The Detroit Tigers played long ball late on Sunday afternoon to help them rally and score six runs. That helped them avoid being swept in a 3-game series as they defeated the Cincinnati Reds 8-3 to wrap up the series in front of 31,377 fans at Great American Ball Park.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Tigers (15-14) | 8 | 12 | 1 |
| Cincinnati Reds (18-10) | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| W: Hurter (3-0) L: Moll (1-1) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
Detroit scored four runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth against Cincinnati relievers to turn around what had been a 3-2 Reds lead after the first six innings. Seven of the Tigers’ 12 hits went for extra bases, including three homers. But the Reds still won the three-game series, two games to one.
As this post went live, the Reds maintained their first-place standing by one-half game over the Chicago Cubs, whose game against the Los Angeles Dodgers just started out west. Pending the results of other games still underway, all teams in the National League Central Division are still at .500 or above.
The Offense
Reds’ hitters composite box-score line: 7-for-34 (.206), 2 walks, 7 strikeouts and the 3 runs scored.
Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the second inning:
DH Nate Lowe powered a solo shot against righthanded starter Keider Montero into the lower portion of the moon deck in right field, pulling the home team within a run at 2-1. It marked Lowe’s fourth homer in the three-game series, and third consecutive game with a long ball. It’s been a while since the Reds have had someone classified as a bench player who produced like that when given a shot to play every day.
Cincinnati missed a chance in the third when TJ Friedl reached third on a double to left-center and an error by centerfielder Matt Vierling. Matt McLain followed with a walk, but Elly De La Cruz struck out swinging and Sal Stewart flied out to right to end the inning.
In the fourth, with two out, JJ Bleday hit his first Cincinnati Reds and GABP homer, a solo shot, to tie the score at 2-2. It was his second consecutive impressive plate appearance, having started down in the count 0-2 his first time up and then patiently drawing a walk. Following the home run, his major-league OPS for 2026 was a gaudy 5.000.
A similar opportunity occurred in the fifth. Ke’Bryan Hayes led off with a triple to right field. With the infield in, Friedl hit one right at the second baseman for the first out. But Matt McLain came through, hitting a double to left to score Hayes for a 3-2 Reds lead. But De La Cruz struck out looking for the second out, and Stewart grounded out to end the inning.
No Reds hitter had more than one hit or one RBI in the game.
The Pitching
Cincinnati hurlers’ composite box-score line: 9 innings, 12 hits, 5 walks, 3 homers, and 6 earned runs among the 8 total.
Starter Rhett Lowder struggled with his control in the first inning. In the first inning with two outs and a runner on first, Lowder allowed a single and a walk to load the bases, followed by a double to right field by Kerry Carpenter to score two and give the Tigers the early 2-0 lead. Despite issuing just the one walk, Detroit hitters were patient while Lowder was running up the pitch count with pitches just outside the zone.
As the game progressed, so did Lowder’s effectiveness. He struck out the side in order in the third inning, followed by a scoreless fourth. His 30-pitch first inning contributed to his pitch count reaching 80 at the end of the fourth.
Ahead 3-2 in the top of the sixth inning:
Lefthander Brock Burke entered to replace Lowder, who allowed six hits, a walk and the two first-inning runs while striking out seven. The timing of the pitching change left Lowder in line to earn the win if the Tigers would not tie or take the lead before the end of the game. Burke surrendered a leadoff double to Spencer Torkelson, followed by consecutive one-out walks to Vierling and pinch-hitter Jahmai Jones. Catcher Jake Rogers struck out looking, and hot rookie Kevin McGonigle flied out to left-center to end the threat.
Sam Moll entered in the seventh. Leadoff batter Gleyber Torres reached on an error by Hayes, followed by a two-run homer to center by pinch-hitter Hao-Yu Lee to put Detroit ahead 4-3. An out later, Manager Terry Francona summoned righty Pierce Johnson, who surrendered a solo shot to Torkelson — his fifth straight game with a homer. Carpenter followed with a triple to right, and scored on a Vierling sacrifice fly, leaving the Reds down 6-3 after six and a half.
Jose Franco walked McGonigle with one out in the eighth, followed by a Torres blast to make it 8-3 Tigers. It was the 19th homer in a three-game series at Great American Ball Park, tying the all-time stadium record.
One fan’s thoughts
I was looking at some OPS-plus stats recently. They give an indication of how a hitter’s performance compares to an average hitter, with an OPS-plus score of 100 indicating the hypothetical average hitter. Spencer Steer prompted my interest in OPS-plus when I saw his number, which was very close to 100. (Prior to today’s game, it was 98.) I wondered, is Steer really considered the (nearly) average hitter?
For a bit of perspective, I grew up on baseball in the 1970s and 1980s, when a .250 average was considered average. Steer has a .242 career average, according to Baseball Reference, which says his career OPS-plus is 1o1. Really?
Yes, really. I checked, and the major league composite batting average this year is .241. I’m not as consumed with baseball stats as I was at a younger age, but that surprised me. From the Cincinnati standpoint, unsurprisingly, the team leaders in OPS-plus prior to today’s game were Stewart (175), De La Cruz (147) and Lowe (142). That indicates they are 75, 47 and 42 percent above major league average in hitting production, respectively. On the other end of the spectrum, Hayes was at -4, and Noelvi Marte at -7, indicating they are 104 and 107 percent below average, respectively.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Colorado Rockies at Cincinnati Reds
Tuesday, April 28, 6:40 p.m. ET
TBD vs. Chase Burns (2-1, 2.57 ERA)
Marte 4 for 5. Time to bring him back.
Best line of the day was Reggie Sanders in the background when McLain doubled. “Man..this team is effing awesome”
Not yet. Needs to hit AAA longer and work on his attitude. Otherwise, he’ll be right back to where he was when sent down.
What exactly is his attitude problem? What proof do you have of it? Tough to make that kind of claim unless the manager or the club has made that accusation. “Everybody knows it” doesn’t work.
He and so many others have zero evidence of an attitude problem. But they will say it with their full chest out.
I don’t think Marte has an attitude issue. He has lots of raw talent but I think he could play “smarter.” He’s still quite young. He’ll get it.
Have you guys not seen Francona’s comments on Marte? Or the conversations that some of Tito’s assistants have had with Marte? It’s not my opinion. It’s been commented on in the media.
What was commented on was not an attitude problem. It was an application problem. And one that was addressed according to the same people you want us to listen to.
Just one of those days. Back on track Tuesday, hopefully
Ideally, you want guys to be better than league avg., but that is just not a reality. If you can have 3-4 guys over average, then the next hurdle, is to have as few guys under average as possible. Steer is a guy that isn’t hurting you.
I think Steer, will be above average by season’s end. He’s hit a boatload of balls to the wall or warning track. The warmer weather will aid his cause.
Probably not. He’s had one season out of five with an above average OPS+.
I agree. I’ve wondered for a while why Steer is considered such an integral part of the offense. He might have slightly above average power but otherwise not much.
Vareds – Absolutely correct. I saw someone comment a couple weeks ago that RLN likes average performers. Well yes, we do, and we should. There’s value on average performers to fill out a team. As Hinds and Benson and CES and Marte and others have shown, it’s not easy to transition from ripping AAA pitching to even be average in MLB.
Marte needs more time in AAA. I am for playing Bleday regularly in the outfield for now.
Pirates and Cards just lost! Now we need the team with the highest payroll in MLB history to beat the Cubbies!
As for today’s game, Lowder deserved better! He thought Tito was sending in the fire department to close out the game and hold a one-run lead. Instead, we got the arson squad.
No worries! Reds won the series and the Reds get a day off before welcoming the Colorado Rockies to the Great American Launching Pad.
Can we get ABS on check swings?
No, since it is judgement
ABS for checked swings–or something equivalent–is evidently being tested in the low minors. It’s true, they’d have to establish firm criteria.
Per the linked article below, there is a trial going on in the AAA Pacific Coast League using “bat tracking technology” to determine check swings versus swings.
As with the ABS, the human umpires make the initial call, subject to challenge, with each team starting with 2 challenges. The article does not clearly say whether these are separate challenges in addition to the existing ABS challenges or an allowed use of the ABS challenges. This system was “tested” in the Florida State League and the Arizona Fall League in 2025.
https://www.mlb.com/news/new-rule-changes-coming-to-minor-leagues-in-2026
I don’t think this is an issue that can be resolved for technology. I think the ump’s judgment is inherently better than a hard-and-fast rule on what a swing is.
One example is a check swing on an inside pitch, where hitters shy away to avoid being hit by the pitch. Doing so inherently makes the bat more forward, often past perpendicular to the plate, but that’s only because his torso moved, not because he was actually “swinging.”
In this day and age, I’m in favor of more hitter-friendly check-swing interpretations. (And I think the large majority of block-charge calls in basketball are fouls by the defender.)
@OBE, There is a video on YouTube by Baseball America that attempts to explain what they will be measuring. I am not going to link it here and burn a lot of bandwidth, Doug may be charged for. Go to YouTube and search “Baseball America MLB Tests New Check-Swing Challenge Rules”, and hopefully it will come up (AI found the link for me).
As best as I can explain here, they measure the arc of the bat in reference to the intersection of the first and third base foul lines at the back point of home plate. If the arc is 45 degrees or more, it is a swinging strike.
The example shown in the video illustrated a successful check swing (not a strike). As I interpreted this, the head of the bat must at least touch (or cross) the vertical plane of the foul line the batter is facing.
I would have liked to have seen a strike too, as I think that would have helped me visualize better.
I’ll post the video/link
Can’t win ’em all, and can’t always expect the pitching to hold them to 3 runs or fewer.
As they say: every baseball team will win a third of their games, and every baseball team will lose a third of their games. It’s what you do in that last third that matters.
Just chalk this up as another drop in the “lose a third of their games” bucket.
Sparky Anderson said something very similar back in the 70s! When asked how much influence a manager has on the success of a MLB team he said, regardless of the manager, every team will win 50 games and lose 50 games! It’s what happens in the other 60 games that determines the success of most teams!
The Sparky quote I remember is (words to the effect) MLB teams will lose 1/3 of their games no matter what. Win 1/3 of their games no matter what. The manager can make a difference in about 5-10 games among the other 1/3 of games.
I’m a bit older Tom, and I recall the career years of Rico Carty and Norm Cash (look them up) – we may never see stats like those again. OTOH I also remember Bob Gibson’s 1968 – 300+ ip, 1.12 ERA (yes 1.12) and NINE losses. We will never see a line like that again.
Cash in 1961 and Carty in 1970 (I think).
I’ve been penciling in Lowe as the 5 hole hitter since we signed him.
To be fair I also have underestimated Stewart. Now I’d guess everyone would have underestimated the start he had so far, but I underestimated his mentality at such a young age.
Lowe needs to remain the DH/1B, and Suarez when he returns the 3B/DH.
I was not a big fan of getting Nathaniel Lowe, but he has done a great job when he was given a chance to play. Wrong about that, I was.
And yes, he should remain as either DH or 1st baseman with the Reds this year.
The Red’s ability to score runs will be strengthened if Lowe and Blueday are in the starting lineup.
bullpen gave up a bunch of runs this weekend. Hope the off day tomorrow helps.
This series is going to be interesting. The last several years we have had trouble handling teams we should beat. Already, we lost a series to the angels. We have to make sure we take care of business against bottom tier teams like the Rockies.
Thankfully the Dodgers leading the Cubs 5-0 going into the 7th inning! If the Dodgers hold on the Reds will still hold a one-game lead in the NL Central Division.
When, or if, Marte comes up and hits right handed pitching I don’t know if Steer can play against them.
Things were going good until that 7th inning when a disaster began with a Hayes error. That open the gates to the loss quickly. Unfortunately The Reds don’t have Ashcraft available today so the usual plan Ashcraft-Tony-Pagán wasn’t possible so Moll should come in the scene in a 3-2 lead. After that Johnson didn’t have it today either.
Next series vs Rockies. Reds should be careful about these Rockies and play hard against them. They have losing record but they aren’t so weak as last year…
It looked good when Burke wiggled out of bases loaded, but stuff happens. I didn’t see their triple to right with Steer, but I wouldn’t think its ideal to play him there. Bleday, Hinds, and Marte with the veterans. Idk? Surely Tito can find enough there to help out? We need Lodolo & Suarez back.
The Reds need to win this Rockies series and then its on to inter-divisional play. Of course thats where the division will be won or lost, but what 18-10 (or 20-11) does is get you in position to be in position. We’re not 10+ out like the Mets and Phillies. We’re actually in first so thats a great start!
Ball followed the wall instead of bouncing off. Bad luck.
IMO, it was misplayed due to inexperience. He failed to use the wall as a defender. If he set up to block the ball from going where it went, the worst that could have happened was it would have gone dead up against the wall or been kicked out a bit in front of him, making it an easy pickup to hold the runner to a double. Instead, he played it halfway and got badly burnt.
IMO, when the ball hugged the wall, it was going to be a triple whether he caught it or not. It only brought the runner having a chance to go home into play, which would have made it a triple and an error. Instead, it was just a triple.
Saw this the other day. Trade proposal:
1. In July the Reds trade Brady Singer to a team looking to add a SP. Singer is a FA after the season so they trade him now or get nothing.
Replacement for the Reds in the rotation would be Hunter Greene.
Rotation: Greene, Lodolo, Abbott, Burns, Lowder
Depth: Williamson, Petty, Aguiar, Franco, Sando
2. Reds trade Pagan to a team needing to add a RP.
Replacement: Hunter Parks
3. Reds trade prospects to the Houston Astros. Teams that acquire Singer and Pagan send prospects to the Astros.
4. Astros send Yordan Alvarez to the Reds.
This is dependent upon the health of the SP and bullpen come July but I like this trade. Come December the Reds can always trade Yordan for prospects that will more than replenish what they lose in the trade if they want.
I don’t think we have enough innings in the arms of our starters here even with Singer. We trade him and we’d be fine n a real bind.
1) Trade Friedl, and Steer, get a swingman or two.
2) Trade Pagan
I don’t know if we got the prospects to acquire Alvarez, but I’d be pumped if we got him.
Are you sure Abbott can be counted on?
How about innings limits on Lowder, BWill, Burns?
Yordon is a huge asset. They’re going to want more than what Pagan/Singer would bring back.
In my opinion, Yordan Alvarez with 2 more years of control after this would set off a bidding war all across MLB.
I don’t think Lowder would be a headliner. Maybe, but I doubt it. More likely the Reds would need to part with Burns and other prospects for something like that, or the Astros will move on to a team that will offer a Burns type player.
Lowder again rebounds after a rough first inning. Settled down and did what he could. Gave the Reds a chance. Bad bullpen day. It happens. Still a series win against a good team. I am thankful that we missed Skubal.
Bleday and Lowe providing the deep shots. Bleday with 2 great at bats. Lowe works counts. Hayes and Friedl with some nice hits and even better hustle on the base paths. Offense showing some better results.
Bring on the Rockies. Reds need to keep stacking wins in a competitive division. Go Reds!
Great to hear Lodolo threw 39 of his 51 pitches for strikes in his rehab start. Nice to have him back in the rotation hopefully soon.
I would think that Lodolo needs at least one more rehabilitation start, to get his arm strength up to pitch at least 5 innings once he joins the Reds rotation again.
I think it is likely that Bleday is here to stay, as Benson has not done much of anything as a left-handed hitting outfielder. One wonders who goes when Geno Suarez returns from the DL. I am not sure what the Reds thinking is about Noelvi Marte being recalled, and would they then send Rece Hinds back down in exchange?
Further down the rabbit hole, Trevor Kuncl, Tejay Antone , Lyon Richardson and Yunior Marte are all pitching pretty well (overall) at AAA Louisville. None of them are on the 40 man roster. Who goes off the 40 man if one of them is needed up at the ML level? I am not convinced that Jose Franco is the right answer at this point in time, but does have a good future.
I think I’d keep Marte at Triple A and just let him dominate down there and he’d then be one of the main prospects in a trade deadline deal for a hitter. Yes he could be the hitter to get you over the top, but if the Reds keep moving towards a 90 win team that needs a hitter or 2 I would desire a more established veteran hitter.
If you want Marte to build his trade value, then you’d have him in the majors producing instead, especially if he were a better option than the guys in the majors. Keeping a guy in the minors just because he’s dominating is absolutely ridiculous. Even if we ignore other teams seeing right through that, why would anyone put the team at a competitive disadvantage to sell low on a talented player? Also some pretty poor optics for all the org’s player’s perspectives if a team were doing that. Not seeing the logic there, the Reds may as well find out what they ultimately have in him in that case.
@Jeremiah
If Marte is good enough to be a main prospect in a trade for a hitter, then he’s good enough the be THE hitter.
In 2019, Nick Senzel would have fetched a huge return. Scouting your own prospects is so important.
“In 2019, Nick Senzel would have fetched a huge return. Scouting your own prospects is so important.”
Seems like I remember Realmuto. If so he might have helped a little. 😉
Rockies a little better this year so won’t necessarily be as easy beating them this year. Reds just keep taking 2 out of 3 at least.
Tigers feel like a good team so to take 2 of 3 from them is pretty good.
Rockies just beat the Dodgers twice.
Looks like they will miss Dolander, who threw 7 shutout innings today
Dane Myers still leads the team in OBP and he is over .400 right now! You can’t count J.J. Bleday yet, is OBP is 1.000 today. He looks like he belongs in the Bigs.
We just got back from a 3 day weekend mini vacation and caught the last few innings on the radio. Clearly I am the bad luck guy and apologize for causing the loss.
Well, Brian, of course we blame YOU most of all. 🙂
Hope you had a nice vacation.
The vacation was very nice.
But I have decided that next time on our drive home that I will not turn the game on and jinx them and just wait until later and check the scores. Too important to risk that home field advantage in the playoffs.
Just saw the Rockies swept the Mets. Boy rough years for the Mets and Phillies! I wonder if maybe one of them turns it around? Still would be nice having Scwarber I think for a year or two but maybe Reds dodged a bullet a bit there too.
Seems like the man who came from the Browns to take over the Rockies operations has helped turn things around a bit.
Glad Lowder didn’t get pegged with L. He pitched too well for that. A rocky start, but he straightened it out.
I’m super glad we have Bleday up.
I wanted him over Benson, but like Benson I’m not sure if he’s the answer. I am however glad we are getting a chance to see if he is.
Won another series. Wish we could land a sweep. Too many walks today to get it done. As the weather is warming up, so is our hitting (but so is the other teams’ too).
I think your comments on Steer are interesting Tom. He is your average every day hitter but does have some power and also a knack for driving in runs. He will get his 20 homeruns this year if given playing time.
The problem is on the defensive end. I really don’t like him playing the outfield
We just have so many other defensive options. His best position is first base imo but he is the 4th option behind Syewart and Lowe
The Reds are right now kind of feeling there way lineup wise.We know Lowe and his career OPS+of 116 has to play but for me the key is what happens to Hayes at third and MM at second.i don’t expect either to be average on offense but how far below average will they be because their defense is good.For me I feel like it will come down to do we defend or do we hit.Right now I can see Sal at third and Elly and Steer up the middle with Lowe at first.Steer will give you 20 homers and the rest 25 or more.the outfield becomes Frield in left with Hinds in center and Marte in right.Geno is the DH with Steer spelling him to give MM some time at second.Now I don’t think for one second much if any of this will ever happen.
Right now, they are defending and hitting. More defense in the infield than the outfield. Their losses recently have largely come from the pitchers.
Just one loss. Time to put it behind and win on Tuesday.
Lowe with another HR. If he were on another team he would be considered a “Reds Killer” playing in Great American Ball Park. Probably should start him more at home at least? 😉
The off day today pushes Williamson out of the rotation into the bullpen and he can work in long relief. Lodolo only threw 51 in game pitches in 5 innings and probably a simulated 6th in the bullpen getting his pitch count to around 65-70. If there are no setbacks, I think he should make his next start for the Reds in the 2nd game vs Pittsburgh on 5/2, slotted between Singer and Lowder with Burns and Abbott to follow. I like splitting the 2 lefties so that a lefty pitches in every series with the exception of a 2 game series that we send out Lowder, then Burns. Looks like Ferguson will be sent out on a rehab assignment on Tuesday and should be back with the Reds barring setback or injury.
in about a week to 10 days should end the previous sentence.
Not previous, last sentence.
Also, my mistake. Should be on 5/1, the first game of the Pittsburgh series.
I think it was said that Lodolo was keeping away from his slider. Presumably he will reintroduce it.
For our hitting, as a team, we are 5th in MLB in BB%. Unfortunately, we are 3rd in K%. We are now 6th in ISO. We are dead last in AVG. 27th in OBP. We are 3rd in BsR.
For our pitching, we are 28th in K/9, 26th in BB/9, 26th in GB%, and 6th in HR/FB.
Four fielding, we are dead last in FRM, 3rd in DP (a major turnaround), and have had 0 PB.
Drawing walks and the ability to turn the DP has catapulted us this year.
How are we winning at all.
What is BsR? Help the statistically disinclined.
BsR is Fangraphs “base running value”
Winning every 1-2 run game. Obviously not sustainable so offense has to pick it up and have to iron out the rotation