up with an RBI triple. Merrill would score later in the inning on a sacrifice fly that tied the game up at 2-2.
Cincinnati would get a 1-out single from Elly De La Cruz in the 6th and then he’d steal second base and take third when the throw went into the outfield. But the Reds were unable to bring him in as the next two hitters struck out and stranded him there.
Zach Maxwell worked around a 1-out double in the bottom of the 7th inning. Connor Phillips worked around a 1-out walk and a stolen base in the 8th inning to keep things tied up. In the top of the 9th inning Gavin Lux drew a 2-out walk and that brought Tyler Stephenson to the plate and this time he made sure no one was going to rob him of a homer as he hit a 2-run home run into the balcony seats of the Western Metal Supply Co. beyond the wall in left field to put Cincinnati up 4-2.
Emilio Pagan entered the game from the Reds bullpen for the bottom of the 9th. He made easy work of the Padres, retiring the side in order on 11 pitches as he picked up his 27th save and the Reds moved back above the .500 mark with the win.
Key Moment of the Game
Tyler Stephenson’s 2-run home run in the 9th inning that broke a tie.
Notes Worth Noting
The only Reds hitter to reach base safely twice didn’t record a hit. Gavin Lux walked twice. Those were the only two walks the team had.
Joel Luckhaupt noted on twitter that the Reds had multiple home runs in consecutive games for the first time since June 13th and 14th.
The New York Mets lost again – their 4th game in a row. San Francisco won, though. That leaves the Reds three games behind the Mets for the final wild card spot, and a game back of the Giants in that same race.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs San Diego Padres
Wednesday September 10th, 8:40pm ET
Andrew Abbott (8-6, 2.88 ERA) vs Nick Pivetta (13-5, 2.85 ERA)
3 back. Hanging on by a thread. Still in it, that’s all we can ask.
Hanging on to slim playoff hopes reminds me a bit of the 1964 NL pennant race between the Reds, Phils and Cards with St. Louis winning out.
Thought Stewart played well at first base, in addition to the home run. Hope he’s back in there for the series finale.
Yep. Several folks have said all along that a guy who could play 3b should be fine at 1B. So far, that seems accurate. Stewart hasn’t been seriously tested yet at digging low throws; but, the other guy is inconsistent in that department in his own right.
The other guy missed a few picks lately (recency bias), but the other guy is also:
5th in all of MLB in Fielding Run Value at +4 (leader is Olson at +7)
and
5th in all of MLB in Outs Above Avg at +6 (leader is France at +9)
VaRedsFan- you have to understand Jim doesn’t let facts get in the way of his agenda of his dislike for Steer.
Steer is a very good defensive first basemen. The Reds have moved him all over the diamond and he holds his own. He might hit better if he just played one position, look at Marte and his move to RF.
I don’t think its a dislike of Steer per se? He just isn’t a good enough hitter to play 1B. A .706 ops (.637 road) and .720 last year. He’s got occasional pop and that might be good enough for 2B on a good team. MM has more of a ceiling and Lux is at .719 even with his recent slide. Steer might be dinged up, but .720 last year says he is what he is. A 320 ft can of corn expert
You see Steer hit any out to dead center lately? Me either
@JB>> I don’t dislike Steer. I oppose the concept of wasting a power position by using a guy with a slugging percentage this year sub .400 and for his career sub .420. When folks say he should be left at 1b despite this because of his glove, I point out why I believe differently.
Matt Olson gets mentioned a lot in the defenses of Steer at 1B. Matt Olson’s current slugging percentage is .462, and his OPS+ is 132. Steer’s OPS+ is 89. I would be statistically correct to say Olson’s OPS+ is +32 and Steer’s is -11 since 100 OPS+ is league average.
If folks want something to ponder, the Fangraphs positional leaderboard for fielding among first basemen lists Steer as 15th among the 19 qualifying MLB first basemen in 2025. And BTW, Olson is 7th.
https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders/major-league?lg=all&qual=y&season=2025&season1=2025&ind=0&pageitems=30&stats=fld&pos=1b
IRM>> Exactly, and as far as defense, the Fangraphs positional leaderboard for 1B defense has Steer at 15th of 19 qualifying MLB first basemen.
https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders/major-league?lg=all&qual=y&season=2025&season1=2025&ind=0&pageitems=30&stats=fld&pos=1b
Like Jim, I’m not down on Steer, but his best value on a highly competitive team is as a versatile utility player who can start in place of other players. Steer is very good defensively at 1B, but his league-average hitting makes him a poor fit as the everyday 1B.
Defensive stats can be a little imprecise, so a little more defensive context from Statcast:
– Fielding Run Value (Statcast’s most comprehensive defensive metric): Steer (4 runs above average), which ranks #5 of 67 qualified players at 1B. Matt Olson is #1 (7 runs above average).
– Outs Above Average: Steer (6) ranks #5 of 38 qualified 1B. Former Red, Ty France, is #1 (7), Matt Olson is #2 (6).
Any mention of Steer’s hitting that omits the impact of his March/April numbers is skewed. After all, he started the season without the benefit of Spring Training and his number reflect that fact. Steer is a league average or slightly better hitter. His career OPS+ is 100. His OPS+ numbers by month this season:
– Mar/Apr – 49
– May – 103
– Jun – 131
– Jul – 93
– Aug – 97
– Sep – 116
So, throw out his Mar/Apr month, and Steer is almost the same hitter he’s been throughout his pro career. His agent may use my analysis at his arbitration hearing 🙂
Steer is the kind of solid player who lengthens a lineup. If I were king for a day, I would use him in a utility role, but play him nearly every day by using his versatility to cover injuries and give players days off if everyone is healthy.
You can’t mean spencer Steer. He has been terrific at 1st base. Steer and Olson of the Braves have been 2 of the best defensively at 1st. Nobody any better handling low throws. Steer has been one of the best RBI bats with men on base. Where do you play him.
Re: “Exactly, and as far as defense, the Fangraphs positional leaderboard for 1B defense has Steer at 15th of 19 qualifying MLB first basemen.”
The link provided simply shows defensive stats for all qualified MLB 1B and does not appear to rank the players by any columns on the table. Switch the link to the Advanced tab and sort them by OAA (Steer ranks 4th) or DRS (Steer ranks 5th) if you want an ideal of where Steer ranks defensively among MLB 1B.
Re: “So, throw out his Mar/Apr month, and Steer is almost the same hitter he’s been throughout his pro career.”
Exactly, Steer is a .243/.328/.418/.746 hitter for his career and has hit .253/.323/.428/.751 since May 1st this season.
Here’s what I’m seeing at Fangraphs (based on qualified 1B):
– Defensive WAR – Steer is #3 of 19 (France is #1, Olson #5)
– Outs Above Average – Steer is #4 of 19 (France is #1, Olson is #3)
– Defensive Runs Saved – Steer is #5 of 19 (Olson is #1)
https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders/major-league?lg=all&qual=y&season=2025&season1=2025&ind=0&stats=fld&pos=1b&type=1&sortcol=12&sortdir=default&pagenum=1
Hmm crickets. There it is again with cherry picking the stats that helps his agenda.
Indy- I never said anything about Steers offense. Jim’s crack was about Steers defense. You seem to really have a problem with reading comprehension.
@JB, you are around here enough to know that @Jim Walker adds great value to the conversations. It’s far more likely that he misread a table than that he is looking to cherry-pick stats to make a point.
JB cmon? Steer as a ballplayer doesn’t hack it at 1B. I don’t care if he wins GG the rest of his career. Thats like saying an NFL QB is a great runner. If you can’t throw then it doesn’t matter and Steer isn’t that much as a hitter
End.of.story
Re: “Steer as a ballplayer doesn’t hack it at 1B.”
It’s may be closer than you think.
MLB 1B in 2025: .252/.324/.423/.747
Steer since May 1st this season: .253/.323/.428/.751
For where the Reds are today, I like Steer at 1B. Steer’s performance is certainly not hurting the team.
Moving forward, the Reds have Stewart and/or a potential offseason acquisition. Steer’s versatility allows the Reds to improve from a strong defender and league-average hitter at 1B. LF and DH are also potential positions for an acquired hitter. Because those three positions have the lowest defensive value, they allow the Reds to focus on acquiring the best available hitter.
@Tom> There is a key value to the Fangraphs order using standard stats, but it isn’t evident, and they do not say what it is. It clearly is not alphabetical by name, league, or team name.
The key on the Advanced stats is the farthest right column labeled “def”, but they do not tell us what it is. All we know is that the best “def” is a value of -0.6 for Ty France, the worst is -13.5 for Pete Alonso, and Steer’s is -2.3
You chose to sort by the Advanced Stats by DRS and OAA. On the Standard chart. I could have chosen to sort the standard chart stats by SCP (scoops) and had Steer in dead last of the 19. But they are a counting stat, and maybe one guy just had many more (or fewer) chances.
And what are scoops? Per Fangraphs, “The Value of First Basemen to Handle Errant Throws”, the very issue I was pointing out that Steer was inconsistent at doing.
And since the first of July, Steer has hit 217/.317/.400/.717. He had a hot June into July run that peaked his seasonal OPS at .727 a week or so before the All Star break, and has scuffled even worse since the break hitting .207/.310/.379/.689
@Jim, I shared a lot of comprehensive defensive stats, and they all have Steer as a top-five defender. Fangraphs’ “Scoops” stat just provides a raw number of scoops. It’s not a percentage of scoops per opportunity or normalized in a way that we can make a valid comparison with other players. It’s just raw data.
When doing statistical analysis, a more comprehensive set of related data is preferred over a single set of data, as it’s easy to draw false conclusions when focusing on a singular metric (i.e., “scoops”). Similarly, it’s also preferable to only exclude data when there is a known reason that it may be anomalous (i.e., Steer missed Spring Training, so I excluded Mar/Apr as this period is the same as what other players had to build up for the season in ST). What legitimate reason do you have to exclude May and June (months where Steer hit above league average) from your analysis?
Re: “The key on the Advanced stats is the farthest right column labeled “def”, but they do not tell us what it is.”
Defense (Def) is the combination of two important factors of defensive performance: value relative to positional average (fielding runs) and positional value relative to other positions (positional adjustment).
https://library.fangraphs.com/defense/def/
Perhaps we haven’t beaten the topic to death, so: the traditional and rigid assumption that certain positions are “power” positions seems, well, rigid to me. Since the Reds don’t get a lot of power from any position this year, this is all theoretical, but to my mind, as long as you get the power, it shouldn’t matter whether it is the first baseman or the second baseman who provides it. Take other factors–defense, on-base skills, base running — into account when determining who starts where.
Hot Take #1: as impressive as it is that he’s made it this far, Steer shouldn’t start more than half the remaining games this year.
Hot Take #2: if the Reds keep him, Steer is a lock for 30 homers next year.
(I can probably be talked down off one or both of those but I do think trading Steer this winter would be selling low and a mistake. Maybe a big mistake.)
BK>> The guy who devised scoops did come up with a normalization scheme for above and below average runs saved. The normalized version of scoops is a component in UZR.
What we do not know is whether the scoops in the Fangraphs chart are the raw scoop count or the normalized runs saved metric. Even if it is the normalized version, there will be a skew based on chances, which is why I did not feature it in my original mention of the chart.
His analysis in the process indicated that tall (>6’1″) right-handed (throwing) 1b as a group did better than shorter guys at scoops.
But this data is over a decade old.
Overall, he felt like scooping should be weighted at 25% of the total defensive rating of a first baseman.
Google it up if interested, that other folks have tried to correlate scooping ability with the UZR DRS and OAA data over the years.
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/first-basemen-scoops/
Wow. Big discussion about Steer today. I have no problem with Steer playing 1B but as BK pointed out his best asset to the Reds is his versatility. There’s not much doubt in my mind that Stewart is the first baseman of the future anyway starting next year permanently. He’s playing there tonight with Steer on the bench by the way which as I’ve been saying I wish it were Lux on the bench right now more that Steer.
Lux last 15 games – .171/.306/.244
Last 7 – .136/.269/.136
Steer last 15 games – .234/.333/.426
Last 7 – .294/.429/.353
As for 1B being a power position, what about 3B with Hayes? Both are considered “power” positions.
An interesting article concerning the Spencer Steer discussion today:
https://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/why_spencer_steer_isnt_a_gold_glove_first_baseman_just_yet/s1_17327_42713506?utm_source=mb&utm_medium=email&mb_edition=20250910&mb_loc=right_h
Reds hardly hit any HR at GABP but hit 5 HRs in 2 games at Petco. Go figure.
Not a great sign if you need to hit three home runs to score four runs total.
Runs are down overall in MLB. A LOT OF low run low score games. Particularly in September when all players are worn down a bit. Reds are 13th in runs scored. That’s in the top half of the league. Pitching this year all over the league has rulled the day.
Better than the Pod People did, though.
Reply to Duke.
That was Stephenson’s 10th homer, not 9th, I believe.
It was his 10th home run. But no one said it was his 9th. What was said is that he hit the home run in the 9th inning. Which he did.
Eight different Reds now have 10 or more HR this season. No sluggers but several who have good power.
And the Yanks have 8 that have 20 or near it.
Two ex-Reds are pitching well for NYY bullpen this year. ERA about 2.85, ERA+ about 145, WHIP about 0.900 or so. Messrs. Cruz and Weaver.
Cruz got lit up tonight and his ERA jumped 1.10 from just this outing and now sits at 3.76.
Beg to differ. I would say we have 1 hitter with good power – the one that just got here.
If you can’t hit 20 homers playing 81 games at GABP then you don’t have good power.
Elly has good power when he is healthy. He had 18 HR on June 23rd.
Re: “Eight different Reds now have 10 or more HR this season. No sluggers but several who have good power.”
Some numbers to consider. The following chart contains all Reds players with 100+ PA this season, and includes season totals for all players who played with 2 teams (Hayes,Andujar,Fraley). It shows each players HR total for 500 PA and 600 PA based on their HR% this season.
Player PA HR HR% HR/500PA HR/600PA
Will Benson* 215 10 4.7% 23 28
Christian Encarnacion-Strand 137 6 4.4% 22 26
Noelvi Marté 296 12 4.1% 20 24
Austin Hays 381 15 3.9% 20 24
Tyler Stephenson 299 10 3.3% 17 20
Spencer Steer 520 17 3.3% 16 20
Elly De La Cruz# 630 19 3.0% 15 18
Miguel Andujar 307 9 2.9% 15 18
Jake Fraley* 217 6 2.8% 14 17
Matt McLain 519 14 2.7% 13 16
TJ Friedl* 612 12 2.0% 10 12
Jose Trevino 281 4 1.4% 7 9
Gavin Lux* 452 5 1.1% 6 7
Ke’Bryan Hayes 520 5 1.0% 5 6
Santiago Espinal 325 0 0.0% 0 0
I liken this 2025 reds team to an old dying patient. You know what the final outcome will be but there are still some good days that give you hope.
Speaking of hope i like how the reds are bringing along Sal Stewart. Not a ton of hype just a solid hitter.
Instead of always looking for the ultimate “5 tool guy” i think the reds should focus more on drafting guys like him. Maybe not the most athletic but a solid hitter. I think it is easier to turn a guy like Sal stewart into a decent fielder than lets say an athlete like Billy Hamilton into a good hitter.
You should give the pre-game pep speech to the team and lead with this!
Don’t get me wrong, i’d look for the athletic guys and good defenders too, but when it comes to drafting and signing international players, the number one thing I would look for is “can they hit?” I loved the Cam Collier/Sal Stewart draft, as it was two guys people expected to hit.
Let’s see what Stewart does after a few hundred at bats and gets around the league. He has proven nothing at this point. Reds have had all these kids come up here the last 3 years who had very impressive numbers. As they have found out MLB pitching is 3x better to anything in the minors. Many up here have struggled. So not getting overly excited yet about Stewart
A little less of the old dying patient, if you please. A number of us have the old part locked down.
Mets lost.
So did the Cards. Yeah!!!
As long as the Reds have a shot it’s worth following them. I had to leave after the 5th, and when I saw that they had held the Padres to 2 and scored on another homerun in the 9th with a man on … what could be better ? Keep playing each game like that’s all that matters. We won’t win every game, But it will be interesting to see just what we can do.
Just curious, but who has tiebreaker between Reds and Giants. Just hope Abbott can dig down for strength in finale. And that Mets and Giants keep losing. Miracles do happen.
If the tie is only between the Reds and Giants, the tiebreakder goes to the head to head matchup but that’s 3-3. So then it goes to the inter-division matchup. Right now the Reds are 17-22 with 13 games left in the division. San Francisco is 17-20 with 15 games left in their division.
you can get the full rules here – https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-playoff-tiebreaker-rules
That should read, “intradivision.”
Thinking the Reds blew the finale game up at SF after leading 6-1 in the 7th inning
Thanks Doug. I was too lazy to look this up at 2a.m. I think the 1st thing is Reds have to keep winning, especially their division games. OBVIOUSLY, otherwise the tie breaker means nothing. Mets have to lose enough that Reds can catch them. And Giants need to lose some division games. Miracles do happen.
SF is 2-4 vs LA and has 7 more with them. Mets are playing Texas, SD, and the Nats in a homestand next week and Texas/Nats are on fire
Reds should take on business playing 4 against Cubs at GABP and 3 @Brewers
Have at it tomorrow. Pummel the Pads. Fricassee the Friars.
Pulverize the Pod People.
According to Yahoo Sports, in the 2nd inning, Will Benson hit a 100 ft home run to shallow right.
https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/cincinnati-reds-san-diego-padres-450909125/
That certainly is a shallow home run!
I’m not familiar with the dimensions of the field used by the Padres, but at 100 ft to right field, I think I could even hit a home run.
Ha! That’s a hilarious glitch.
F. Cruz got shelled for Yanks; ERA is now up to where Barlow’s was when people were loving him, before his ERA rose half a point.
Cruz had been great for them.
5 ER’s without giving up an out will kill a reliever’s ERA.
But even after tonight’s massacre it’s still at 3.76.
He pitched well for the Reds but would occasionally have a game like tonight.
Interesting that the 2 players who haven’t been getting the playing time many on here wanted hit big flies last night – Stewart & Benson.
Homers solve a lot of offensive woes. I’d like to see more Benson, Stewart and Andujar on this road trip. Giving 1 day a week off to Friedl, Lux, Steer, McLain, Marte and Hayes should allow that.
Excellent pitching by Littell and Pagan. And what about the young guys holding the 7th and 8th together – way to go Maxwell and Phillips!
A. Diaz, now with the Braves
2/3’s IP 3 walks and a HBP 4 runs allowed (3 earned)
Removed after walking in a run, and the next guy gave up a couple of hits.
A new DFA is coming soon apparently
Doug what are your thoughts on Arroyo being our SS next year? I think I remember you saying he was an excellent defensive player who has speed. He is hitting 285 at AA. This would enable us to move EDLC to CF where I think he would be a huge asset defensively with his range and speed.
Doesn’t even have an at bat in AAA yet. He’ll at the very least start next year in the minors. We’ll see if the power comes back even more and if he can force the issue next year, but I wouldn’t expect it for opening day.
Mclain to SS would happen first but the Reds mgmt. have made it clear EDLC is not moving to CF.
I have been in favor of keeping EDLC at SS but after this year I think our best current defensive postitioning would be be 1B Stewart | 2B Steer | SS McClain | 3B Hayes | RF Marte | CF Elly | LF Friedle
285 a AA is fine. The pitching in AA and AAA is not anywhere close to what he will see in the big leagues. MLB pitching is 3x what it is compared to minor league ball. They would likey want him to play at Aaa before moving to the big leagues
Man………do we ever need Abbott to be First Half Abbott Tonight!!!!
I’m taking credit for this win … 😛
Settling into bed and First Wife asked if I was going to turn on the game. I declined and read instead. And … VOILA!!!
Watched the scoring on replay. A couple of bomb shots.
I think the Reds may have found their future closer in Phillips.
Phillips has great stuff, and the control is coming along. At the very least, he might be able to step into a high leverage role next season along with Santillan. Need to bring in at least one more and two other serviceable middle relievers. I don’t think we can in any meaningful way count on Mey or Maxwell to find their control. If they do, great, can’t count on it.
Interesting difference between us and the Pads at the deadline. The Pads traded their No. 1 prospect to the As for the susposedly untouchable Mason Miller. Miller is an elite closer, as we have witnessed,, and is under (cheap) team control for the next 5 years. Amazing what can be accomplished when a GM and team really want somebody. Miller is certainly cheap on the $ scale but not cheap at all when you are talking your top prospect. Pads already had the ASG closer but obviously wanted end of game supremacy. Just food for thought on one teams approach for chasing the playoffs in 2025 (and future years) vs another team’s. If you want an elite closer, you either pay market price ($100M for 5 years) or you trade an elite prospect. Both have their risks.
I assume that the Pads are paying Miller, so it wasn’t really either/or: they gave up their top prospect and will be paying him $100 million.
Actually Big Sugar had a tremendous comeback on his first batter from 3-0 count and really showed me something. I think he has potential as a future closer and I have not given up on Mey. With Phillips that gives the Reds three Bull pen late inning arms who can reach triple digits. If Ashcraft is more of a middle reliever then they have four 100 mph pitchers. Add Santillan and then add two more seasoned lefties over the winter.
Mey and Maxwell both have closer stuff, but I won’t believe they have the control until they give me a reason to believe.
I agree but wish one was a lefty.Guys from the left side that throw 100 + just scare any lefty swingers and some righties when they have no idea where the ball may go.
The Reds offense has driven 5 homers so far in this series but 4 of them are solo shots…Although they have been limited to score manufactured runs…I’m concerned about they facing Pivetta at Petco tonight, guy has been pretty good this season..Hoping for an Abbott’s rebound, that could be clutch today…
Mey may be doubtful but Maxwell looks like a keeper. Doug can you explain why we get updates on Burns but really not on Lowder . It seems as if he has had more than enough time to heal from an oblique.
Burns had a bullpen session yesterday and reports were good. Didn’t hear a timeline for his return, though.
Burns’ timetable seems to be mañana. I once spent a week on my own in Mexico. It was explained to me by a US expat that “mañana” in conversations often meant some indefinite time in the future, versus literally in the morning or tomorrow as a Spanish/English dictionary might say. 😉
I gave up at 2-2. Good to see a win. They could use some help from Arizona today and they need to keep winning. Still favor some IL moves and call ups. For example, where Andujar? Playing with guys that should be on the IL is negligent management. And there’s no one to blame other than Krall and the FO.
100% correct and I never got the Steer injury from the start.He has been in 133 games of the 145 the Reds have played and only when Stewart arrived was he out of the lineup and not because of fatigue or because of his chronic shoulder it was reported he has a quad issue.Andujar and his quad has been going on a long time.Hays was on the IL several times,sorry didn’t go back and look how many times,but since his last stint he hasn’t played left much on back to back days.More so now then weeks ago so is he limping or not.Don’t get it with Stewart not playing every day nor Benson disappearing until last night and where is Espy who at one time was a fixture in the lineup along with our buddy Connor Joe and Hampson.So what gives and why now do we have to play the walking wounded with a bench of Andujar,Benson,Stewart,Espy and the catcher that isn’t starting that day.Hard for me to get what a less then 100% Hays,Steer and lets just throw in MM for good measure can give when others are 100% healthy.These have been long term issues and not just recent ones.Last night Stewart and Benson both go yard and lets be real here outside of Elly these two have the most raw power on the team.I get it the ship has sailed so it doesn’t matter much.I guess Andujar is being saved for a KIrk Gibson moment to limp up to the plate and homer to send the Reds into the post season on the last day of the year.OK works for me.
We’ll never know what really goes on between Tito and Krall. Francona doesn’t seem over enthusiastic about Benson. OTH, Benson, Steer, Hays, etc. are Krall acquisitions. Still think of Steer in spring training. Tito says he’ll likely open the season on the IL, next thing you know he’s starting. He still doesn’t seem physically at his best. Nor does McLain, though he’s been doing better of late. Start Stewart everyday, rest or IL those that need it and tap into the Louisville roster.
“Tito says he’ll likely open the season on the IL, next thing you know he’s starting.”
@LDS, remember, Hays strained his calf earlier in the week before the Red’s Opening Day. Hays enjoyed a healthy spring training until the very end. Hays’ injury resulted in Steer starting the season on the active roster instead of the injured list. It’s not that Krall or Francona just changed their minds.
I find it interesting that some have already determined that steer should not play full time or not at first. First of all the guy has played hurt all year. Last year he had 90RBI. If you are going to hit in he middle of the lineup you have to hit with men on base. Steer is by far the best hitter this team has hitting with men on. Stewart has been here for 1 week. You and I have no idea what this guy is going to be. All these guys who have come up here the last 3 years none yet haver really dominated. Facts are you have no idea what you have with any player until that player has at least 2500 big league at bats. None of these guys have that yet. As good a HR hitter as Kyle Schwarber is the Phillies don’t hit him in the 3,4 or 5 hole. The reason is he strikes out almost 200 times per year. He leaves a lot of guys on base. When you hit in 1st or 2nd hole the #1 job there is to get on base and score runs. He does that with all those HRs and walks a lot. So he scores 100 runs He is very effective hitting in the 1 or 2 hole. You cant hit 3, 4 or 5 hitting HRs 1 out of every 20 at bats then stirking out the next 10 out of 15 at bats. Name of the game is runs and hitting with men on base.
Nonetheless, it’s irresponsible. If a guy needs to be on the IL, he needs to be on the IL. Not sorry, you’ll have to play hurt because this other guys injury is worse or he’s more important. Bad management pure and simple
LDS, you seem to be standing in ethical opposition to a number of commenters yesterday who were scandalized that Lodolo didn’t pitch deeper into the game.
ESPY has been replaced by Hayes. Once Hayes came on board ESPY time was going to diminish.
Nice win, boys! Can we take the series?
Nice job of stepping up by Maxwell and Phillips.
Reds have three Gold Glove caliber infielders in Steer, McClain, and Hayes. At this point they’re also bottom of the order hitters. Not a defensive runs above replacement guy, and I’m aware how cheap the owner is, but a solid to above average ss that can hit would make for a dynamic infield. Yes, Elly would have to move to center where he would look like a young Griffey Jr. Love to think the FO could at least contemplate it. Oh yeah, put Stewart in left. I remember a guy that played second, right, left, third and first in his career. He could hit a bit, too.
RedsGettingBetter 09/10/2025
“Thinking the Reds blew the finale game up at SF after leading 6-1 in the 7th inning”
I forgot about that one. And Opening Day. And 5-2 on St Louis 2 outs in their 8th with nobody on. And Elly throwing the ball away and allowing the tying run after just getting the 26th out vs Milw. And this recent choke bottom 9 vs the Mets. Up 3-0 in a pitchers park like Petco after 5 qualifies too. Not pinch running for Trevino in Arizona. So many this season and how many have we stole? The walkoff on SD…maybe 2 more, but we’ve choked up atleast 8 where we led after 6 or 7 or blew situations like bases loaded nobody out or the tying/leading run at 3B with nobody out. Thats not even mentioning up 8-1 on Milw or some others.
Still alive though. SF has peeled off a 13-3 streak. The Reds do something close and they’ve got a shot. Mets are counting on alot of rookie pitchers. SF has 7 more with LA.
Where is Burns? We need him. IL Andujar and sent Hinds to Sacramento. Guy can pinch run, pinch hit, play OF if nothing else. He’s also a GG OFer compared to Lux or Marte
Tito likes his guys in certain spots. Lux has his ups-n-downs, but always had nice #s in the 5 hole, but just recently dipped under .800 ops (.293/.772). The problem is only 2 HRs in 191 at-bats. He is 8 for 18 with a .500 obp at leadoff. Tito could work in Benson in CF and give a Friedl a breather here and there. Its all about riding hot hands and Benson can get hot for a week now and then.
If he wants to crack open some #s then how about Stephenson at DH. A .868 ops over 59 at-bats even though the average is only .220. He did hit 2 balls over the fence last night. I’d consider riding him to the end also. Everyone likes Trevino, but the ceiling for offense isn’t there
When Stewart was brought up Tito went on record to say Stewart would play and play multiple positions but he also said he would not forget about the players who have been grinding all year.Benson is here only because Fraley was DFA.Think what you want about why Fraley isn’t here but Hays/Lux play every day in left or at DH despite Fraley’s OPS being higher against right handed pitchers.Benson started last night for the first time in who knows when and it was not in left it was in right to give Marte a night off.He is back to the bench.Lux nor Hays will set in favor of nobody outside of maybe one game.Tito will dance with those who brought him to the dance regardless of how they preform.Just been that way all year long and will not change.I give Stewart and Benson both the start tonight just because of last night.One swing and one run works for me all the time.We will see .
Where the devil is Miguel Andujar
Opening day loss to the Giants is looming large right now.
All the one-run losses and games where the Reds blew a lead late loom large. If they could turn 5 of those into wins, they would be right in the middle of this thing with the Mets.
It’ s likely too late, but then, maybe the win last night was the beginning of a ten game winning streak. It’s a credit to the guys that they are still playing hard.
“It’s a credit to the guys that they are still playing hard.”
Agreed. I think the Reds have had a fantastic season. It’s nice to still be scoreboard watching during the second week of September.
Perhaps, I just didn’t have very high expectations for the Reds, going into the season, but I don’t get all the negativity. I think the Red’s have had a pretty solid season.
I only wish you were right Davis but the Reds are what they are and I just don’t see much changing.They have avoided long losing stretches,I believe 6 is the longest because of their starting pitching.Sadly they have not had any winning streaks and I believe again longer then 5 because in general they can’t hit.What they need right now is a spark from somebody that can carry them for a few games offensively.What they need going forward is a couple of power bats and some power arms for the pen especially from the left side.None of this is new by the way.The baseball folks that do it for a living have said this over and over for the last two or three years now.You can bring all the defense you can find to the team,you can hope and pray that this player bounces back or recovers from injury or that player has a career year but the Reds are no different then other teams.You either buy what you need or develop what you need.Krak tried to sell to the fan base he actually did address the teams needs at the deadline this year.I say ok run that by me one more time.
Roger, he didn’t address them all, certainly, but addressed one–bad defense at third base–and acquired a serviceable starting pitcher to free up Burns and Martinez for the pen, a move that hasn’t been an unqualified success because of Injury to Burns and a bit of burnout for Martinez.
I’d say Benson had a couple key moments of his own in the game home run blast and giving up his body for a great defensive play. Guy plays his heart out.
And I love Martinez’s passion after the game!!! I just like teammates like that.
Hays 0-18 vs Pivetta with 6 Ks. Steer 1-2 with a HR. Think I’d go Benson LF with Stewie as the DH. Pivetta has a nasty slider too so I’d sit MM for Lux at 2B, but we’ll find out. Reds won’t score much so need AA to pretend its May and shut these guys down
I saw this article today…purely speculation.
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/article/padres-ryan-ohearn-predicted-sign-172359896.html
I would prefer Josh Naylor, but O’Hearn is very similar. Both could DH or play 1B. O’Hearn would also be decent in LF. I expect the Reds to target one LH hitter to balance out the mostly RH lineup, and both players can handle hitting RHP and LHP so no platoon necessary. I don’t see the Reds having much success at signing one of the top FA hitters.
BK, doesn’t getting a platoon LF/1B bat return us to the corner OF/1B logjam of the last two years?
Besides blocking Stewart, signing O’ Hearn then makes us dependent on the haphazard roster — though perhaps better offensively on paper — that somehow took us almost two seasons to clean up.
I just continue to stick with, If we need a LF, go get a LF. If that LF is O’Hearn, keep it simple. If we need a 1B, go get a 1B. And if that 1B is not going to be Sal Stewart, trade him.
That collecting redundant players is such a feature of Krall, re-creating redundancy almost seems possible.
@Dave, please reread what I said, “… both players can handle hitting RHP and LHP so no platoon necessary.”
Assumption #1. The Reds promoted Stewart this season because he’s in their plan to play next season. He can play 1B or DH. He’ll only occasionally play 3B unless Hayes is moved or injured.
Assumption #2. Similarly, based on playing time or AAA status, CES, Hinds, Benson, Dunn, and H-Rod, will start the season in AAA, be moved off the roster, or be in a bench role with the Reds.
So, no, I don’t see this creating a logjam, a term I really think gets misused here and on RML. Start the nine best players. The remainder are on the bench, at AAA waiting, or used in trades to augment the big league club. “Logjam” is a term that implies a problem. I think the better term is “depth,” which implies opportunity. I am absolutely, positively, and unequivocally in favor of better depth.
Either O’Hearn or Naylor could be a DH. O’Hearn could also be the LF. If either were the best option at 1B, Stewart can DH. I don’t see a conflict in giving Stewart a starting opportunity or acquiring either player.
I would use Steer in a utility role where he played often.
If they trade Lux for bullpen help, a move so blindingly obvious I probably shouldn’t take it for granted, and then sign a basher to fill the Kyle Schwarber-sized hole in the Reds lineup, you’re left with –
OF: Benson, Friedl, Marte, (Hinds/Dunn/FA vet/whoever)
IF: Hayes, De La Cruz, McLain, Steer, Stewart(/CES), (FA basher), (FA utility/Espinal)
C: TS, JT
That’s 10 starters for 9 spots. It’s a fine line between “depth” and “logjam” but that roster seems on the right side to me. If HRod or CES kicks the door down, or Hinds hits .400 in April, that’s a good problem.
Assume Elly, Friedl, Basher and one catcher start every day. If so you can rotate the other 6 guys through the other 5 spots and basically rest them once a week each. Get your math/video nerds to sort out good matchups and plan it all in advance. Until guys start getting hurt and then that starts dictating who plays anyway.
Think they should bundle Friedl and Steer (plus maybe CES) to get a quality closer and maybe a prospect or two and whatever else they can get.. Make Elly a centerfielder, bring Arroyo in to short and to leadoff. Stewart plays first base. Re-sign Hays and maybe Andujar. This makes infield defense better, which would make pitching better and if he can do it Elly keeps CF defense good and Marte should improve there with experience..
Sal Stewart WILL Be the Reds first baseman next year. You can take that to the bank. 😉
Our bullpen outdueled SD bullpen, I still can’t believe it. What I noticed over the years is that Sep-Oct baseball, soft throwers dont do well. Maxwell and Phillips have fresh and powerful arms, Francona should use them heavy. If we go down, go down throwing hard punches, see where they land.
Very SSS caveat, Sal Stewart’s first 20 ABs, 82 pitches. Good news first. Sal Stewart is crushing fast balls to the tune of a .679 xwoba and his expected xwoba is higher than his actual woba by .084. That means Sal has plenty of room to go up.
Now the bad news. Sal is having problems with MLB breaking balls. Most concerning is that he has faced 10 sliders and whiffed at all of them. If he doesn’t improve against breaking balls, pitchers are going to have no incentive to throw him hittable fastballs. Also concerning is the fact that he has taken no walks. In the minors he was very good at taking walks.
Again, this is still very early and we’ll see how this all plays plays out.
Normally when you play inconsistently, it is very hard to “see the ball well” which leads to chasing or swinging at bad pitches. Sal had one of the best eyes throughout his time in the minors, so I wouldn’t worry too much about this small sample size.
That’s very true and I have the confidence he will adjust but major league could care what he did in the minors or that he has sat. They will start throwing him off speed more often to see if he adjusts. This is the majors and word gets out fast. There are plenty of guys in AAA who couldn’t.
Mason Miller was spamming sliders to Stewart last night. Even the guy who throws 103 knows not to lead with fastballs against Sal. Or, the reason Sal hasn’t hit breaking balls is because they’re all coming from the likes of Mason Miller. Or both. Or neither? Gotta love SSS.
It does feel like smart pitchers are handling him like “ok, this is one of like two guys in the lineup who can hit the ball over the fence. Be careful.”
Ever since the Reds aquired Andujar, it seems they rarely ever face a LH starter.
Because they acquired Andujar?
SD offense is struggling. Tatis, Machado, Azarez, etc. Are not swinging the bat well. Sheets and Merrill are the only two guys that are doing something offensively, so Abbott needs to be careful pitching to them. Reds offense will score 2-4 runs is my guess. Up to Abbott and BP to hold down them Padres.
Hinds should get another chance before it’s too late. He just turned 25 a few days ago.
https://blogredmachine.com/forgotten-reds-slugger-desperately-deserves-another-look-before-its-too-late?utm_campaign=FanSided+Daily&utm_source=FanSided+Daily&utm_medium=email&sc=bf554dd6db36457cac2709be25c0d667db97153f74ad059d1e0c8e933d772fed
It’s never too late. Frank McCormick was Reds rookie 1B in 1938 at age 27. He led the NL in hits and had 100+ RBI for 3 straight years, leading Reds to two NL pennants and winning one WS and one MVP in 1938-39-40.
I get it Melvin but don’t see Hinds or CES getting another chance with the Reds.Maybe one of them or both come out smoking in the spring but Reds seem to be leaning towards a 30 year old often injured Hays in left and the soon to be 28 year old Steer with the chronic shoulder problem at first.Same guys that are playing now and probably will start next year at those spots.Hopefully Hinds and CES get a chance somewhere else because one with 500 major league at bats and the other with 90 just don’t have what it takes according to the Reds.Heck right now I may not even sure if they will even have a spot next year for Stewart.Power isn’t a concern for the Reds.they will single teams to death,pitch em to death and defend them in to surrendering.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mccorfr01.shtml Frank McCormick.