The Cincinnati Reds blew an early 3-1 lead, but they stormed back by scoring eight runs in the final three innings. That was enough to pick up a win in the first game of the series over the St. Louis Cardinals, pull them back to the .500 mark, and keep their slim playoff hopes alive with less than two weeks remaining in the regular season.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (75-75) | 11 | 13 | 1 |
| St. Louis Cardinals (73-78) | 6 | 10 | 1 |
| W: Phillips (3-0) L: Fernandez (0-4) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
After both teams went in order in the 1st inning, Cincinnati came through in the top of the 2nd when Sal Stewart unloaded on a ball, crushing a 417-foot home run off of the facade of the second deck in left field to put the Reds up 1-0. The lead didn’t last long as the Cardinals tied things up in the bottom of the inning when Nolan Arenado singled to drive in Willson Contreras.
The Reds took the lead back in the top of the 3rd. Matt McLain singled and stole second base and then Noelvi Marte drew a 2-out walk to keep the inning alive. Miguel Andujar came through with a line drive back up the middle that easily score McLain, but Marte was able to score from 1st on the play when Cardinals center fielder Victor Scott II couldn’t field the ball cleanly and had it get by him.
After giving up a run in the 2nd inning, Zack Littell went into cruise control, retiring the next 12 batters he faced. But with two outs in the bottom of the 6th inning he gave up a single to Brendan Donovan to put an end to that streak. He then hit Ivan Herrera with a pitch. That paved the way for a 2-run double by Alec Burleson to tie the game up. Willson Contreras then singled in the go-ahead run as St. Louis took a 4-3 lead. That ended the day for Littell. Graham Ashcraft came in and got the final out of the inning, sending the game to the 7th with the Reds trailing for the first time on the day.
Cincinnati would start off the 7th inning with a new pitcher on the mound as Chris Roycroft took over for Matthew Liberatore. It was just what they needed as they picked up a single and a walk to lead things off. Both runners would move up 90 feet on a groundout, paving the way for both to score when Matt McLain came through with a ground-rule double that put the Reds back in front 5-4. Another bullpen move followed and TJ Friedl welcomed John King to the game with an RBI single up the middle to tack on another run.
When the bottom of the inning started it was Graham Ashcraft back to the mound for Cincinnati. He gave up a double and a single to start the inning. Ashcraft was able to get strikeouts of the next two batters and then the Reds went to the bullpen to bring in Tony Santillan. The first pitch he threw was lined into right to bring the Cardinals within one. Ivan Herrera followed with an RBI single of his own to tie the game up. Santillan then hit the next batter to load the bases, but avoided further damage with a groundout to strand everyone.
After a flyout to the wall began the 8th, the Reds got a single and back-to-back walks to load the bases. Cincinnati then called on Will Benson to pinch hit for Ke’Bryan Hayes, then St. Louis countered to bring in Kyle Leahy from the bullpen. Benson came through with a fly ball that was deep enough to score Sal Stewart from third base to give the Reds the lead.
Cincinnati would add to their lead in the 9th. After loading the bases with one out the Reds got a bit lucky when Sal Stewart hit a ball back up the middle. At just 77 MPH it likely turns into an out if Kyle Leahy didn’t try to snatch it behind his back – but he did and in the process knocked the ball towards third base to give Stewart an RBI infield hit to make it 8-6. Three pitches later Tyler Stephenson unloaded the bases with a double into the left-center gap that made it 11-6.
With a 5-run lead, the Reds sent Emilio Pagan to the mound for the bottom of the 9th. After two quick outs, Brendan Donovan singled on a bunt against the shifted infield to keep the game alive. Pagan closed the door, getting a groundout a few pitches later as Cincinnati held on for the 11-6 win.
Key Moment of the Game
The 4-run 9th inning that really put the game out of reach after the two clubs went back-and-forth for much of the game.
Notes Worth Noting
Sal Stewart homered and had a 3-hit day. Matt McLain, Austin Hays, and Tyler Stephenson all turned in 2-hit games. Elly De La Cruz went 1-3 with a double and he drew two walks while hitting in the #7 spot in the lineup.
The Reds pitching staff didn’t walk a batter – though they did hit two of them. St. Lous pitchers walked five Reds on the day.
In the wild card race the Reds win allowed them to pick up a half-game on the Mets who had the day off. Arizona and San Francisco are facing each other and are just now in the 4th inning of a tie game. Cincinnati entered the day a game behind San Francisco, a half game behind Arizona, and 2.5 games back of the Mets.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs St. Louis Cardinals
Tuesday September 16th, 7:45pm ET
Andrew Abbott (9-6, 2.79 ERA) vs Michael McGreevy (6-3, 4.44 ERA)
Great response after that pathetic showing in Sacramento. Connor Phillips sure has turned things around and been a pleasant surprise.
They just have to keep our hopes hanging by the thinnest thread.
Agree with your assessment of Connor Phillips! Don’t care to see Ashcraft anywhere near the mound the rest of the season!
Yeah, Ashcraft has been a huge disappointment. Before the season began I thought he may be the closer by the end of the season.
It looks like Sam Moll still has a minimum of 3 days before he can be recalled sans as an injury replacement. Reiver SanMartin has 4.
It might behoove the Reds to option Ashcraft and get one of those lefties up ASAP.
Ash at 95 and Tiger at 94 last night.Both down 3 to 4 mph but the kid was at 98/99.It makes a difference.Did not check on Pagan but he has been down 3 or 4 mph as well.I ride Connor and I ride Burns late with 98/100 and say hit it if you can.Both have good sliders so why not.I get loyalty and vet presence and trust and you dance with who brought you to the dance but every game every pitch means more with 12 left and behind 3 teams for 1 spot.I go with the same lineup tonight with Benson in left and maybe Steer is back at first and Sal at third.
Maybe they should bring up Willie Blair from Dayton to work with the bullpen guy. Willie might have some real experience to share about pitching out of a big league bullpen, no one on current staff has that expertise.
And think, Ashcraft was one of the players mentioned in a possible deal for Robert Jr.
You mean the guy who’s hitting .223 with a sub-.300 OBP?
And on the IL again
Stewart with three hits and consistent playing time has his numbers creeping back up to AA and AAA levels he’s had all year. .297/.919
Yeah, if only Stewart was ready to hit in the big leagues. If he was, you’d have to wonder where he’s been all year.
Yes, Sal’s MLB BA/OBP/SLG triple slash is now .297/.297/.622 (.919 OPS) in 37PAs.
I like Stewart, I’m glad he’s playing, and I wish he’d been up sooner, but let’s keep in mind that he’s hit 7 for 13 over his last three games. When a player has so few at-bats, a couple of great games really bolster his stats. Of note, after our finale with the Padres, when Stewart was 0 for 4 and his triple slash hit .167/.167/.713, .580 OPS, there was only one comment among 114 about Sal Stewart. His numbers aren’t “creeping up,” they have been rocket-launched in just three days/games, because that’s the nature of small stats.
The point is it’s taken him a few games, which I pretty much knew it would, to come back up to his standards. The same thing happened in AAA. It took a little longer this time because he hasn’t been starting every game (I bet he does now haha). He’s acclimated himself pretty good to MLB pitching so far in a short time. There are no guarantees. That’s kind of the fun of it. Baseball is not an exact science and never will be. My money says he keeps hitting. An argument could be made that he’s already the best all around hitter on the Reds. Raise your hand if you think he’ll be hitting over .300 by the end of the regular season. 🙂
My hand is up by the way. 😉
Let’s see how he stacks up after a couple of months at the MLB level. Some guy named Aquiño had a pretty good month, but where is he now? That is just to say small sample size alerts apply to Stewart just as they do to everyone else. As inferred from BK comment, prior to those 13 AB’s Stewart was in the .200-.220 range!
Small PA count, absolutely true. And too soon to draw definitive conclusions, and yet many here conclude that Hinds can’ thit ML pitching on the basis of fewer than 100 ABs. Can’t have it both ways.
Hinds has 89 official ABs spread out over several MLB call ups. He just turned 25 this month.
@LDS, I haven’t concluded Hinds can’t hit at the major league level, but every player is different, and it’s appropriate to view their progression differently. Stewart’s success in the minors was more consistent, resulting in his rise across various prospect lists to being arguably the Red’s best hitting prospect. Further, his strikeout rates are far better than Hind’s, and Hinds had a very rough year in AAA in 2024. So, there are many more reasons to approach Hind’s future major league outcomes with caution. Giving more opportunities to a better prospect is just smart business and logically consistent.
@BK, It’s not like there’s only one spot available. A good number of these guys won’t be back. Some will, but who cares, Espinal for example. The Reds should try to sign Andujar and trade Espinal. Regardless, there re roster slots available. Krall just has to admit that Louisville may offer better options than he has on the current 26. May not. But, there’s room to find out.
@LDS, I get that Espinal likely doesn’t have a future with the Reds. I can’t imagine that Espinal has any trade value and is likely a non-tender candidate in the offseason.
As for Hinds, Francona explained the Red’s approach to Rosencrans,
“He’s hitting for average, he’s playing defense,” Francona said Sunday. “We’ve talked about it a bunch. He’s going to be a guy who has to play, and the way we were situated, that wasn’t going to happen when he was (with the Reds). When you put him in a bench role, he’s not suited to that. We kind of know that, and when you’re trying to contend, it’s hard to put somebody out there and let them sink or swim.”
This approach seems quite sensible given Hind’s struggles in a bench role.
@BK, good info, but whose decision? Who has to play 5hat relegates Hinds to the Bench? Hays, Lux, Steer, LF is generally a mess. And when you have no power in the lineup, bring up one who does
@BK, I find Tito’s statement about Hinds to be a bit of a circle chase, Catch-22 type statement. He says it is hard to let a guy play every day to see if he swims or sinks when a team is trying to contend.
Does that mean just at the end of a season when a team is in a stretch run? Or does it apply any time during a season when the team considers itself a contender?? If the latter, then 1) why is Stewart up and playing? and 2) If it is anytime during a season, how does a team building from within supposed to ever get their prospects into MLB??
I understand that despite a strong spring, Hinds had fallen off their radar because of his poor performance in the back half of 2024 at AAA. However, by the first of May, he was back on the front burner and soon at MLB.
He ran into a string of tough LF pitching and came up snake eyes. Yet against RH pitching, he had a league average OPS and 2 HRs in 25PAs, an 8% HR rate which matches his career HR rate in 95 PAs, LH and RH combined .
When he went back down, he got back to work and ground out 3+ months of .900+ OPS with a K rate around 25%. So, when is the time to let him swim or sink? I wish C.Trent had asked that.
Better. A win in St. Louis is always good, and especially so when the Reds backs are against the proverbial wall. If they can somehow win the next two and climb back past SF and AZ and perhaps within a game of the Mets then things could get very interesting. But this win in what felt like a must win game is a good start. Go Reds!
If the Mets go 6-6 in their last 12 games the Reds will need to go 8-4 to finish in a tie with the Mets and win the 3rd and final NL Wild card spot via a tiebreaker! That assumes the Dbacks go no better than 7-5 and the Giants go no better than 7-6, I think!
They can win every game they want so long as they beat Milwaukee, and they haven’t proven capable of that this decade.
Milwaukee is assured of home field advantage…last series they may rest some of their regulars.
Sure, they can do that — and one of their reserves will have a 10-hit weekend. It’s not like there aren’t trends here. How many “non-regulars” do you suppose they have? But if that’s how you beat somebody, I’d say the Milwaukee bench is better than the one the White Sox or Athletics have.
The Reds put themselves in this position by not taking care of business in Sacramento when it was there for the taking. Had the Reds just won two out of those three, they would be tied with the Mets for the last wildcard spot. That did not happen and now they are in trouble.
Basically they need to win every series from here on. If you fail to do that, you need to sweep another series to make up for it. And then of course you have to hope the Mets, Giants, and Diamondbacks play average ball.
It really is a tall order and time is not on our side.
Milwaukee’s B team is probably as good as, if not better than, some of the team’s the Reds should have beaten but didn’t.
Pitchers had -0- walks tonight. Love it. Extra special beating the Cardinals.
You know that makes this old Reds fan happy as I despise WALKS!
Great team win, and yes, Stewart and Phillips both shined.
(Traveling back in time) OTD in 1964, the Reds were 79-65 and 8.5 games behind the Phillies. The Reds got hot and won 12 of the next 13 games (91-66) but finished 92-70 and 1 game behind the Cardinals. They lost 4 of the last 5 games at home.
OTD today, the Reds need to win 10 of the next 12 at least.
It’s interesting how the Mets have lost a lot of games but somehow remain in the wild card spot at least by a half game…that means Reds, Giants and even Dbacks have been losing games too…
Stewart should play every day even if he got a golden sombrero in one game…I think Tito could keep Elly out of the 3rd spot for a while …He should recover his confidence, if Andujar won’t play tomorrow the top of the order could be: Friedl. Lux, Marte followed by Hays, Stewart,Elly, Stephenson…
and Benson.
A win is a win. That’s all that matters now (and always really).
Mets have 3 with the Padres in NYC, then 3 with the Cubs in Chicago starting the following Tues day. Their other six are 3 each with the Nats in NYC and Marlins in Miami.
Lets hope they lose at least 4 total versus the Padres and Cubs and at least 2 versus the Nats and Marlins.
It’s too late/ early for me to figure out the Snakes and Giants 😉
The Snakes have defeated the Giants in their Monday game.
This moves the Snakes past the Giants and within 1.5 games of the Mets. The Reds and Giants are tied and 2 games behind the Mets. The 0.5 game difference between the Snakes and Reds/Giants is a game the Reds and Giants each have in hand to the Snakes. All three of those teams have 75 losses. Thus, the Reds and Giants will need to win their in hand game to pull even with the Snakes.
Elly has been at .206 since August 1st with very little production. Wonder why it took Francona, asleep at the wheel, so long to make an adjustment and move him down the lineup. Francona just slow to adjust all season long. Glad Elly got some walks and a much needed hit. Should help him mentally. No reason he’s played all the games he has. Long season physically and mentally.
Great to see Stephenson and McLain contribute. They both have been big disappointments this season. Maybe they both can ride a hot streak to close out the season.
Stewart a stud. Smart ball player. Shame he wasn’t brought up earlier to contribute. Again, organization asleep at the wheel. Proactive equates to winning mentally. Reactive is a loser mentality.
Phillips looking very good, always great to see. Ashcraft should not be used in high leverage situations. Although questionably Francona pulls him after consecutive outs on his part. Francona can be a head scratchr with his managerial decisions…
11 run outburst after a collective 9 runs scored the entire A’s series. Hard to believe we only scored 9 in a AAA ballpark that was very run friendly to the A’s.
Happy for the W. Littell not a great rental for the Reds but kept us in the game more or less.
My sentiments exactly. lol
EDLC had some tough throws to make on Monday and made them all with no issues. That’s a step forward, too, if it continues.
Hope 11 last night does not mean 1 tonight. OOOps. Did I say that. Think positive…right!
Better than being shut out, and with Abbott throwing sometimes 1 is enough!
It is still about selling tickets and Elly sells the tickets right now. Moving him to bottom of lineup tells those thinking about buying tickets this guy might not be worth spending your 100 bucks for.
Well, perhaps at this point in the season, he’s not.
Should the Reds order their lineup based on imagined ticket sales?
They could send out a questionnaire to fans.
“How much will you spend on a ticket if EDLC is batting 5th in the lineup?
6th? 7th?”
Makes sense to me. Although their most talented player, Elly hasn’t hit diddly and should be batting near the bottom until proven otherwise. Congrats to Tito for being a manager.
Bad time for the starters, their one strength, to go bust. But, they keep plugging away. A .500 team again.
Nice win. When do they start printing World Series tickets?
Thank you for promoting Sal, Krall.
Havent been paying very close attention, but is that ELDCs first time being moved down the lineup?
yes
Rhett Liwder pitched Friday for da Bats. Could he help the big club during the stretch?
Lowder
“The Reds rank 19th or worse at five of the nine positions by OPS, and that’s with the baked in boost of Great American Ballpark.” ~ ESPN
I keep watching out of the corner of my eye, and it’s just as disheartening from that angle.
And if they do get in somehow, Stewart can’t be on the post season roster. I really thought Tito would have more influence and more insight on who went where.
Even if the kid couldn’t hit….whats the difference? They lost a million games with 0-2 runs. They gave Burns a shot. Ashcrash skipped AAA entirely. I would’ve done the same thing with Stewart that they did w/Burns. The second he shows some sustained success then he’s up the next night. Hays & Steer had a bad summer. Who was blocking him?
“And if they do get in somehow, Stewart can’t be on the post season roster.”
He was added before 12 p.m. E.T. on September 1st so he can be on the playoff roster.
@IRM, If the Reds make the playoffs, why can’t Stewart replace an injured player? The Reds have several players on the 60-day IL who have already served 60+ days on the IL. Don’t the rules allow for this?
@Melvin, the Reds transaction log shows Stewart (and Zulueta) joining the Reds on September 1st. Why do you think he was added before midnight Eastern, which would have been August 31?
BK – I don’t have it in front of me but I looked it up. The deadline is not midnight on the 31st, it’s 12 p.m. E.T. on the 1st.
Here ya go.
https://www.mlb.com/glossary/transactions/postseason-roster-rules-eligibility
Ahhhhhhhh! If only I could read 🙂 Thanks! Bottom-line, he’s availabe under a couple of different rules and yet the hand-wringing continues.
Well I was worried too until I found out about the actual deadline. 🙂
Melvin, But is 12pm on September 1 the midnight between Aug 31 and Sept 1 or is it the Midnight between Sept. 1 and Sept 2????
For instance, in 24-hour military time, midnight is 0000 hours and attaches to the beginning day, and not the ending day. The second before midnight is 2359:59, the second after midnight is 0000:01. 😉
I am OK joking about this because there are long term IL guys who will be available to swap out and be replaced by Stewart if the situation arises.
12 a.m. is midnight. 12 p.m. is noon. I misread the times the first several times myself.
That’s a frank an indictment as any that the Reds just don’t have the talent on offense to compete with the big boys. That means at over half the positions, the Reds rank in the bottom 40th %ile of MLB. That’s not good enough to win.
A talent infusion is a must this winter. Spend some money!
Add talent and build more depth. Going into 2026, I would expect the following players to have earned a starting role:
1. EDLC, SS
2. Marte, OF
3. Friedl, OF
4. Hayes, 3B
5/6. Stephenson/Trevino, C
7. Stewart, 1B/DH
8. McLain, 2B
Stewart will be a rookie, and McLain will likely retain his role based on his pre-shoulder injury potential. Retaining (9.) Steer and (10.) Lux provides them with two quality depth options who, along with others on the team, can effectively cover every position except for C and CF in utility roles.
So, the Reds should target two who can play at least one 1B, OF, or DH for upgrades through trade, promotion from AAA, or free agency. They should also retain an outfielder (Dunn or Benson) to cover CF if one is not acquired via trade, promotion, or FA.
Quite the hit parade for a change. Just watched our last 3 scoring innings. Now to keep that up no matter what.
Pulling our slim hopes out of the dumpster again! Sweep these bums and come home with a full head of steam for the stupid Cubs.
This writer says that the Reds should have called up Stewart sooner. This is one time at least that I agree with him.
https://blogredmachine.com/sal-stewart-rise-leaves-reds-painful-realization-fans-wont-like?utm_campaign=FanSided+Daily&utm_source=FanSided+Daily&utm_medium=email&sc=c3a8b03aa4675c74ec4c35e25be58c93e3c61b5ef7e6fc8f70a8923b59647687
I mean didn’t literally everyone except the actual people capable of making it happen say the Reds should have called him up sooner? I don’t recall reading anyone, anywhere, saying “nah, he should stay in Triple-A hitting the cover off of the ball”
Yep. Everyone except Krall & Co. evidently. I think I might have heard a very few otherwise.
It often seems to me that the FO shifts into offseason mode at the trade deadline, especially since the end of waiver deal trades several years back.
They have those organization meetings around the All Star break, make the late season minor league promotions, and then move their primary focus to the next season.
According to Tito, Lowder could pitch for the Reds soon.
https://blogredmachine.com/terry-francona-just-opened-door-reds-fans-thought-was-slammed-shut?utm_campaign=FanSided+Daily&utm_source=FanSided+Daily&utm_medium=email&sc=c3a8b03aa4675c74ec4c35e25be58c93e3c61b5ef7e6fc8f70a8923b59647687
What the Reds need now is for Elly to wake up and go on a hitting streak. He’s done it before, though it’s been a really long time. And yes, we all knew that Krall was dragging his feet bringing up Stewart and that it was a mistake. I think the same is likely true of Hinds at this point. Certainly, there’s little risk in finding out. He’s going to be more effective in the OF than Lux, Espinal, or Steer – with more power than any of them.
The very reason Stewart wasn’t called up sooner could be the same reason Hinds is not called up – Espinal. I’m for bringing up Hinds now even if he doesn’t play much. It’s the end of the season in a pennant chase. All hands on deck.
I believe everybody associated with the Reds want to win.I also believe Krall wants to win with defense and pitching and has said as much.He wasn’t going to admit before the rosters could be expanded or even before the trade deadline the Reds needed offense.Keep in mind he tried to sell he got an outfielder and bullpen help by acquiring a third baseman,a platoon player and a # 5 starter.Its his way even if it makes no sense to everybody else and its just not us as fans.People who make a living discussing baseball all agreed what the Reds needed and all that I read were saying why not Stewart and now.Of course we know what has been said in the past Where you going to go?
I think it is incompetence. I know he said it but does Krall actually believe 235 Hays and 2 mid tier rentals is going to propel the team past the Padres and all their adds? Heck the Pads traded their No. 1 prospect to get (cheap) Mason Miller for the next 4 years. Ballsy but it is beginning to look like the type of move Krall should have made. We know he could have gotten Suarez and Naylor for 5 teen level prospects. Good enough to get to 88 wins? I would guess not. But I would guess it probably would have gotten him to 86. Who in the heck figured the Mets would lose 30 in a row? (Exaggeration). This wasn’t about money. This was totally about relinquishing prospects -teen level in this case – to give your team a fighters chance at getting to 88 wins. If we had gotten to 88 wins and not made it, I would have congratulated Nick on his efforts. This team was in position to overtake the Padres and the GM did the organization, team, and fans a disservice by not putting forth a competent effort. We are headed for 20 games behind the Brewers. That should tell the GM that he needs about 4-5 new starters.
Personally I would bat Stewart 2nd from here on out. Get your best hitters the most at bats. Ashcraft….ugh.
Was thinking the same thing. The only problem being if he gets one he’d better be on his horse if/when EDLC bats third.
Ashcraft should be in a mop up role only from this point on. Elly’s exit velocity has really gone downhill and they showed his speed from home to first has as well. Stewart is the new star. Elly will have to prove himself all over again in 2026 because he has been very average in 2025.
Yep, he needs to adjust. Jeff Brantley pointed out that everything he’s throwing to right-handed hitters is over the outer half. So, hitters are sitting on his cutter on the outside half of the plate and teeing off. He has much better success against left-handers, so I was surprised Francona pulled his with a left-handed hitter coming to the plate and brought in Santillan, who has more traditional splits favoring his matchups against right-handed hitters.
Right there is where you need a lefty power arm and we have Suter.Doesn’t work and that need has been there all year long.Another need that wasn’t addressed.
I wanted the Reds to go after Tanner Scott in the offseason. He just turned 31 and is from Ohio. The Dodgers signed him for $18M/year for four years with a fifth-year vesting option. With deferrals, it works out to about $12.5M this year or about the cost of Hays and Rogers. He was the best LHP reliever available. His velo is down this year, and so is his effectiveness. He’s gone from lights out against LHB to league average or worse. Had I have gotten my way, it would not have worked out very well.
The reality is that Aschraft has been much better this year against LHB than Scott. There are not a ton of power LHP relievers around. Perhaps the better solution is recognizing when a power RHP’s arsenal is going to deliver reverse splits and use him accordingly. Ashcraft’s career splits match what we’re seeing this year. He’s going to have to adjust, or the team will have to learn to use him in select situations where he’s likely to face LHB.
At win at St. Louis is always cathartic. 1-2 more please.
I was glad to see Elly down in the order last night. When he’s playing well he seems to play with such enthusiasm for the game, but he is young still. I’m certain he will bounce back, and with any luck perhaps he’ll feel a little less pressure and maybe allow the hits to come to him? Here’s hoping.
+10000000
Let me jump in to the Stewart/Hinds discussion.I have heard it said that the jury is still out on any hitter until he gets 2000 at bats in the big leagues and until he does we need to refer to his minor league stats.That is roughly 3+ years of at bats.I don’t know if it takes that long or not but I do know like in Stewart’s case with 40 and HInds case of 85 and even CES with 500 to say they will or will not be successful. Its just hard for me to agree that is enough at bats to anoint them as the next super star or to throw them under the bus and then drive over them.For me all 3 need a good look next year and if that can’t happen then move them out of the organization in a trade.If the Reds aren’t going to spend money to acquire power bats then you have to look in your own system and give those players a legit chance.For me and its not my team or my money Hinds would have to lose the left field job in the spring,Stewart would have to lose the first base job in the spring and CES would be my prime DH going in to the spring.Anybody else that holds these jobs will have to go since all of them Hays,Steer and Lux all have close to if not more then 2000 at bats in the big leagues.Want to keep them around then it works for me but not as starters.
Roger, Roger
I tend to agree with you on most of this. I don’t see the advantage in giving a big contract to keep Austin Hays. He is a good ball player, but he is not a foundational player, a “superstar”, or ever will be one. He had a good year, that was hampered by his injured foot.
Ditto Miguel Andujar. Looked good as a late season pick-up, but then got hurt and has kind of disappeared. He has not had a remarkable season (for anybody) in some time. Not mad at Nick Krall for getting him, just has not really impressed or panned out.
Spencer Steer is another “good guy” that I would like to have on the team, but there are only 8 positions and the DH, so where does he go? He likely played hurt all year, with a sore shoulder, so it remains to be seen what happens in the off-season.
Surgery? Trade? What?
Is Ke’Bryan Hayes the answer at 3rd base? He is a great fielder, but has kind of a weak bat.
I agree that it’s too early to pull the plug on those guys… but then I also want us to win next year. And going into the season with at least 3 spots taken by guys that are unproven? That’s awfully risky. If they all 3 bust, that’s 1/3 of your starters right there. Hard to overcome 3 black holes in your lineup (4 if KeBryan Hayes reverts back to his Pittsburgh self).
I would say yes to starting Stewart, maybe to Hinds, and probably not to CES. Sucks for him, but that’s the way it goes sometimes. If Sal pans out and you know his spot in the lineup is locked-in, then maybe you can give CES another shot.
I’m good with going Hinds to start next season as long as the Reds have someone else to turn to if he doesn’t hit. H-Rod and/or Steer could fit that bill. Let’s be honest. Hinds is not getting 2,000 at-bats to adjust to the major leagues with the Reds, nor should he. As I laid out above, the Reds need to focus improvement in 2026 on OF, 1B, or DH. Hinds can be part of that solution. However, I don’t want to see the Reds entering 2026 counting on Hinds, CES, and Stewart as the OF, 1B, and DH. Good teams have depth, and any or all of these players will get another chance in 2026, even if they start in AAA.
I saw tonight’s line up and while it’s ok, I just wonder why a guy like Benson who a few weeks ago couldn’t see the field is now batting 5th or why Elly who has slumped for 2 months has finally been moved down to 7th.
I tend to agree with you. Benson has been white hot since he returned to steady playing time, and EDLC has looked like he needed a day off for about two months. While the Reds remain in the hunt, their August slump looms large and will result in a ton of second-guessing unless they can slip into the playoffs.
As of September 16th at 5:22pm EDT: If the Reds *simply* win (no sweeps) every remaining series, including the four game set versus the Cubs, they would need the Mets to play right at 0.500 ball or worse the rest of the way to get the tie – and win on the head-to-head tie breaker.
Plus, the Giants and Diamondbacks would need to play slightly worse than this hypothetical final 12-game Reds team.