After a frustrating loss in Friday’s opener, the Cincinnati Reds (74-73) will look to find some offense against Luis Severino and the Athletics (68-80) Saturday night in Sacramento at 10:05 PM EDT. Hunter Greene will be on the mound for the Reds.
Lineups
Cincinnati Reds | Athletics |
| TJ Friedl – DH | Lawrence Butler – CF |
| Noelvi Marte – RF | Shea Langeliers – C |
| Elly De La Cruz – SS | Nick Kurtz – 1B |
| Austin Hays – LF | Brent Rooker – DH |
| Gavin Lux – 2B | Jacob Wilson – SS |
| Sal Stewart – 1B | JJ Bleday – RF |
| Tyler Stephenson – C | Darell Hernaiz – 3B |
| Will Benson – CF | Carlos Cortes – LF |
| Ke’Bryan Hayes – 3B | Zack Gelof – 2B |
Starting Pitchers
| Pitcher | IP | ERA | WHIP | BB | K |
| Hunter Greene | 90.1 | 2.59 | 0.93 | 19 | 113 |
| Luis Severino | 146.1 | 4.67 | 1.31 | 46 | 114 |
| Links: Hunter Greene’s Stats | Luis Severino’s Stats | |||||
Hunter Greene
Since Greene has returned from the injured list, he has been very good. In two starts, he’s allowed just two runs on six hits with three walks and 19 strikeouts in 13.1 innings. His most recent start was one of his most dominant of the season when he struck out 12 in seven innings against the Mets. If there’s something that has hurt him this season, it’s that his FB% percentage is at 70.8% this season, almost five percentage points higher than in previous years. Greene’s giving up more fly balls and less ground balls at a rate that just exceeds his GB% and FB% rates in his rookie season of 2022. He’s just been able to mask that a little better this year with a higher strikeout rate (32.0%).
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB% | K% | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 175 | 35 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 4% | 30% | .210 | .241 | .359 |
| LHH | 178 | 30 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 7% | 34% | .183 | .247 | .384 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-Seam | Slider | Split | Curve | |
| Velo | 99.5 | 89.5 | 88.5 | 84.0 |
| Usage | 54.8% | 34.5% | 10.6% | 0.1% |
Luis Severino
Veteran Luis Severino also recently returned from the injured list, coming back from an oblique injury that kept him out the entire month of August. He’s made two starts in September, allowing no runs in five innings to the Cardinals in his first start back, but three runs on four hits through five innings against the Angels last Sunday. Both starts were on the road; however, Severino has pitched much better on the road than at home. At Sutter Health Park, he has a 6.34 ERA in 13 starts, with just a 3.11 ERA on the road.
Left-handed hitters have hit Severino better in 2025, but of the 14 home runs he has allowed, eight have come against right-handed hitters versus only six against left-handed hitters. He also hasn’t struck out a lot of batters in comparison to the rest of the league.
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB% | K% | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 319 | 70 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 7% | 19% | .242 | .301 | .381 |
| LHH | 317 | 76 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 8% | 17% | .274 | .356 | .397 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-Seam | Sweeper | 2-Seam | Cutter | Change | Slider | |
| Velo | 96.0 | 84.6 | 95.7 | 93.1 | 86.3 | 87.0 |
| Usage | 27.7% | 24.5% | 21.1% | 17.2% | 5.4% | 4.1% |
Game Details:
- When: 10:05 PM EDT
- Where: Sutter Health Park, Sacramento, CA
- Watch: FanDuel Sports Network
- Listen: 700 WLW (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: 80 degrees, sunny, 0% chance of rain
News and Notes
Rhett Lowder Completes Rehab Outing
The Mets lose again
The Texas Rangers beat the Mets today. That could mean the Giants take sole possession of the 3rd wild card spot if they win tonight. If the Reds win they’ll either be a half-game or a full game out of the final spot depending on how San Francisco does.
NL Wild Card Standings
| Team | W | L | GB | Fangraph’s Playoff Odds |
| Chicago | 84 | 63 | +8.5 | 100% |
| San Diego | 80 | 68 | +4.0 | 98.7% |
| New York | 76 | 72 | – | 72.5% |
| San Francisco | 75 | 72 | 0.5 | 16.5% |
| Cincinnati | 74 | 73 | 1.5 | 10.2% |
| Arizona | 73 | 75 | 3.0 | 1.6% |
| St. Louis | 72 | 76 | 4.0 | 0.7% |
“The Cincinnati Reds will look to find some offense…” Where have I heard that one before? Let’s do this Redlegs! Thanks to the Mets, opportunity is still knocking.
Benson and Stewert in the lineup.. Francona looking for some power?
Yes, and he got it immediately.
A month ago today, the Mets were well into their early August blow up (losing 8 of 9) and allowed the Reds to creep back into an unexpected chance for the last WC standing just one game behind the Mets. After regaining their footing (to a certain extent), the Mets have today lost their 8th straight. Meanwhile the Reds have had troubles of their own, but more of a rudderless sea of mediocre play and inability to sustain any momentum. On the west coast, the Giants which didn’t “go for it” at the deadline have quieting evened up to the Mets with a 16-10 record in the last month. The Reds, by contrast, have not taken any advantage at all of the Mets debacle by just playing them even in the last month by going 10-15 to the Mets 12-17. I have no idea if the Reds can pull through this but wonder if the “prize” for winning the WC spot could be just another drubbing of the type Atlanta gave us in 2020. Good pitch, no hit.
Marte got a hit. Man we desperately need him to find his hitting again.
Another scoreless by the A’s pitching… Severino has a 6.34 ERA at this park…Hays is doing nothing as cleanup hitter
A two week heater for EDLC would be welcome as well. He is overdue for one.
A rare leadoff walk by Greene…
This team will pound him if he can’t locate his slider.
Huge double play!
Greene filthy against Kurtz.
Reds made a killer double play and Greene bounces back after a lead-off walk and taking the 2nd hitter into a 3-2 count
Stewart is hitting better than his BA. Almost had a double there.
Beautiful catch by Cortes. Great contact by Sal.
According to Mr. Stat Sadak the Reds are 5-1 when he starts for whatever that’s worth.
That’s interesting. I didn’t know that. Reds lucky charm. He should be starting anyway.
Omg..the concept of “almost” embraced by Cincinnati.
Red go hunting on 1st pitch. I am ok with it.
Benson!! blast!! 2-0
Thank you Benson! Power is a beautiful thing.
It sure helped that time.
Benson on a mission.
Apparently Severino didn’t get the memo on Benson. Benson says thank you.
Where have you been, Willie B? Nice job!
hitting with men on base is a beautiful thing.
Let’s go Willie.
Man I wish Rooker was a Red.
Afraid to watch since last night irritated me so much, but here we go! I will give Tito his due for keeping Benson in the lineup and getting Stewart in there. I guess Stewie lined out.
Huge day w/cfb though. These college QB props are easy pickings. Holstein with Pitt and this USC QB crack their # every week
Trying to hit my 3rd parley on the day. Need Navy and Tulane to cover which they are right now.
GL. I’ll be 6-1 if UAB covers -11.5. Up 11 now
This team will mash fastballs. The harder you throw it the farther they will send it. If the A’s had pitching….
Green having no good control today…
Greene is just throwing too many balls today.
Cortes owning Reds pitching…
No way …twelve-pitch at bat and Greene got deep by Cortes again…
I was going to say. To long of an at bat and this guy will size it up. Bang
Cortes the Killer (Neil Young song reference), and Greene at 50 through 2. Uh, oh.
LA took the lead on SF. Cmon Hunter!!
And the Mets lost again today.
Greene is at 53 pitches through 2 IP …is not his night apparently when the team more needs him
Dude laying an egg …. Against one of the absolute worst teams in MLB
Letting one man beat them the entire series so far
Dude laying a total egg …. Against one of the absolute worst teams in MLB
Letting one man take them to the woodshed the entire series …
Just can’t enjoy anything with this team for even 15 minutes . Just amazing
Greene, 53 pitches through 2 innings with HR, 3 runs given up. Efficiency by runs given up…..is that a stat?
2 HR, that is. Wish he didn’t have to work so hard.
The offense got out quickly on 5 pitches… this Reds team looks out of the reels right now…
Greene ain’t got it
Nope. Get’em out. Must win
Another long at bat…Greene struggling
Well, hey. This just means the offense will have to come through for once
You’ve got that right. Pitching has carried our inept offense all season. Offense needs to step it up.
Have to credit the A’s bats though too. Feels eerily similar to last visit to Arizona where their hitters lit up our pitching.
Pull this guy right now before this game gets completely out of reach
I think he should be removed before gives up a big hit and the game will be out of reach
Getting worked by a AAAA TEAM – not ready to play
Huh? A’s are 4th in team batting average. This team can hit.
GET GREENE OFF THE MOUND !!!!
Greene just made his job harder than it needs to be. Omg, just ain’t the middle of the plate and throw the FB by people. Painful to watch him struggle like this. Unnecessary
Need a stopper pitcher immediately.
Lol. Ok this is exactly why I cannot watch them choke. I remember one year where the A’s ended our season out there. Scored like 40+ in the series.
What an awful outing by Greene just at this moment and against this A’s team… Francona waiting they trail for 5 runs to pull him
Greene is not a an ace. He needs to shut down these teams in these types of games. What was Francona thinking keeping him in this long.
He can’t pitch a shutout every timeout they never score run when he pitches
Tito….what are you watching? I’m out. If you enjoy watching this team then let me send you the entire Murder She Wrote series on video for hours upon hours of exciting action
Me. Ryan’s got to be asking himself “Am I still in Pittsburgh?”
Spencer steer makes that play at 1st 7 days a week and twice
On Sunday.
Game getting away, Tito.
He’s not right tonight. I wonder if he has groin issues again. Get him out now while we still have a chance.
I see IL in his future, again.
Probably. His slider didn’t bite and his FB didnt have the movement. He didn’t have many miss bat.
Franconia Left him in there to burn…JUST WHY !!!??????
unbelievable …. Choking away every
opportunity to overtake the Mets ….
I’m
Out — you guys take care – hopefully they find a way to come back but I’m not gonna sit here and watch this clown show unfold
0-2, threw 3 straight balls hoping Wilson to chase, then gave up a double. It killed me.
I wonder why the Reds start to lose games when they got close to less than 2 games behind the last WC spot… unbelievable
Ty, Phillips. Could have been much worse.
Nice job by Phillips again…kid deserving confidence
With Greene gone, and we’re down by 3 runs after 3, it’s still possible to come back….
5-5 now.
Just like somebody astutely noted, this is a top 5 hitting team, they are also a bottom 5 pitching team. Let’s see if we can slow their bats down and crawl back into the game.
Done!
My thinking also but when 44 slumps so does the team
Would you look at that, tied game!
I have to admit, I was just hoping Ty Steve didn’t hit into a DP. Way to go.
I get it. Stephenson has been overdue. A lot of DP’s and SO’s.
Hopefully with 2 hits already tonight he heats up down the stretch.
Stephenson!! erased the A’s lead…it’s tied now
A walk, a bloop and a BLAST!
We ain’t dead, yet.
And Just like that ! Ty Steve makes it a tie ball game !
Stephenson is trying to make up for lost time. Thank you for that huge hit.
Every time I try to get out, they pull me back in. Lol
Steve getting hot at the right time…maybe? Desperately need zeros
This game now belongs to you, Mr. Phillips. Bring it!
Watching A’s broadcast on streaming. Zito, Mulder, and Hudson. They look great actually
Always liked Zito. They had some pitching.
Looked up Moneyball season 2002 #s. Hudson 238 innings, Zito 229, and Mulder 207. Crazy how much has changed
Those are some innings! I miss those days. Thumbs certainly have changed, you’re right about that.
Ha, Things.
The lack of control arises by Phillips in this inning
Yeah shows why he isn’t a starter. When he loses it he loses it. Couldn’t find the plate with a compass
Martinez to face a lefty?
It worked.
Francona quick to pull the bean baller Phillips … Martinez comes on to face Kurtz
and it works !
Martinez got the job done dominating Kurtz
Wild night. How many games in that huge SF park have 19 runs in the 6th inning? At night the ball doesn’t carry either. I do remember a day game we won like 12-10 or something with Votto
Another STELLAR outing by Greene. He’ll never be the Ace, doesn’t have the heart stamina or taw talent. They need to think about trading him in the offseason for a bat. Pair him with Elly and get two.
He doesn’t have the heart? Seriously?
another shot here with two down ….
ah, balderdash !
Wow, Aggies go into ND and drop ND to 0-2. Thank you for winning me $$$.
ND missed the extra point. Lol
Then A&M scores on 4th down.
Back and forth pretty much all game. One of the better games of the day/night. I was wondering how ND would be on defense with Golden to the NFL even though they promoted from within.
Kicking and special teams matter.
No luck for Lux.
Lux has 50 RBI since a month ago… he’s been so awful last two weeks
He started off August on fire. Cooled off but still finished over .300 for the month but he’s been ice cold in September.
Lux is 4-31 in September. Don’t get why Tito feels the need to play him every day?
If Marte can just randomly be put in CF then why can’t Steer play 2B if u want to sit MM? Stewart might be a stretch at 2B
With Marte, i’d say simple is best. No more tinkering. Put him RF for the next five years. Go find a backup CF if that’s what we need.
I would like to introduce the Reds to the driver and not the chipping wedge.
Having grown up caddying for my exceptionally good golfer dad, i can say the driver is a good club.
Martinez looks sharp! I would’ve guessed a slugging team like the A’s would have more problems w/soft tossers with location vs flame throwers
Thank you Martinez, nice work so far.
Good job, Nick. Let’s go, boys.
Martinez looking good … showing himself to be a master at his craft.
Stewart killed that ball. I bet Steer doesn’t hit 4 balls harder then that in a month
Picture around Benson to get to you, Hayes. What are you going to do?
Pitched, obviously.
Ugh.
Shaping up well here in the 6th … but a dbl play ends it.
Yes, there is something worse than striking out.
A killer double-play… Reds missed a good chance to take the lead… Hayes failed…
Hinds and Vilade continue to rake at AAA.
Hinds 2-5 24 hr’s and 83 rbi on the season .310 avg .944 ops
Vilade 4-5 2 doubles, 28 doubles on the season .295 avg .904 ops
Bring them up right now!
Problem is neither can hit at the Major league level. But doesn’t mean that a player can’t go down to AAA and find himself and come back and play well. Just need to get their opportunity and when they do take advantage of it.
And best hitter down there IMO in Dunn. Look what he has done in July,August and Sept. The guy is ripping it.
Hines > Espy is a no brainer to me. Power, speed, decent defensive OF. We don’t need Espy at all
Absolutely good points and I agree. Interesting to see what they could do if given an opportunity.
I know Vilade was a high draft pick with the Rockies and has only had 64 mlb at bats.
Hinds I don’t feel has truly been given an extended look.
Dunn has been awfully good the past few months. Something has definitely clicked for him.
Absolutely Hinds over Espy.
Everyone is there on the A’s broadcast. The 2002 pitchers, Rollie Fingers, LaRussa, and Canseco
Nick really getting it done.
Nice job by Martinez this time
Be really nice for the top of the order to show us something !
Like too many other times lately …
Elly another groundball. I heard somewhere recently that hes came up with 2 outs nobody on more then anyone in baseball
Making it too easy for them.
Reds defeated twice the best MLB Padres bullpen but now they can’t hit these unknown guys of A’s bullpen…
I seen last night that the A’s have the best bullpen ERA since July 28th I believe.
Baseball Reference:
Elly 50.6% groundballs
20.7% flyballs
Don’t you want to go Tony here?
Tony over Graham would be my choice. I hope this is good Graham.
Need a DP.
Ashcrash? Really? Tito???? Cmon man
Francona being pro-active now … Ashcraft into the action.
Ugh Ashcraft.
Jekyll and Hyde. All season. Never know which you’re going to get. Hence he’s a no go in high leverage situations.
Been saying it for about 4 months. I would have left Nick in before him.
That was about the most we could hope for with that lead-off double.
Gints lost, Met lost and Reds can’t win against A’s …frustrating
It couldn’t stay tied forever. At least it was only one.
We let the guy hitting .318 beat us with a guy hitting .216 on deck. This team is depressing. .500 team trying to be something they’re not….which is a winner
Exactly. I don’t know why they didn’t walk him.
Sal going deep.
Ok where are the Stewie doubters? Its not the Dodger lineup he’s breaking into
We.cannot.hit
Clean shaven Sal is crushing it.
2nd hit today !
3rd
3 hits.
Three
Stewart is just a pure hitter. Let him play every day somewhere.
Amen.
Lux is a mediocre journeyman utility reserve. Amazing how Tito is playing him so much still after all this extended slumping. And Stewart is the Reds best hitter at this point. Smacking the ball hard consistently. he should have been up in August.
If they take Sal out and McLain just stands there on 1st then I don’t like the move.
Didn’t like that move either. Figured McLain wouldn’t be running anyway so why take the best hitter out of the lineup.
Benson KBH Friedl. They’ll go with Newcomb the lefty. We’re done. Back to .500
I give up
Almost, Stephenson. Stewart 3 for 4. Says something.
Only one more inning to make it happen or I fear the playoffs are out of reach …
This is on Tito. Ashcrash? Tony or even Barlow. Atleast Barlow is a has been. Better then a never was like GA
Keeps putting no pop Lux in the 5 hole. Didn’t demand Stewart to be called up 6 weeks earlier. He had to know the kid was better then most of our guys? Cmon?
Lux hasn’t even hit for weeks which is crazy that he’s in game after game. Really hard to justify that decision there Francona.
Absolutely whiffed not having Stewart and possibly Hinds up sooner. Power is something the Reds desperately need.
Leaves Lux in for defense. Tito really likes his Lux.
Wow. That really makes no sense. Super head scratcher there…
Go ahead and put it out of reach Ashcrash
The Reds are playing in a AAA park against a AAA quality team, but are playing like even more of a AAA team – while they seemingly have everything to play for. 2 infield muffs in this inning alone. The one saving grace: a .500 team should not even be eligible for postseason anways.
Ashcraft is mostly a non-big time clutch pitcher
Ashcraft with another superb outing. Not the time for him.
Leave it to the Reds to take the series from the Padres only to spit the bit against the Athletics. Not at all surprised
Nail, coffin.
The good news is you guys back East can all go to bed now.
Counterpoint: Canelo Alvarez vs Bud Crawford is taking place.
Grand salami for Kurtz after going 0-4 on the day … that’s going out in style Redlegs .
He barely got a hold of that one only hitting it 493′ to CF.
Way to use the bullpen. Ashcraft, that name makes my heart stop every time.
lol BOMB BOY BARLOW gives it up again ….. somebody gotta get fired for losing to this team right here like this …I don’t even care who it is …. Somebody gotta go .
Shut up making excuses for them Sadak …. SHUT UP
Maybe they will get fired to the moon. While there they can probably grab that home run ball hit by Kurtz. If it has even landed.