The Cincinnati Reds picked up a shutout win in the series opener last night. They will look to keep their winning ways going tonight in Miami as they take on the Marlins in game two of their 4-game series in Florida. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40pm ET.
Starting Lineups
Cincinnati Reds | Miami Marlins |
| TJ Friedl – CF | Austin Slater – RF |
| Matt McLain – 2B | Agustin Ramirez – C |
| Elly De La Cruz – SS | Jakob Marsee – CF |
| Sal Stewart – 1B | Otto Lopez – SS |
| Eugenio Suarez – DH | Heriberto Hernandez – LF |
| Spencer Steer – LF | Connor Norby – 1B |
| Tyler Stephenson – C | Xavier Edwards – 2B |
| Noelvi Marte – RF | Leo Jimenez – DH |
| Ke’Bryan Hayes – 3B | Javier Sanoja – 3B |
| Andrew Abbott – LHP | Sandy Alcantara – RHP |
Starting Pitchers
| Pitcher | IP | ERA | WHIP | BB | K |
| Andrew Abbott | 11.2 | 3.09 | 1.37 | 4 | 9 |
| Sandy Alcantara | 16.0 | 0.00 | 0.56 | 2 | 12 |
| Links: Andrew Abbott’s Stats | Sandy Alcantara’s Stats | |||||
Andrew Abbott
In his season debut the lefty threw 6.0 shutout innings, but in his second start he struggled a bit against Pittsburgh as they scored three runs (all on one home run) in 5.2 innings against him while he walked three batters.
Last year saw Abbot pitch worse on the road, sort of. His ERA was 3.43 away from Great American Ball Park (2.39 at home), but hitters OPS on the road was lower – .646 compared to .669. When it comes to the platoon splits, things aren’t all that different. Righties and lefties are fairly even when it comes to average and on-base percentage, but righties do have an advantage in power against Abbott.
2025 Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 510 | 110 | 19 | 1 | 17 | 34 | 109 | .234 | .287 | .387 |
| LHH | 174 | 38 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 40 | .236 | .279 | .335 |
2025 Pitch Usage
| 4-Seam | Cutter | Curve | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 92.7 | 88.5 | 80.4 | 82.5 | 84.6 |
| Usage | 47% | 4% | 11% | 17% | 20% |
Sandy Alcantara
After winning the Cy Young award in 2022 things have gone down hill for Alcantara. His ERA was 4.14 in the season that followed, then he missed all of 2024 before returning last year and posting an ERA of 5.36. 2026 has gotten out to a good start, though, as he’s thrown 16.0 innings with just one unearned run against him in his two starts.
In 2025 Alcantara was much better at home where his ERA was 2.52 runs lower (still 4.40) and hitters OPS was 184 points lower (.641). Something we don’t often touch on here in these write ups but feels noteworthy here – last season baserunners went 35-for-36 in stolen base attempts against him. Right-handed hitters hit for a higher average, but had a lower on-base percentage and hit for less power when they did get hits. Lefties walk often and make more contact, but hit for a lower average.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 377 | 92 | 22 | 0 | 9 | 15 | 85 | .262 | .306 | .402 |
| LHH | 368 | 73 | 17 | 0 | 13 | 42 | 57 | .230 | .315 | .406 |
2025 Pitch Usage
| 4-seam | 2-seam | Curve | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 97.8 | 91.1 | 85.4 | 89.2 | 90.4 |
| Usage | 18% | 26% | 18% | 15% | 23% |
When and Where
- Game time: 6:40pm ET
- Where: loanDepot park, Miami, FL
- Watch: Reds MLB Channel, Reds.tv (in-market), MLB.tv (out of market). You can check your zip code here and find out who carries the Reds MLB Channel in your area if you are unsure.
- Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: They have a retractable roof
News and Notes
The Reds winning streak
Cincinnati has won four games in a row. That’s the longest winning streak in baseball – tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers. At 7-3 only the Brewers and Dodgers have more wins (8-2), and those two along with the Yankees (7-2) have a higher winning percentage.
The runs
Cincinnati has scored 28 runs this season. That is the lowest total in Major League Baseball. By comparison, Houston has scored 77 runs in 11 games. The Reds have only allowed 30 runs. Only Atlanta (28 in 11 games) and the Yankees (22 in 9 games) have allowed fewer.
Rece Hinds named the International League’s Player of the Week
Triple-A’s International League handed out their first Player of the Week award of 2026 and it went to Bats outfielder Rece Hinds. In six games last week he hit .304/.407/1.000 with seven extra-base hits and 10 RBI. We’ve got more on his start to the season here.
Interviewing Alfredo Duno
Over at RedsMinorLeagues.com I posted an interview that I had with Reds top prospect Alfredo Duno on Monday afternoon in Dayton where the catcher is beginning his 2026 season.
Division Standings
| Team | W | L | GB | Playoff Odds |
| Milwaukee | 8 | 2 | 0.0 | 6.9% |
| Cincinnati | 7 | 3 | 1.0 | 25.2% |
| Pittsburgh | 6 | 4 | 2.0 | 53.7% |
| St. Louis | 5 | 5 | 3.0 | 6.5% |
| Chicago | 4 | 6 | 4.0 | 36.6% |
| Playoff Odds via Fangraphs | ||||
“Rece Hinds named the International League’s Player of the Week”
Hinds not in the lineup tonight for the Bats? Perhaps just a day off? We’ll see.
Let’s keep winning.
Late scratch evidently for Hinds. Originally in the lineup.
Melvin>> Are you at Victory Field or planning to get there for any of the Bats games this week?
Way back when I lived on the Ohio side of the state line adjacent to Richmond, IN, and the Indy AAA team was the Reds affiliate, there were years I attended several games at the old stadium in Indy. We tried to target the nights the San Diego Chicken and his entourage were in town.
Ironically, when I lived in Indy (~1974-77), I did not make it to a single game.
Life…..
haha No I don’t think I’m going to make it even though I’m about 15-20 minutes away. haha It’s cold here tonight anyway. 🙂
Yeah. Our favorite GM Jim Bowden moved the Reds from Indy to Louisville in 2000 I believe. Indy has one of, if not THE best AAA parks in the nation. One of the MANY reasons he’s not liked by me. I’m not alone by any means. lol
Alcantara has gotten off to an excellent start, but the two starts were against Colorado and the White Sox, not that the Reds are killing the ball. He only has 12 SOs in 16 innings, which is a bit below his SO rate before his injury.
In looking at his Baseball Reference page, the Cardinals traded Alcantara after his age-21 season — along with Zac Gallen — for Marcell Ozuna. Ozuna had a 2-year OPS+ of 107 for the Cardinals, then went to Atlanta after 2019 as a free agent. The Cardinals have made a ton of questionable deals over the past 10 years.
Hopefully the Reds hitters can do some early damage against Alcantara. He’s had an interesting past few seasons.
Not sure what else Hinds has left to prove at AAA. Congrats to Hinds for winning the International League’s Player of the Week.
Duno hopefully has a quick ascension through the minor leagues.
Puzzled by the back and forth with Benson and Marte.I like both but we do know about Benson don’t we?He is 28 and a good 4th or 5th outfielder.Marte is 24 and was moved to the outfield in the middle of the year last year.He needs to play every day while Benson could spell Friedl or Steer and still stay sharp and we lose nothing on defense and probably get better when he is out there.Just makes sense to me and I will take it a step further last night was Junk and tonight is a former Cy Young winner.
One order of Squished Fish, please …
Thinking we’ll need some bats tonight to beat Alcantara. Hope Jobu is in game shape.
We may be getting more relief pitching depth. Rule V draftee Roddery Munoz has been placed on waivers by the Astros. If he clears, he’ll be offered back to us and he doesn’t have to be on the 40 man roster: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/04/astros-place-roddery-munoz-on-waivers.html
Since he will have cleared waivers if offered back to the Reds, another scenario that is not unusual is that the Reds will trade him to the Astros as a minor league player, and they will assign him outright to the minors.
It will be interesting to see how this unfolds.
Here’s a thought! Let’s score a lot of runs (more than 2) tonight and let Abbott dissect these fish!
Six pitches and 3 outs.
I would like to see Nathaniel Lowe in the starting lineup today….
Alcantara is impressive or the Reds offense is awful
I think it’s a bit of both. Alcantara is looking pretty lights out early with some good movement.
Yes Yes and Yes again.
Abbott had to matchup against Crochet and Skenes in his previous outings… Today is Alcantara….not easy really…
This doesn’t look good at all… Alcantara is projecting a complete game today…Only 24 pitches through 3 IP. He is really cruising…
I don’t know if I can take an entire year of watching Hayes at the plate
I read recently where Hayes was saying he’s always hit well but it’s just that he hasn’t been healthy for a long time. An argument could be made that the Reds knowingly traded for and are paying $30 M for damaged goods. It’s not likely he’s going to improve with a chronic back problem. More likely than his offense improving is his defense taking a hit too eventually. I can’t imagine him starting at 3B the rest of the year. He seems to be a good guy but the odds are against him. It’s certainly not his fault.
Reds had no chance against this guy first time through the lineup.He has 9 outs on 24 pitches.He is eating our righties up.Lowe and Benson may have been better choices.We will see.Lets hope he makes some mistakes the second time.
At this pace , Alcantar will have a perfect game today, at least a no-no
Good grief! I didn’t think the Reds offense could get any worse! No hits thru 3 innings and Alcantara with only 24 pitches thru 3 innings! Can you say complete game!
As all Dunn, Bleday and Hinds approach the 50 AB mark, and with the Reds offense struggling badly, time will come to make some inevitably roster decisions.
AA great, so far. A little O maybe?
Observations so far …
Abbott is battling a bit, but ending up OK. I’m thinking 6 innings max at this pace.
I’m officially on the bandwagon of y’all saying “Elly looks more relaxed and fluid out there when fielding and throwing.” Maybe he likes Sal as a target … but I like what I’m seeing.
OK, somebody drag Jobu away from the bar long enough to get a few hits.
Jobu is holding out for more money! Let’s start a GoFundMe account ASAP!
Another observation . Sal Stewart needs to remove his foot from the bag AS SOON AS HE SECURES the throw . How in the heck are the coaches not fixing this . He actually kept his foot on the bag as he threw the ball around after the putout . Does Tito pay attention or is he thinking about his young girlfriend?
Votto did that….drove me crazy
Alacantara has trown 32 pitches through 4 ip 28 strikes…ridiculous
Retired 12 straight batters and average of eight pitches an inning. Good grief!
Stewart not positioned correctly to receive the throw on the bunt hit . He needs a lot of work and has a lot to learn.
Why is Hinds not playing tonight?
Looks like it might be another 2-0 game. The question is who will have 2 and who will have 0?
This Reds offense is brutal to watch. Love our record. Love our pitching. Love our defense. Alcantara is certainly dealing in early 2026, but man, tough to watch us hit so far this season. What’s the coaching doing to address our approach and at bats?
Be careful, JT. You might get tagged as impatient.
Oh man, good point! My bad.
AA can’t hit the corners. 92 mph fastball over the plate is not a formula for success. Need to keep the score at 2.
This inning is an evidence maybe Hayes is not needed like a everyday player
He has an accurate arm, but not a strong arm.
Slow dribblers are his weakness.
It seems like those plays are made 90% of the time against the Reds.
The wheels are falling off for Abbott! Shades of his second start against the Pirates!
I mean, they had one solid hit the entire inning…
The Reds are last in the majors in runs scored. I hope that changes tonight but it’s not looking good so far. There’s a lot of game left.
If Abbott doesn’t go after that ground ball, does Hayes get the out?
the out has to be made…does not go down as an error, but as bad as an error
I don’t think he does.
He likes to set/plant and make a throw.
Rarely do you see him make a throw on the run which is what is required.
Happened twice that inning
Agree
Unless the Reds offense wakes up and, at a minimum, runs up Alcantara’s pitch count, this game may be over!
Abbott for one more inning?
Alcantara doesn’t care about pitch counts.
He goes very deep into games.
Stewart with the first hit. Imagine that. 🙂
Reds first base runner comes in the 5th inning. More shades of last season . Friedl zero bunt hit attempts in the game .
Steer had no chance in that at bat.
Ty Steve had no chance either.
Good play by EDLC and Salbert there.
He’s looking much improved at SS. That was a “Concepcion” bounce and a “Perez” pick. 🙂 Artificial turf.
And Salamander keeps his foot on the bag too long yet again
Hope he doesn’t get “spiked” eventually.
Petty lights out so far for the Bats. That’s good to see.
6 innings, 1 hit, 1 walk and 9 strikeouts so far.
Based on that challenge (good one from Ty) it appears the width of the box on the screen is pretty accurate. That is the one constant vs. the height of a strike zone.
this game really could-maybe should-be 0-0…if Steer makes the catch in left, it’s a different ballgame….the rest of that inning was a bunch of nothing
The OF is the weak link all the way around.
True. Abbott has been keeping us in this one. Marlins aren’t hitting him hard by any means. Too bad Steer couldn’t make that play. A bunch of weak contact after that.
Marte has always had great speed. Unfortunately Tito is stuffing his mouth with seeds to care.
Good hustle by Marte. Not a good play by their third baseman.
Too bad McLain hits a weak grounder there and can’t get Marte in.
just hard to believe the reds have this many guys all struggling all at the same time….if i’m not mistaken, I thought the Reds hired a new hitting coach for this season….has not made a difference …..maybe hitting coaches don’t really matter
Sure they’ve faced some tough pitchers but yeah, they’ve mostly struggled mightily. Tough to watch them “hit.”
If this offense doesn’t improve a little the losses are going to start to pile up. My biggest problems = Friedl, Mclain, Suarez, Hayes oh Heck everybody but Stewart and Elly.
What is Tito doing? Get Abbott out! Should have had 2 RPs warmed up and ready before Miami came to bat!
Doesn’t matter how many runs AA gives up in this game. One is all the Marlins will need.
Sure…burn up the pen warming up 2 guys at once.
Weak call at 2nd…
Somebody wake Tito up please!
This is not a knock on him but Abbott just is not ace material. As it stands now Burns is the best starter with Lauder 2nd.
Even the Marlins announcers said it was a bogus call.
That’s how you get out of a based loaded jam with one out!
It’s ok Abbott, your offense gave you 2 hits and 0 runs to work with.
Great job by Johnson….but that call at 2nd base by the first base ump goes down as one of the worst calls I have ever seen in my years and years of watching baseball….even the marlins broadcast team could not believe it
+10,000
It makes me believe that it’s an umpire trying to be relavent in a game where his judgement is, little by little, becoming a non-factor because of replay and auto-strike zone. Soon, all balls & strikes will be called for them and the only thing they will be deciding (without checked by replay) is check swings. A blow to their ego for sure
MMC gets the 1st error of the year with that stupid call
Outstanding job by Pierce Johnson to get out of a bases loaded jam and keep the deficit at 2 runs!
It’s probably just me, but Cowboy isn’t toning down Sadak enough tonight. Apparently his “word bag” is overflowing and he’s fixin’ to use them all.
Our Boyz not showing up on O doesn’t help either
6 outs from a complete game shutout! Yikes!
Another good challenge from TySteve
Great inning Franco.
We need a bloop and a blast
Alcantara unhittable for our nearly hitless Redlegs tonight.
83 pitched through 8 innings is brilliant. Wow.
Reds just ran into a guy on the top of his game tonight.The fact they are also last in baseball in runs scored didn’t help at all.Reds will have to figure it out at the plate.Guys I am sure are trying but at some point if things don’t change,other players will need to be given chances.I dont’ expect that any time soon but it will have to happen because of the great pitching so far and it can not be wasted nor expected night after night.GO REDS
I remember this was said many times last season….so at the trade deadline the reds got Hayes to play 3rd….unreal
Alcantara keeps pitching like this, the Dodgers will get a good pitcher at the deadline.
Seven of Reds’ starters tonight batting .200 or less. Ouch!
Now I get it Lowe hitting for Hayes right there and hindsight is always 20/20 but he and Benson should have been in the lineup tonight.Much better chance with them getting 3 at bats then Hayes and Steer.Our righties had little chance tonight.If a righty goes tomorrow got to believe we see them.
I’m afraid we’re gonna have to wipe this night off the books and focus on tomorrow. Mathematically possible but highly unlikely.
I’m checking out of the comment brigade and shutting the laptop down. Maybe a slice of First Wife’s cheesecake will ease my pain tonight … 😉
Save some of that cheesecake. Not going to be any easier tomorrow.
It was only a matter of time before the Reds extremely anemic offense resulted in a shutout loss!
This is one poor offensive team. Great pitching, no question, but heading for their 2nd shutout of the season and easily now the fewest runs scored in MLB.
Lowe and Benson should have started today.
Tito must have a good reason why they didn’t?
I will keep saying it, winning with this bad of an offense is not possible. After tonight 7 and 4 with 28 runs in 11 games = 2.54 runs per game.
I’m sure Alcantara could not wait to get on the mound today against this weak reds lineup
Nice bunt attempt TJ . SMH
Good move by the Marlins to keep Alcantara. No runs allowed in 3 starts so far! Reds Offense is almost unwatchable, and I don’t even watch the games!
How did MM hit a double on that pitch? Hope
I was a little suprised that Elly was taking that 2-0 pitch all the way….thought he would try to crush it
Take em deep Suarez
Smart pitching, not going to let Suarez beat you. Make Steer do it. Hopefully he can get a hit.
Hey, this team *is* fast!
Thank you very much. I was hoping for that. 🙂
Whew!!
Oh wow, wild pitch?! Crazy the Reds have a chance to win this game.
Nice way to tie it up Reds!
Well, they can’t hit, but they are fast and are playing with a targeted aggression that’s been missing for years. And they won’t be shutout today. May not win, but now there’s a chance.
I still can’t believe they took out Alcantara. Cowboy is right: as soon as they took him out, the Reds likely believed they now had a chance. Thank you, Miami.
Yeah, bad move in hindsight. Can’t imagine back in the day a Manager would ever take out Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux etc. with one out in the 9th when they’ve been pitching a shutout.
Great baserunning by the Reds with McLain, De La Cruz, then De La Cruz coming home on the Wild Pitch. Not many players in MLB would have scored or tried to score on that wild pitch.
Hopefully Reds can get to the 10th. It’s about time for Hayes to break out!
Oh Hayes isn’t in the game sorry! Time for Lowe to break out!
Cheesecake was good.
Eating it while watching us claw back into this is better.
Thanks 😉
Uh! you shouldn’t walk the ninth batter in this moment Pagán…
Steer and other Reds struggling hitters must go after fastball in early count. Can’t look at 4 seamers or singers over the plate in early count and then swing at pitches out of strike zone in later count. Anyhow, MM started the rally. Game is not over until…I finish my walk
IF only Friedl had tried to bunt for a hit leading off the ninth instead of trying to be a BIG BOY and fly out for the third time.
Agree with you. It’s been his archillie heel.
Emilio Pagan needs to be replaced at closer
ASAP
That along with closers in tie ball games rarely seem to go well!
Not sure if Emilio Pagan or Ricky Karcher tonight.
Definitely Ricky Karcher
Pagan, walks are bad, mmmkay.
Pagan isn’t doing it for me
It’s often not simple with Pagan. Why are they paying him top closer money? He’s second rank.
Oftentimes a walk is better than giving up a hit for closers. No harm no foul.
Thank you Pagan.
We are going to the extras, folks…
That a boy Pagan
Lets put the ball in play Tyler
Put Dane Meyer in to run for TS
Pagan… no need to make it more exciting than it needs to be. Oh, baby.
Pitchers should have to pay a fine for every BB they give up. Higher fines for leadoff walks. Ha.
Come on, get Steer in.
Aggressive running game is really paying off. Different way to generate offense.
You can’t K with a runner on third
Horrible Marte…he should be send down to Louisville
LOWE!!
Thank you!!
Lowe! he should have more ABs…
Yep, DH and Suarez at 3rd!!!
Lets go Lowe
We gotta lead.
Pro AB right there Lowe.
Lookie there
Why did myer run for Lowe and not TS ?
Burn 1 player instead of 2
As it turned out , Trevino was injured/unavailable last night. Otherwise you 100% run for TS right there. Fortunately the Friedl walk happened.
LOVE it McLain!
Did McLain just miss it?
MCLain comes thru!! 5-2 Reds!
Mighty Mac 🙂
Oh.My.WORD!!!
MMC!!!!
OFF the Wall!!!
Clears the bases!!!
2 rbi
Almost clears the bases
Break out game for MM. Break out game.
Who will be pitching the bottom on the inning?
I think they said Ashcraft was warning.
Hope he is on it tonight!
Big enough lead now – time to put Franco in to soak up some innings (jk, jk).
Already pitched!!
jk = just kidding. They’re stealing this one, and he had a huge role. Good for him.
What a weird game. Can’t do anything offensively until late but once Alcantara is lifted we come alive. I’ll take it!
BREAKING NEWS: Reds can score more than 2 runs in a game
Jobu likes extra innings
Four walks (2 each) by Reds RPs Franco & Pagan! Can’t keep doing that and win!
Are you on tape delay or something?
LOL, yeah that comment came out of nowhere!
Sorry! Yep, had that comment queued up but forgot to post it earlier!
MMC gets the rally started with a double in the 9th, then puts it away with a double in the 10th. Incredible!
Nothings been put away.
What a game!
Wow. We definitely have a little magic this year. Your closer is a tie is not to my liking, but it worked.
I think Ashcraft comes in. What a turnaround. Great clutch hitting there late, and walks by Stephenson and Friedl who had struggled earlier in the game.
Come on Graham. Slam the door shut. Settle down.
Reds Win!
REDS WIN!!! REDS WIN!!!
Nice win. They lost a lot of these games last year.
And the year before that, and the year before that, and . . .
Back from the dead 😮
Night friends
Wow, what a win. Did not expect that one. The Marlins Manager is going to be thinking that over for awhile taking out Alcantara. But Reds even with their weak Offense overall, showing more maturity it seems this year, and confidence. 8-3 is a great start. Gives you breathing room not too panic about the Offense and just let things kind of play out for now.
Glad they took Alcantara out. 🙂 Very doubtful we score six runs with him still in there.
YESS! Reds WIN! come from behind victory… This game looked impossible througout 8 innings… Incredible… Nice pitching again and the offense comes thru… McLain and Lowe were key in the 10th
Ain’t that a wonderment. Looked impossible in the top of the ninth. I think I would have stuck with Alcantara. Understand why they didn’t, but it woke the Reds up. Still didn’t hit much but they won.
Back from the dead. like most I had little hope. 8 and 3 keep it going boys.
And in first place with a positive run differential . If they could hit, first place could become a recurring theme.
Have watched 1,000’s of MLB games since 1961 and that is one of the weirdest games ever! Reds looked dead in the water going into the 9th inning with only 2 hits and NO runs! THEN they score 6 runs on 4 hits! Unbelievable!
For sure, the whole dynamic changed when they pulled Alcantara. I thought that was a bad move for the Marlins. Thanks to the Marlins Manager!!!
Make that 3 hits! I think!
What a great win!
On a separate note, ahinds wasnt in the boc score of the Bats game tonight. Anyone know why that might be? What’s up?
He was in but was scratched for some reason. Me doesn’t know why at this point.
We scored when we needed to. That’s how I think about it. MM doubled and Elly walked, that chased Sandy and opened up the floodgate. What a game.
Reds should be one of the very best baserunning teams in the league. The last two games they’ve finally looked like it.
Great games for Johnson, Franco and Lowe under the radar.
I think we saw exactly what Terry said about having a veteran bat like Nate Lowe coming true.
100%. Professional hitter
I’d still like to see a little help from Louisville with some sticks, but these early wins build some confidence. Fake it til you make it
Huge victory there!
Please tell me Tito Francona doesn’t make a difference.
It’s not all him but my goodness, he makes a big difference.
He does, but some people on here will never see that.
Best Reds manager since Pete McKannin and Sweet Lou.
Infield coach Freddie Benavides is not doing a very good job at teaching Big Sal how to play 1B. Unfortunately that is ultimately on Tito as well.