The Cincinnati Reds gave up four home runs and blew a 3-0 lead in Sacramento on Sunday. With the Athletics picking up a 7-4 win they were able to complete a 3-game sweep that dropped the Reds under the .500 mark on the season.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (74-75) | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| Athletics (70-80) | 7 | 10 | 0 |
| W: Morales (4-1) L: Lodolo (8-8) SV: Kelly (1) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
The game got out to a nice start for the Reds as they picked up a solo home run from Noelvi Marte in the 1st and got a 2-run home run from Will Benson in the 2nd inning to grab a 3-0 lead. That’s where the score remained until the bottom of the 4th. Nick Lodolo gave up two solo home runs in the inning and four hits total as he and Cincinnati clung to a 3-2 lead.
The next inning was going fine for Lodolo as he recorded the first two outs of the inning with relative ease, but then he hit Jacob Wilson with two down and Nick Kutz followed up with a go-ahead 2-run home run. In the top of the 6th inning the Reds got a walk from pinch hitter Austin Hayes and a 2-out single from Jose Trevino, but they were unable to capitalize on the opportunity and saw both runners stranded.
In the bottom of the 6th the Athletics tacked on another run when Brett Harris doubled. The next inning they would tack on two more runs when Nick Kurtz extended the inning with a 2-out walk and then saw Brent Rooker hit his 29th homer of the year to make it a 7-3 ballgame.
Sal Stewart would hit a solo home run in the 8th inning to cut the deficit to three runs. That was the last hit the team would get as they were swept in Sacramento with the Athletics picking up a 7-4 win on Sunday.
Key Moment of the Game
The Brent Rooker 2-run home run in the 7th that made it 7-3 and really put a stamp on the comeback for the Athletics.
Notes Worth Noting
Noelvi Marte and Jose Trevino were the only Reds with multiple hits as they each went 2-4.
During the series the Reds gave up 10 home runs. They only hit five home runs. They were outscored 21-9.
The Mets won on Sunday, dropping the Reds to 2.5 games back with 13 games to play.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs St. Louis Cardinals
Monday September 15th, 7:45pm ET
Zack Littell (9-8, 3.78 ERA) vs Matthew Liberatore (7-12, 4.35 ERA)
“but they were unable to capitalize on the opportunity…” Says it all and then some.
Yes, very disappointed with the Reds’ lack of response to the enormous opportunity provided them.
Have not agreed with the handling of Stewart, Hinds, Benson and others (McLain, EDLC, etc.) for different reasons. Not enough attention paid to the team’s greatest needs when glaringly obvious. Also don’t like the lack of aggressiveness on the basepaths when that would seemingly be a strength in many circumstances this season (though I understand injuries have played some role in that).
With some competent, consistent hitters, this team could already be at 84 wins, perhaps, instead of 74!
Timid is how I would characterize this organization’s overall approach this season — from the front office to the field. Unacceptable, especially considering the quality of the starting pitching most of the year (last few games excepted — they can only hold out so long).
Color me disappointed but not surprised.
Yes, I agree. I am really disappointed in their effort. How many times this year did they play a team with a losing record and wind getting swept or winning one game. Not acceptable in my eyes. Come on terry francona, turn this drought around!!.I guess I will always be a reds fan, but take the team to the next level.
Francona is basically David Bell reincarnated ……Bell was the king of the collapse …..now Tito can join his club
We dont even need to mention the huge difference in win-loss career record, the championships rings, or his coherent and confident interviews after the games vs the ones Bell had.
Just remind me where David Bell is managing now? Which job did he turn down?
Bell was a front office guy who immediately got another front office job. Meanwhile, the Reds are .500, essentially in the exact same spot they were with Bell. I was going to ask for an appreciable difference but you nailed it, those confident post game interviews!!! That’s $3 mil well spent!!!
Ah yes… giving coherent and competent interviews to the media.
Always at the top of my list of qualifications for MLB manager.
If you compared the team records for Bell with those of Tito’s first few years, you’d have an apples to apples comparison.
Wow. Mets tried to hand the Reds the final WC spot twice in the past month. Reds instead fall under .500. Get swept by one of the worst teams in the AL. Go 1 for 21 with runners in scoring position. Let’s repeat that for anyone who wants to shift any blame to the pitching staff: 1 for 21 w RISP. Many of those situations with less than 2 outs. A team supposedly playing for its playoff life. 1 for 21. That caps a season of awful, awful situational hitting.
But hey, it’s not like the entire baseball world knew the Reds needed to acquire some run producers since, oh, 2023. I’m sure CES will hit those 35 HRs next year.
They should have picked Kurtz.
He would still be in the minors.
@jb….1000000%
They just snapped an 8 game losing steak. How much ground did the Reds gain during those 8 games?
Power plays and power wins games.Ten homers in 3 games vs five for the Reds along 1-21 with runners in scoring position as stated above will get you beat.As we say here often you can’t make that kind of dismal almost impossible to do performance with RISP up.On a positive note again Marte will be a stud and I have to believe Stewart will hit a bunch of homers next year in GABP.Elly will bounce back so thats our 2 3 4 hitters next year.Need more help though so we will see.Not giving up but well its getting close to that time I think.
Roger, I agree. Most of the players will bounce back next year. We need to add more offense for sure. We should build our offense around GABP. Power does win and can make up for holes in other areas with one swing of the bat. We definitely need another rebuild because we are nothing more than a .500 team.
How do you know hitters will bounce back? TJ was being touted by some here for an All Star position when he was hitting 290’s in June. Was 2023 an exception or is his 260 + average the norm? He has lost speed due to injury. Right field seems to have been solidified with Marte. Left field is a black hole. Sal Stewart should start every game from now until the end of the year. Steer may be on the outside looking in, as there are options for a super utility key in the minors. ESPY – gone. Matt M. – can’t blame his average entirely on his injury. Pitch recognition seems to be a big issue. Ty Steve ? who knows. I think that the Reds have to do a reset on several positions in the offense whether if the feel others are ready to be promoted or trade for additional help.
What a miserable end to a miserable season. 30 years without Reds fans seeing the team win a single postseason game in Cincinnati. Fire everybody sell the team.
We are living through a 35+ year run of no championships by the Reds which now I think their longest such run since the “World Series” originated
Another few seasons like this and we’ll be in the worst stretch in franchise history.
I am trying to make it hurt less so I can laugh and avoid being too old to cry.
“Baseball is designed to break your heart”-B.G.
It seems incredible to me that a team playing its home games at GABP would have a philosophy so skewed toward pitching and defense at the expense of power hitting.
Jim, just think they could of had Kuttz.
I love watching Kurtz! He’s a throwback to a time when the game was played right, and he’s exactly what a team needs at 1B.
JMB would you trade Greene for Kurtz? I know the As will not do that.
It is the reality, Jim. The dimensions of Crosley Field, with the terrace, was not much smaller than GABP. Reds leadership has not taken advantage of where the team plays half their games. Derek Johnson, who has been the pitching coach for 8 years, is a great coach who has developed an outstanding starting staff with many young potential pitchers in the minors. But the Reds have left their usual track of being a dangerous homerun hitting team. Pitching alone rarely wins games,
Anything alone rarely wins games. The A’s are 10 games under .500 after sweeping the Reds.
JimBowden is somewhere feeling somewhat vindicated.
Just took a look at Stewart’s homer and then Marte’s.Stewart has awesome power and Marte hit his with one hand pretty much.Not taking anything away from Marte but that park plays small and I mean small.Oppo approach in that park is a waste of time.Just get it in the air on the pull side like GABP and it will go.
After the Reds being swept by the A’s in a really awful , pathetic , embarrassing and disappointing series they should be out of race…2,5 games behind at this point looks tough to recover as it is remaining 13 games 3 vs Cards at Busch stadium a hard place to win for the Reds and 7 are vs Cubs and Brewers
Would feel better about Stewart moving forward if they would’ve called him up earlier instead of a cup of coffee at the end of the year. In 2023 we thought we had the future figured out with CES, McClain, Steer, Marte, and Elly. You can make an argument that only Marte progressed this season.
Its hard to put a finger on it exactly, but this team needs some personality. Building a team is more than just looking for “tools”. We can see how well thats worked for us. If you sign a career .240 hitter he will probably hit .240 again. Do you need him if he is going to hit .240?
This team wasn’t very exciting and needed a players only meeting to get guys to start standing at the step of the dugout.
I don’t believe this front office has the talent or the know-how to build a team. This year was similar to the past 6 years. Unless there are some changes, next year will be more of the same.
There may be some hope despite the organization’s failures at building a team versus just collecting pieces. Daytona (low A) and Chattanooga (AA) both made the postseason this year. Dayton (Class A+) recently had a 15 game win streak, and the AAA Bats had an 11 game win streak and are 13-4 in their last 17 games. So, maybe the guys are teaching themselves how to play as a team. Now, if the front office can just get the right combination of skills on the MLB roster.
Great points Justin!
No, the team doesn’t need more “personality”. Personality doesn’t win ballgames. For that matter, neither does having players-only meetings. Or being an “exciting” team, whatever that means.
Only one thing is going to help this team win more games and make the playoffs, and it’s certainly not a new manager (I think this season has disproved the theory that a manager makes a meaningful difference).
The Reds need better players, period. More power throughout the lineup. More batters who can get on base. More relievers who throw strikes. More talent is necessary if this team is going to compete for a championship.
Ownership needs to step and increase the budget, or sell the team to someone who will.
Right on, docmike!
DOCMIKE
“Ownership needs to step and increase the budget, or sell the team to someone who will”.
We talk endlessly about bringing up or sending down slumping or marginal players and what Tito or Krall should or should not have done.
IMHO your one sentence mostly sums up the Reds problems and has been for a very, very long time. They are about 40-50M short of the league AVERAGE for team salaries ranking 23rd of 30 teams currently. Team is not going to get sold so I bank on the new CBA to help turn things around. If not that then a five year total rebuild. Short of that I don’t hold much hope of seeing any kind of meaning full change in this team in the years to come.
Swept by the A’s. How pathetic can a team be? That pretty much ends the playoff hopes – 3 teams ahead of them for the final slot and only 13 games to go. Stewart should have been up weeks ago as should have Hinds. A depressing series outcome to say the least. More flashbacks to the 1972 World Series, rather than the 1990 Series.
Well in the ‘72 WS, there were 6 games decided by 1 run and with a lucky break here or there, could’ve easily gone the Reds way. Can’t say that about the last 3 games
That’s for sure. And 72 wasn’t nearly as bone crushing as 70.
The Reds needed Pinson and Robinson.
Reds should have won 1972 WS. Reds could have lost 1975 WS if Jim Rice had been able to play (he was out the entire postseason with injury).
I was in college during the 75 series. One of the few guys that had a color TV was in the room next to mine. After Fisk in the 6th game, he went on a rant and threw his TV out the window. Of course, he had a new TV for game 7. But yes, Rice could have made a difference. May not have. Regardless of the winner though, it is still one of my favorite WS.
Tito has the team hovering around the .500 mark in his first year and kissing playoff contention into mid September. I never expected the Reds to make the playoffs this year under Tito. Now NEXT year is a different story
But they are kissing playoff contention because everyone else is crapping the bed, not because the Reds are anything sort of close to good. They are below .500 and “in contention”.
Best comment Doug. The Reds have not earned being in playoff contention.
I hope the Reds do not make the playoffs and reward the Owners with bonus to line their pockets. If they had went out and truly paid for players that have a history of making an impact, different story.
Doug you are spot on! This is nothing more than a .500 club, nothing more than that.
Agree with all. Personally not a big fan of 3rd wildcard. What’s the point of making it in as the third wild card when the overwhelming odds are against advancing. Next year I expect the Red to be competing for the division championship, not just to make the playoffs. (Fingers crossed)
With the Reds tanking this weekend and Joe Burrow going down with an injury for the Bengals, I may need a vacation from my sports’ fandom.
Credit Browning for having the moxie to guide us to a win. Some great receivers on that team. Really need to get Chase Brown going.
I went to the game and the atmosphere was electric. Burrow goes down and it rapidly deflated the crowd then bam, some jubilation after a score. Very much a team that’s a work in progress but if they find ways to win games they lost the past 2 seasons, it could be a fun ride.
It won’t be if this is true. They aren’t good enough to win anything without Burrow for 3 months.
https://bengalswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/bengals/2025/09/14/joe-burrow-injury-more-severe-surgery-out-months-bengals/86158230007/
It’s perfectly fitting that Kurtz helped bury this team, considering that he was there for the taking at #2. Unfortunately, he didn’t fit the STATED Katuska/Krall draft profile. “I’ve told you guys,” Katuska said, “If it’s once it’s a thousand times. We like middle of the field offensive players and starting pitching profiles,” I just read an article about their passing on Kurtz that described him as “a mostly positionless bat”. As if 1B isn’t even a position. They probably would have made the playoffs if they didn’t have such an idiotic draft strategy. It was crystal clear they needed a masher, preferably a LHH.
The DH was created for mostly positionlesss hitters. The Reds apparently still haven’t figured this out. They seem to think the DH is a spot to stick spare parts or give regular position guys half days off.
No, the DH was supposed to give aging stars a way to extend their career. The problem with the Reds is tgey have too manybplayers who don’t have a position: CES, Steer, Lux, Stewart, Andujar…
They should check out how the Phillies have used Schwarber this year. The Reds antithesis toward fully using the DH is based on the feeling the American League has nothing to offer us since they were only founded in 1901.
Nothing I’ve read about Kurtz suggests he isn’t a decent 1B. He’s also LH, which I consider a plus for a 1B, and a BIG target. Just think of what he could have done with EEEEDLC’s scattershot throws, lol.
Our Reds can be depressing. I get so irritated watching us strand runners on base. Mostly don’t steal bases anymore, hit into DP’s. Not great fundamentals.
At least Stewart plays with some fire. Too little too late with his call up. Reds seem to blunder even the obvious moves.
Tonight’s song for the Reds season is the Genesis classic “Throwing It All Away.”
I prefer the Genesis classic: Sonic The Hedgehog. Just rough him up and he throws a bunch of gold coins at you.
Ha! Still have my Genesis set up. You’re definitely right about that.
I asked for movement at the trade deadline and got No Reply at All.
“That’s All” because we are all in the “Land of Confusion”.
Ha, now these both are great!
My current Reds pet peeve is seeing A.Hays always checking with the umpire whether the pitch he just struck out swinging on was going to be called a strike as he walks back to the bench bat in hand.
YEP!
Benson with another home run. sorry guys, but if he hadn’t been riding the pine and only used as an occasional pinch hitter he’d have 20 home runs at the very least a good 4th outfielder next yr. Marte Freidl Hinds Benson. Hays if still here DH
Agree. Marte in right, Friedl in center, Hinds in left, with Benson backing up all three spots and getting plenty of starts. Friedl is solid when healthy and the other three all have 90 home run potential. That alignment just doesn’t seem that complicated. Make it so.
Its not that complicated to me either friend.Krall seems to want to go far far away in order to fix the Reds.His explanation as to how he addressed the need of a power bat and pen help by acquiring Hayes and Littell was well hard to see.Marte was already here as was Burns and Martinez.For me just go get a power bat even a rental and a power arm even a rental.I was good with Marte learning to play third and even throwing a few in the stands as long as he hits a few in the seats.I mean come on Marte had never played in the outfield and probably had to go buy or borrow a glove.Your paying Martinez 21 mil to end up in the pen along with Burns?Dude go get what you need.So while things don’t seem so complicated to most it seems to be a mystery to those making the call.By the way hows that going with the guys he acquired.Andujar has joined the walking wounded,Hayes who I love still has an OPS less then 600 I believe and Littell is a great example of a number 5 starter.Come on Krall.You own this so fix it next year.Good grief.
I hope somebody in the media calls these folks to task. What a horrible assembly of offense and then to go the entire year without addressing it. We could easily finish 20 games behind the Brewers and 10 games behind the Cubs. That is not a couple of additions and subtractions. We sat there at the trade deadline with the exact same record as the Mariners and 2 games behing our closest NL competition. And we add 235 hitting 2 HR Kebryan Hayes and not a single thumper or bullpen addition.The Mariners, mentioned above, added Suarez and Naylor for 5 teen level prospects. Yeah, I know Richardson, Dunn, and Phillips are going to hold key spots on this team for years to come. The Mariners, another small market team are now in first place and 14!!!! games over 500. We are 1 game under 500. A difference of 15 games in 1.5 months. The Padres, who we were 2 games behind on July 31, are now 8 games in front of us. You cant make this stuff up. Smiling and gloating about how he really improved the team. Take a look at the data Nick. You whiffed terribly. If the Mets hadnt lost 50 of 80 games, Rockies -like, this season would already be over and not on life support.
Over the next few months, Krall or his replacement, will have to do some major shuffling of the Titanic chairs to compete next year. 20 games behind! Deal from your strengths – starting pitching like Greene, Lodolo, Burns, Abbott, Lawler – and prospects like Stewart and Duno and get some bats in here. Big guys with 35 HRs and 900 OPS like Kurtz and Rooker. The Pads got cheap closer Mason Miller for the next 4 years via trading their #1 prospect. They are going to be pretty good in tight games for a few years. Repeat that your gang of McLain, Steer, Stephenson, Greene, and Lodolo are going to finish 20 games back of the Brewers and 10 back of the Cubs. Some of your hand picked players are not very good.
The team was 2 games out of the wildcard on July 31. Do we believe we will be that good next year? 2nd chances are not guaranteed.
If Nick Lodolo is on the roster next season, it’ll tell you all you need to know about the franchises commitment to winning.
In 3 key starts down the stretch he missed one because he felt sick, begged out of the next one after 79 pitches, and crapped the bed in the last.
This team needs gamers and winners, not whatever Lodolo has been,
You’re right. The last thing this team that is below .500 needs is a pitcher with a 3.30 ERA on the year who if he remains healthy over the next two weeks will have made 28 starts. That’s the issue with the team. That guy. For sure. Do you even hear yourself man?
LOL. (I hear you)
= AMUSEMENT
Who has also set a career high in innings, never having thrown more than 115 in a season and at 144 with 2-3 more starts in 14 games remaining, thereby answering to perhaps his greatest criticism.
And as if Lodolo is the only one in history to call in sick.
Fan is short for fanatic
He may be traded, but it will not be because he’s bad but because this been his breakout season and his value will be higher than it’s been.
What an absurd comment. Every winning franchise in the game would clamour for Lodolo if he became available. THAT tells you all you need to know. If Lodolo is dumped, along with his 3.30 ERA, it would certainly tell me what I need to know about the francise’s commitment to winning. It would say they have none.
Get rid of the guy with a 3.30 ERA and 4.3 WAR? The guy who’s going to most likely end up with 29 starts and over 160 innings pitched.
Sure glad you’re not the GM. If the Reds trade Lodolo, it better be for a heckuva return that makes the team better.
Trade him for that return. Good grief. The guy cant stay healthy and actively begs out of games.
The outcry tells me all I need to know about how many of you feel about winning vs. retaining players you like.
I’m pretty sure those of us who disagreed with you are the ones who care about winning. Like I said earlier, getting rid of a guy with a 3.30 ERA and 4.3 WAR is not a good way to build a winning ballclub. That’s the kind of guy you WANT on your team.
And “actively begs out of games”? Good grief, indeed. He missed a start due to being sick, then went out and gave all he had to hold the other team scoreless for 5 innings. When a guy who’s recovering from illness says he can give you 5, you take it.
Honestly, if anyone is allowing emotion to cloud their judgment, it’s you. You clearly don’t like Lodolo as a player, thus you want him gone, even if it makes the team worse in the end. Like I said, I’m glad you’re not the GM.
The Reds have been apparently dealing with some sort of contagious illness recently. I really don’t want sick players trying to be heroes and spreading their germs to rest of the team. The other games are fairly assessed. However, most ML teams would be more than willing to take Lodolo off of the Reds hands.
It’s taken a while, but I’ve broken myself of the need to follow Reds games pitch by pitch.
3 or 4 run leads mean nothing, and no matter how well the starters pitch, you can rested assured the bullpen will let them down.
I’d really like to know in how many games the bullpen has given up more runs in the 7th, 8th and 9th than the starters did in the first six.
No clutch, no urgency, no desire to win.
I went to the World Series at Crosley in 1961, but I think I’ve had enough . . .
1961 World Series? Pretty impressive you’ve been a fan that long. I’m 71, but this year has finally hit me hard, and has me thinking of switching to the Athletics. Or forgetting about baseball altogether. Just too much evidence of gross incompetence, IMO.
I’ll soon be 89 and as long as I’m around I’ll always be a Reds fan. I can’t give up what I fell in love with as a kid.
I admire and understand that, TR. Trust me, I’m a lifelong Browns fan who never switched to the Bengals.
I’m a lifelong Browns’ fan, too, with the result that I don’t follow the NFL anymore.
Thought I was the old guy at 72 and am a Browns fan too and I watched the ’64 NFL Championship Game but my early disappointment was having to hate the M & M Boys in ’61 when the whole country was rooting for them. Tough on a 3rd grader.
If you young guys don’t get the Browns thing, there were no Bengals when we were kids and we learned to be loyal til the end, The Beach Boys sang about “Be true to your school.”
It is reason I don’t worry about players service time because I figure I’m gone by the time they get there anyway
I also grew up as a Browns fan and remember what excitement their great teams provided us in southern Ohio. I switched to the Bengals in 1967, but I still have a soft spot for the Browns when they’re not playing the Bengals. Cleveland is, without a doubt, one of the great football cities, and I felt terrible when Modell took their team to Baltimore, and it took too long to get a team back in Cleveland.
So did I 5 th game age 11. Went by myself. Still the best moment in my entire life
My great-grandfather worked at the paper factory just beyond the Crosley outfield. He and his coworkers, my grandmother told me, used to take bottles of beer up to the roof and watch the game after work.
I am thinking of following a team that spends money trying to win. (Well except the Dodgers or Yankees.)
You know Scotty when I watched the last Reds home game there were a lot of empty seats and would have been a lot more without the blue Mets’ jerseys. The last place A’s not even in their own stadium had a better crowd. So, maybe Reds fans need to share some of the blame for the lack of spending. If the fans don’t care enough to show why should owners
Yesterday was the first game I missed this year. Didn’t even record it, which I usually do if there is a conflict. Saturday night was the kill shot for me. Didn’t have the heart for yesterday. Then Burrow goes down. Being a fan of Cincinnati sports is not for sissies.
Enough isnt being said about Elle and his 40 game HR drought…..he can’t be that tired, it has to be something with his approach, so many groundballs
Chatterbox Reds talk about it, one guy down on EDLC and the other insisting he’s amazing. EDLC’s pop was one of tge feathers in his cap. Take that and his speed away, we’ll, what does he have to fly with?
They could’ve rebuilt this time CORRECTLY with Kurtz and Stewart. Really disappointed with HG and Lodolo when handed leads in a crucial series. HG seemed to just try harder and throw sliders in the ground. I thought he was past that. Burns cannot be good enough to make up for passing on Kurtz. Other then injury its not possible. That big dude would just golf 40+ a year over the wall for the Reds. Not having launch angle issues with him with that swing like our “superstar”. I do think Elly is off and has been off. He’ll be better, but I don’t see Tito better at 67. Not with our tightwad ownership dumpster diving for relievers and effective bats
With his power and plate discipline, Kurtz was as sure a thing as there could be. He’ll be a mainstay in the All-Star Game for the next 15 years. Passing on him was a firing offense if there were any accountability at all.
I’m going to wait and see what Burns becomes. He certainly has the potential to be a generational talent. We’re hyper-aware of the Reds’ lackluster hitting, but it’s worth considering what they’d look like now with lack-luster starting rotation.
I really like Burns. But Kurtz is already a stud, and probably will finish with the 2nd-best OPS after Judge. Half the stadium would be wearing Big Amish jerseys by now. Besides, arms are very fragile things, especially these day (for obvious reasons).
and why did Francona pull Benson again after hitting a homer. could have pulled Lux? Benson actually gives us some power in the lineup. and is lately giving some production and with this lineup that’s saying something.
+1. Benson finally gets some starts in this series and responds with a triple and two home runs. Let him play!
Greene (despite tonight’s performance) and Lodolo — as well as Abbott and Singer — are NOT the problem with this team. They have been carrying the Reds thus far. The problem is the lack of competent, consistent hitters in the lineup.
Bingo. I think some people on here expect our starters to have a good outing every single time they pitch.
Hunter Greene has been great this year when healthy, a 3.01 ERA and 3.4 WAR in only 17 starts. But he has his worst start of the season, and you have fans saying he “let the team down” when they needed him.
If anyone has followed baseball for any length of time, they know that even the best pitchers have off-days. It’s just the way it is.
The fanbase has started to accept mediocrity, and that’s the worst part. Calling a year with no postseason a “success” ??We should expect/demand more, this is not a young team anymore,
The excuses for Elly, the excuses for Lodolo, the excuses for Krall. I don’t care what Lodolo’s ERA is—if he is begging out of games while healthy, he should be criticized. I’m hoping there is more to that story, but the optics are bad.
I’m looking forward to hearing what excuse Krall uses for this season.
Every team deals with injuries. Half the year I’ve heard about Elly’s “quad issue,” yet he’s in the lineup every day. At that point, there is no quad injury excuse—he needs to play through it or go to the IL. I think he struggles with concentration issues, and on a team like the Reds, he will rarely (if ever) be called out for it.
Do the Reds have a veteran leader who isn’t afraid to call out another player when the effort isn’t what it should be? Watch the playoffs in October—every team will have those leaders.
Unfortunately for this front office, leadership doesn’t show up on their saber metric stat sheets. He played SS in high school, he will make a great leader. And left fielder/first basemen.
Lux and Hays apparently were supposed to be the peer enforcers, or at least path definers, but that’s hard to do when a guy himself is on the IL or having ongoing performance issues or getting OJT at a position he has played before.
a position he has *not* played before
You may be right about the concentration issue. However, my theory is that they are inundated with information, ALWAYS looking at their iPads. Looking for certain pitches in certain situations and when they don’t get that pitch, they don’t know how to adjust. They let the pitch go by for a called strike many times. Not saying this is bad but I believe they should just hit the ball where it is pitched. These guys didn’t make it this far without this ability. Just let them be theirselves!
I agree with you that this season has not been a “success” by any stretch. I expected much better than 1 game under .500 with 13 left to play. I don’t think anyone is happy with this result.
I also agree that every team deals with injuries. However, a team like the Reds with less overall talent, is not as able to weather those injuries than teams like the Dodgers, Yankees, and Cubs. It’s not an excuse, it’s a fact.
As for Lodolo – I’ll take him on my team any day. Excuses? The man was sick and had to miss a start. Then on his next start, he’s still not 100% but is able to gut out 5 scoreless innings. You say he begged out of the game, would you have rather him stay quiet, go back out to the mound knowing he had nothing left in the tank, and get lit up for 4-5 runs? Then you would have criticized him for that too.
You want to criticize someone, blame the hitters who can’t get a runner in from 3rd with less than 2 outs. Or the fact that on September 15, the Reds STILL have no one on the team with at least 20 homers.
Better yet, blame the ownership that won’t let the Reds front office spend enough money tom make meaningful upgrades. Not just small additions here and there – I’m talking a real free agent signing that moves the needle A LOT.
And some were counting on a sweep of the A’s! It’s amazing that so many are so overconfident with this team. Is it due to the media’s hype, wishful thinking, or self-delusion?
I wasn’t overconfident about the A’s and I certainly said that on one of the boards but so what!
You didn’t mention the inning the Reds led off with a triple, later added a single and a walk, yet scored no runs. That was the turning point. Once that happened, the handwriting was on the wall.
The Reds have collapsed this year, and the principal reason is that Elly De La Cruz is an unwatchable mess.
Elly has slashed .227/.280/.329 since the All Star break. (To give a comp, Santiago Espinal in his time with the Reds has slashed .245/.294/.324.) Yet Tito has continued to play EDLC every day, batting third with a .609 OPS.
He slashed .344/.427/.656 in June, with 7 HRs and a strikeout rate of 18.2%. He was the least of the team’s problems. Alas, he has 1 HR after June 23. From July 1 on, he’s slugged .346, with a strikeout rate of 27%. And he looks every bit as bad as the stats show. He can’t catch up to fastballs that he would have hit 430 feet last year, and he can’t lay off ankle-high breaking balls. He’s become Elly De La Groundball.
How did the most dynamic player in baseball turn into Cesar Izturis?
I’m not even going to get into the error issue. I will chalk that up to being young; Ozzie Smith and Barry Larkin are among shortstops who ran up some high error totals at or near Elly’s age.
There are stories, but not much detail, that Elly has had a quadriceps problem all year. If so, why on earth did they not disable him, and why did they continue to hit him in the 3-hole? Tito says that Elly really wants to play 162 games and hit third in the order. Elly’s playing every day and hitting in the 3-hole is clearly not working for the team, nor for Elly. Further, Elly has given zero indication that he wants to stay in Cincinnati any longer than absolutely necessary. Why are they letting Elly run the team? Tito looks like a hapless 10th-grade nerd following a cheerleader around, as if she will ever be seen in public with him. Elly isn’t going to date you, Tito, and Elly isn’t going to resign with the Reds. Put him in the 8-hole and give him some days off. Is Tito really up to the task anymore?
In Elly’s defense, maybe the death of his sister in late May caught up with him during the grind of the season. Joey Votto needed some time in his rookie year when his father died. I hope a winter at home, and some advice from a guy like David Ortiz, will turn Elly back around.
Chris Valaika should have been told when he was hired that his first priority was to not ruin Elly. He failed. Valaika may well be the finest citizen in the United States, but he needs to get as far away from Elly as possible. Ride Elon’s spaceship to Mars if necessary. I can’t identify one hitter who is better this year than last; maybe Ke’Bryan Hayes. Even Noelvi Marte is starting to look lost; after about 250 PAs, the Valaika Effect is hard to shake.
As Lee Elia famously ranted, “It’s a disheartening [expletive deleted) situation.”
De La Cruz was injured and his sister died mid-season. Cut him some slack. He’s 23. You are right, though. He should’ve gone to the IL, maybe taken a 10-day leave for the loss. He looked exhausted for the last three months.
I think more of an issue was keeping McLain in the 2 hole for 85% of the season. Totally inexplicable. And the fact that McLain and Stephenson – guys they were counting on for timely hitting and some power – are really sub-average. Steer began the season injured but played all season anyway.
For me, the bigger issue with McLain and Steer is that neither was anywhere near MLB game shape on opening day, yet they were thrown into the fray full time. And as was sure to happen, they wore down rather than catching up.
According to Gemini AI, McLain has hit second 62 times this year.
62 of 149 games is about 42%, well off your stated 85%.
Well, I covered both the injury issue and the sister issue in my post.
Elly is the purported budding superstar, but he’s had an OPS of .609 for a couple of months, when it ought to be at least .250 higher than that. When your 3-hole hitter has an OPS of .609 for 2 months, the team is in deep trouble. No other player under-performed offensively nearly as much as Elly, including McLain.
Elly has to own it. Tito has to own mismanaging Elly. And the whole organization has to own the hiring of the disastrous Valaika, whose career slash line was .238/.282/.351, or pretty close to what Elly has done since the break.
OBE: Well said. Somebody needed to be the adult in the room for EDLC, and nobody has been.
Actually, I am surprised that Boras hasn’t gotten involved because it is not in his client’s long-term earning potential or welfare for him to be going through what has transpired. Even an extended IL stint would not be this bad. Then again, maybe Boras has tried and also hit a brick wall with EDLC and is getting no support from the Reds in the matter.
Regardless of what is factoring into Elly’s drop off, it is tangible and serious. He should have been sent to the IL shortly after the break.
Great post, Ed. I agree that a huge part of the Reds’ hitting woes has been the disappointing second half of the season from Elly. A guy with his talent who plays half his games in GABP shouldn’t be sitting on a .764 OPS.
Elly de la Groundball, indeed. I’m stealing that.
Agree 100% about the Valaika Effect. Some of these hitters may not have that much between the ears (when it comes to situational hitting), but even if that’s the case, it’s HIS JOB to get it through their thick skulls. But from the looks of things I don’t even think it’s a priority of his. Valaika should have been fired three months ago.
@OBE, aside from the fact that Valaika is the hitting coach and responsible for the overall direction of Red’s hitting, there seems to be a lot of speculation on your part that Valaika is a significant contributor to EDLC’s second-half swoon. What is this based on?
I think the other factors you raise are more valid.
Just when you think you’re back in, the Reds push you out.
Good line!
This series against the A’s is exactly what I was talking about when I made this comment:
https://www.redlegnation.com/2025/09/10/late-inning-rally-leads-cincinnati-reds-to-a-2-1-win-over-padres/#comment-1100391
I still stand by what I said: I’m not sure the Reds can be 2 games better than the Mets over these final 13 games. Case in point: The Reds actually LOST half a game on the Mets since I made that comment. And what’s even worse, the Giant and Diamondbacks have pulled ahead of the Reds since I made that comment, so the Reds also have to play better than them as well.
Luckily, the Diamondback and Giants play each other these next 3 games, but that’s a two edged sword as one is guaranteed to lose every night, but the other is also guaranteed to win. Personally, I’d prefer the Diamondbacks to win the series or even sweep, since they have a brutally hard closing schedule and are more likely to drop games down the line.
But this is where we find ourselves now: A week ago, it was “Catch the Mets!”. Now, it’s “Catch the Mets! And the Diamondbacks! And the Giants!”
Again, as I said in the comment 3 days ago: It’s POSSIBLE. But given what I know about this Reds team, I’m not too confident that it’s LIKELY.
I advocated for the Reds to hire Francona and got him. Now, I’m not so sure. Maybe it’s the system and not the Manager? This typical September collapse is mind numbing.
When someone is short of resources and neither rations nor resupplies them, this is what happens.
It’s not Francona’s fault. Just like it was also not David Bell’s fault. As it has been for the last 10+ years, it’s on the players. And ours just aren’t good enough.
Bell wasn’t blameless. Tito will get the team there. If and only if, the FO quits lying to the team and to the fans and actually does their job. I don’t foresee that. Either Krall is clueless about what is needed to win or he’s simply a Castellini sycophant. Regardless, whatever it is, it isn’t working. Not bringing up Stewart earlier, as well as Hinds, trying HRod, etc. shows that he’s simply clinging to his “successful” team construction (Steer, Hays, Lux, etc), instead of admitting that it simply hasn’t worked. As for Elly. he’s just now 23, has lived under intense media attention for several years, has an agent that likely fills his head with delusions of grandeur, etc. Not to mention, dealing with his sister’s passing. Throw in the injury and the lack of a viable supporting cast, and the burden for the team rests on his shoulders, at least in his mind. And his interviews this year appear to have been less bombastic. He’ll be fine. Worry about McLain, Steer, and Stephenson.
Isn’t it weird that the guys that don’t work out were brought up too early and the guys that do work out should’ve been brought up earlier? How coincidental.
Who was called up too early? Hinds? Hinds has hardly had a shot. And he’s a much better hitter now than he was then. Elly at 21? He was physically ready, mentally is another thing. Stewart, he’s ready. We can go back in the past and find examples of success and failure. The issue here isn’t the players that succeed or fail, it’s the FO’s stubbornness in admitting that their approach is failing. Bad roster management and a mistaken belief that Tito alone was enough of a change. Again, as has been said here by many, waiting until February to sign the leftovers isn’t going to build a competitive team. Nor is trading for defense first and utility players when the team can’t hit. For that matter, the strategy of preferring to draft SSs is kind of suspect as well, despite on average SSs are the better athletes.
We are not built for a title run, even if we squeak in as a Wild Card. What are we missing? A bullpen and a “carry the team” bat. Same thing we needed this past off-season.
Address the real needs. Doing things at the margins does nothing but break our hearts at this time of the year.
As a certain enforcer from a famous TV show once said:
“No more half measures, Walter.”
I’ve seen several posts criticizing the Reds’ pitchers for this weekend, more specifically the collapses on Saturday and Sunday. I will agree that Greene and Lodolo didn’t exactly pitch well these two games.
However, the ballpark in Sacramento has played as a big-time hitter’s park this season, especially in the warmer weather. That place has given up a lot of homers this year, and the A’s have some boppers in their lineup. Note that 4 of the 5 runs Lodolo allowed were from 3 separate homers, and 3 of Greene’s 5 runs were from 2 more homers. In fact, of the A’s 21 runs this weekend, 16 were scored on the 10 homers they hit. It’s probably accurate to say they weren’t quite as bad as the pitching lines showed.
I think the bigger issue is the Reds’ hitters (again). Play 3 games in that ballpark, and you only manage to score 9 runs total? Not good enough. Getting shut out on Friday is inexcusable.
Andujar had 2 PAs in the series, and Espinal had 1 PA. Both are very unlikely to be back with the Reds next year.
Meanwhile, at AAA, Blake Dunn and Rece Hinds were on absolute binges. Through Thursday, in September Dunn had 2 HR, a triple, and a double with a BA of .355 and an OPS of 1.132. For September through Thursday, Hinds had 3 HR, 2 doubles, a BA of .472, and an OPS of 1.264.
Maybe the Reds should have flipped the calendar ahead and made the necessary roster move(s) to have at least one of these two on board for the Athletics series (and of course, actually used him/ them).
Sacramento pretty much gets 0 rain in the summer. The park in the dry months plays a whole lot like some of the spring training games in Arizona, where seemingly routine fly balls can soar way beyond the fences. I thought the ballpark cowed some of the Reds pitchers.
Kurtz has 13 homers on the road in about 220 PAs, though. He’s a monster.
Man looks like the Guardians, Reds, and Rockies missed on Nick Kurtz. Not to say that Burns, and the Offensive players the Guardians and Rockies picked may not be solid MLB players, but it’s looking like the A’s made a great pick there.
You could make a case the Guardians and Rockies missed the most initially as the Reds seemed intent on picking a Pitcher. But you could also say the Reds missed the pick the most too because they needed Offensive players more than anything.
A’s could be really good in a few years here, will see.
Reds just aren’t that good obviously overall now under .500. I still think, who knows, they might run off 8 in a row and get that last spot, but chances very slim with their overall play.
I’m not sure why Krall and the front office would be given another year if the Reds finish especially at or below .500.
The Reds are only even in the playoff thought in the last 5 years because of the expanded playoffs where a team that wins 83-84 games maybe can make it. It’s not as if they are having 86 win seasons for instance but the competition is so good, you can’t get in at 86 wins.
And even 86 wins in years past would have been a very mediocre lower level playoff team.
For my positive thought! The Reds have enough talent to where going into 2026 if things fall right, players have career years, stay healthy, that they’ll be an interesting team to watch.
Agree that the watered down playoffs has been the only reason to pay close attention. I like offense so I haven’t really enjoyed it. I think the Seahawks won their division at 7-9 one year. Is that fun? Idk?
Reds just aren’t that good obviously overall now under .500. I still think, who knows, they might run off 8 in a row and get that last spot, but chances very slim with their overall play.
No, that is not going to happen. They are done, stick a fork in them.
Not trying to be a Debbie Downer about this, but as you say, they obviously aren’t that good. Problems with starting pitching crop up, even though, overall, statistically (forgetting about wins and losses because that doesn’t matter!), their starting pitching is pretty good. The Bullpen, in 2025 , not so much.
They have some good players, but not enough (or any?) +4 WAR players, which you need several, to be a real competitor.
Any single player in their lineup is “OK”, but all together, there is too much mediocrity, and not enough excellence. And I don’t know how the Reds get there. Signing Free Agents for a lot of money is a crap shoot. And it costs a lot of money, which the Ownership is unwilling to do. Trades, would mean giving up REAL PROSPECTS, and Nick Krall has been loathe to do that, plus to keep good players also costs a lot of money.
Drafting for offense will still take years, and then the key players they have now will be gone.
Expecting one or more regular lineup guys to have “career” years, is just rolling the dice and expecting it to happen.
It takes money and/or big trades of real prospects, to truly improve the team. Or some prospect breaks through and has a great year with the Reds.
All of this is unlikely with the present status quo.
Sad!
Attention Nick and Tito you need to have a team built for GABP not Progressive field ,I think that’s still Cleveland’s ball park name.
Krall/Meador should pay for this disaster with thier jobs …. I’m sorry , but that’s just the hard truth . Don’t wish anybody to lose a job , but when you’re paid a ton of money to perform and fall flat on your face
continuously (when it didn’t have to be this way possibly) , time to go . Ownership stinks too , but I have ZERO faith that either one of these 2 clowns has the ability to right the ship . All they do is rearrange the deck chairs in the TITANIC ….
It doesn’t matter who destroys AAA pitching. Tito has to have Andujars 1-2 at-bats a series and Lux hitting .143 in September, and Espy over at Costco buying more seeds in the 6th inning.
I’ve lost complete faith in Tito. This is Phil Jackson with the Knicks. He’s been terrible.
Hinds should be up already / DFA Espinal / IL Andujar
Lux can be the back up infielder/In-game Door Dash coordinator for bags of seeds
What is so great about Lux that he has to play every day anyway? Dude has Elly level power
Just my 2 cents….like to resign Pagan and Andujar.
Which begs the question of why even have a AAA team? I guess to entertain fans in Louisville but when a player dominates AAA the Reds still say he is not ready to come up and do better than the current Reds hitters who are among the worse in MLB over the past two – three months.
Sign Schwarber or Alonso.
Sign Robert Suarez.
Win division.
Sign Schwarber or Alonso? – Yes, please.
Sign Robert Suarez? – Eh, not sure about that one.
I’d love to have Suarez, but closers typically get paid the big bucks, and I’m not sure a team like the Reds can afford that. I’d rather use that money to improve the offense. Besides, I’d like to see Big Tony get the opportunity to close next year, with some smaller additions made to the pen behind him.
We can do it our customary fourth or fifth place finish in the Castellinis era of ownership.I have a feeling that nobody in that clubhouse wants to be here because of the incompetent ownership and front office and are just biding time until they get moved out of Cincinnati.
What player on the Reds would be a starter for the Dodgers? If the answer is no one then everyone has their answer? The Reds might do better with a manager who can do a better job of manufacturing runs ie hit and run, bunts, swinging at first pitches, putting ball in play, and stealing bases.
I overall like Tito as a manager, but I AM still baffled why he doesn’t let player run more. Elly, McLain, Friedl, Benson, Fraley, Marte, and Steer all have above average speed, yet it seems like they very rarely get the green light to run.
It’s true Elly has 35 SBs, but with his speed, he should easily be sitting above 50. McLain, Friedl, Marte, and Steer should all be above 20. Fraley and Benson should have been allowed to run more when they were with the team.
It’s the one thing I’m really frustrated with Tito about. I’m sure he has a philosophy of “not running into outs”, but with the larger bases, steals have a much better success rate now. When you have speedy players like the Reds have, it seems a waste not to utilize it more often, especially when the offense as a whole has been scuffling for most of the year.
I mean, sure, sometimes you’ll run into outs. But isn’t that mitigated at least a little by taking away the possibility of the double play, and/or putting a little more pressure on the pitcher by having the runner in scoring position?
Really just seems like a missed opportunity.
Been out of town but here are my 2 cents. 1. In the A’s series the Reds got into a home run contest against a team that actually tried to hit home runs and lost the contest 10 to 5. 2. Tonight Elly is batting 7th and it has taken this Hall Of Fame manager almost 2 months to make that obvious move.
I completely agree CI3J.
Per Baseball Savant, Friedl is in the 34th percentile on sprint speed, not a fast guy anymore. Steer the 67th (technically “above average”), but hardly a sure thing.
EDLC, Benson, and McLain are low to mid 90th percentiles. Marte is 89th. The departed Fraley is 78th percentile.
Surprise, surprise, the only two guys listed with the Reds that are above the 95th percentile are now at AAA in the persons of Blake Dunn and Rece Hinds, both listed in the 98th percentile, at 29.7 ft/s (Dunn) and 29.8ft/s(Hinds)
https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/team/113?view=statcast&nav=running&season=2025
Jim, you can say Friedl is no longer a “fast guy”, but he’s 3rd on the team in SBs, and he’s having roughly the same success rate as he did 2 years ago when he stole 27 bases (80% this year vs 83% that year).
It would seem that, if given the opportunity, he could swipe close to that many bags again.
You don’t have to be in the top percentile in speed to be successful at stealing, as evidenced by how many bases the Reds stole last year. They are clearly capable of it. They just… Don’t any more.
Friedl’s 80% stolen base success rate is about league average per my Google results. Whether that 20% risk is worth taking in specific situations depends on factors like the run expectancy if he stays put versus makes it or makes an out, and other game factors, such as the score, inning, number of outs, and the success rate of the battery at throwing stealers out.
These are the things the bench has on their charts and tablets that we see them consulting so much nowadays.
I hear you on being more aggressive. On the other hand, strikeouts with runners in scoring position do nothing to get runners home. How many times in last 60 games have Reds had runners in scoring position with less than 2 out and failed to score the runner. How else do you end up with an offense as putrid as the Reds. The Reds need more power bats in their lineup. Gotta take advantage of the GABP effect.
Just took a look and Elly is 7th,Steer 8th and MM 9th.Now isn’t it too late to respond to what has taken place for most of the season with only 13 games left?
It took just a little too long Francona