The Cincinnati Reds had plenty of run-scoring chances on Friday night but they came up empty time after time. They would strand multiple runners on the bases several times and left 10 men on base throughout the game. Baltimore didn’t do much better but three runs was more than enough for the Orioles to pull out the win to open up the series.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Orioles (41-48) | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Cincinnati Reds (40-47) | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| W: Rogers (6-7) L: Singer (3-8) SV: Wells (1) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
Walks will haunt. So will errors. In the 1st inning of the game on Friday night that’s what happened when Brady Singer led off the game with a walk to Gunnar Henderson. After taking second base on a single he would steal third base and on the throw to third from Tyler Stephenson he came in to score when Stephenson airmailed the throw into left field to put the Orioles up 1-0.
Two innings later saw Baltimore add to their lead, but things could have been worse. The Orioles got a ground-rule double and then a walk to start the inning but Pete Alonso grounded into a double play to erase one of those runners. Five pitches later Samuel Basallo hit a 2-run home run to make it a 3-0 lead for the road team.
In the bottom of the inning the Reds would draw two walks but were unable to do anything with them. It was the second time in the game that Cincinnati had two men on base and stranded them both. The same thing happened again in the 5th inning. It happened again in the 6th inning.
From there neither team did a whole lot. The Reds got four shutout innings of relief from Caleb Ferguson, Chase Petty, and Julian Garcia to keep it 3-0, but in the bottom of the 9th they went down in order as the Orioles took the first game of the weekend series.
Key Moment of the Game
Samuel Basallo hitting a 2-run home run in the 3rd inning to make it a 3-run game.
Notes Worth Noting
Both teams managed just four hits. Both teams issued plenty of walks. The Reds went 0-5 with runners in scoring position while the Orioles went 1-4.
Elly De La Cruz had a steal in the bottom of the 3rd inning. It was the 150th steal of his career. That made him the youngest Reds player to reach 150 steals in their career since they began keeping track of them at some point in the 1880’s.
Ke’Bryan Hayes went 1-3 with a run scored while in his first rehab game with the High-A Dayton Dragons. He grounded out to third in his first at-bat, singled up the middle in the third inning at 103 MPH, and he grounded out weakly to shortstop in his final at-bat.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Baltimore Orioles vs Cincinnati Reds
Saturday July 4th, 7:10pm ET
Brandon Young (6-2, 3.11 ERA) vs Hunter Greene (season debut)
On WLW 700 Cowboy opined (wondered) whether the temperature and humidity conditions made Stephenson’s hands slippery, hence the bad throw.
More excuses, both teams played on the same temps
Saw a lot of empty seats tonight,that needs to happen regularly with this poor example of a professional baseball team on the field,two center fielders, one is hitting a buck 80 and the other is hitting a buck 94
In fairness, the starting CF (lately) is on the IL. Dunn is hitting 100 points higher than Friedl or McLain.
It didn’t sound like good news for Mr. Dunn during the television broadcast today. I believe the cortisone shot did nothing for his elbow.
What’s with the Reds putting short guys out there? Dunn is listed at 5’9, Friedl and McLain at 5’8 and McLain looked 2-3 inches shorter than Friedl when they were standing together so mighty Matty might be 5’6. I’d like to see a lanky, speedster out there myself.
I personally like that they draft pitchers early but maybe they could go with blazing speed next and shift from always drafting shortstops. I do like the speed that Dunn brings. A big power bat at 1B, 3B and LF has been missing forever too.
I think Joey Votto was a power bat at 1B.
I like short guys playing baseball! Especially Joe Morgan. 🙂
Oldtimer, Votto was in 21 when he hit 36 bombs. Other than that year, 15 was his high number in his last 6 years of playing.
Hah, forever is a lot longer for the Oldtimer than I suspect for you Brian.
Brian’s favorite song is “Short People” by Randy Newman.
Greene will be activated for the start tomorrow, what will be the transaction? Will Santillan move to the 60 day IL to accommodate Greene or do we see another DFA? Hayes could also move to the 60 day IL to delay a DFA situation. The 2 likely candidates to return to Louisville, Petty and Garcia both pitched tonight. Garcia, so far the feel good story. Like Cruz a few years ago. It was the splitter for Cruz and it’s the slider or slurve for Garcia. Petty seems to be adjusting well to the reliever role. Hayes made first rehab assignment with the Dragons going 1-3. Looks like Johnson will go back down when he’s ready. Don’t know the status of Dunn and Myers at the moment, but Friedl looks to be the one that will head to Louisville when one of them is ready. Greene looked good in his last rehab start, so I hope he finds the groove tomorrow. We need another losing streak stopper besides Burns.
I don’t think (not sure) that Hayes can move to 60 day IL while on rehab assignment.
According to the definition, players can be moved from the 10 day or 15 day IL to the 60 day IL at any time.
That is probably true but I wonder if 60-day IL players can go on rehab assignments.
Yes, 60-day IL players can go on rehab assignments just like other players. Hayes can be moved to the 60-day IL at the Reds discretion, especially if they believe he needs an extended rehab assignment. If he completes the 21 days he’s allowed to spend on his rehab assignment, he will have been on the IL for over 60 days.
OT>> Greene is currently on the 60 day IL and a rehab assignment.
If Hayes moved he could come off in a couple weeks when rehab assignment reaches its limit. Greene was on 60 and on rehab assignment so the two are mutually exclusive. This would allow Hayes available at trade deadline.
Hopefully a contender like the Dodgers or Yankees want a late inning defensive upgrade at third base.
I really hoped we would never see KBH again. He simply cannot hit but I guess he fits with a team that cannot hit? That was one terrible trade. I would lke to see what HROD could do.
He hit one 103mph though.
I’d prefer that pitchers like Greene and Burns be winning streak starters and extenders rather than losing streak stoppers.
Greene has always been the King of the Mound, what will his mental outlook be now that he is #2 at best.
I’m sick of a team with a history of great hitters constantly being unable to score runs. It is truly astounding to see how bad this team is at hitting a baseball.
Over the past 5 years Most savvy fans have clamored for the organization to improve the offense, especially the OF.
The FO ignored this and said they would win with speed, pitching and defense.
In 2026 the Reds do not steal bases, many of the pitchers have either been hurt or ineffective, and the defense has been bad.
How much more of this nonsense are fans supposed to take?
There are options. Number one is to get others together and storm GABP offices and take no prisoners. Actually take prisoners and do not release them until your demands for trades and signings are met. Number two is to answer Phil Castellini’s famous question and just go somewhere else. Stop following the team. Number three is to just take joy in the wins or even fun moments and not worry so much about the losses or bad moments for more than ten seconds.
There are probably more options and some might even be better ones. Maybe others can offer those up for you.
the idea is to win championships. It’s fun to see a good win (like Thursday) but they are few and far between.
I’d really enjoy seeing a fan or fans becoming unhinged enough to storm GABP and confront Phil. If it came to blows, They’d probably get more key hits in than the team has this entire season.
Agree, Jessecuster,
We play our home games in one of the most homer friendly parks.
Maybe build your team around playing at GABP?
We already have our share of GABP softball players – Suarez, Lowe, Stephenson, Trevino – and they are not banging 60+ HRs, driving in runs, or scoring runs. Maybe they a six pack or two? Think we be just as well served by a combination of speed and batting with some thump. A couple guys like the Brewers Chourio and Turang with 20/20 and 280 would suit me just fine. We have to go get these guys as I dont believe they exist in our recent (or near term) promotions from Louisville……Dunn, Arroyo, Marte, Bleday, etc. They are out there but you will have to trade a few prospects and open the cash drawer a little to get them. Or just keeping rolling along like you have the last 2-3 years and continuing to hope and expect these guys will become something they are not. Excepting a few cases – Santillian, Singer, Lowder, and Friedl come to mind -, the players are playing to the back of their baseball card. For some reason, we have a GM who believes they will do significantly better. It was obvious to many of us in March that we lacked a consistent offense and 28th in mlb kind of embosses that feedback. That terrible lack of offense on top of an unaddressed battered bullpen will get you closer to the bottom rather than the top.
Looking forward to watching Hunter Greene on the mound tomorrow. Let’s hope that he picks up right where he was last year. The playoffs are probably out of reach at this point but we can still have some fun watching these guys play if they do play well.
The frustrating thing is that it seems like the national media always gives the Reds’ ownership and management a pass. Other teams (such as the Angels, Marlins, Mets, Pirates-until this year) seem to continually get negative press directed at the top for lack of direction, lack of spending, etc. But with the brief exception of the 2022 tear down in Spring Training and Phil’s subsequent Opening Day comments, the Reds are ignored.
20-plus years of Castellini ownership and not a single playoff series win. Two TOTAL playoff games won during that span. Zero playoff series won in 31 years now. And the national press is mostly silent. No articles suggesting Krall should be on the hot seat. No articles or even paragraphs mentioning the futility of the Castellinis’ ownership tenure.
And one final thought…The Reds had a Friday night attendance on the Fourth of July weekend of 22,000. The Brewers had a Monday night attendance this week of 28,000, Wednesday 30,000, and Thursday 41,000. If you build it, they will come…
If you build it and sustain it, fans will come. Multiple years of success fuel the Brewer crowds.
Building it is one thing. Sustaining it another. You care correct.
I thinking having an indoor stadium really helps Milwaukee. Wish the reds would follow suit. My wife and daughter did not want to go to the game today because of the heat
I agree and have been advocating for quite some time that every new stadium built should at least have a retractable roof.
What I find interesting about gabp is that it is not the hitters ballpark people think.it is. The wind is usually blowing in from the river
Ithe ball dies in centerfield particularly
The walls are at 90 degree angles so the are virtually no gaps in the outfield.
Hard to pick up the ball at dusk.
Bot a surprise to me that the reds don’t score much at home
HRs are easier, but nothing else is. Bloops and bleeders don’t fall in like they do in bigger outfields
Old gaseous emissions like myself have actually seen this before with the Reds.
Just exchange Chase Burns for Mario Soto. Soto was the only reason to watch the Reds for virtually his entire career. Soto or don’t go….now its Burns
As a kid i distinctly remember my grandpa saying that all the time. We only watched the entire game if Mario was on the bump. He definitely didn’t say it about Wayne Krenchicki or Dan Bilardello. Those teams were bad bad. In later years, Nick Esasky would frustrate him. Ol Nick would be perfect on this team (especially the 1986 version) all the potential but too streaky.
Lookin forward to some Hunter Greene action tonight.
Bullpen did really well lastnight as did Elly. Nice to see his two stolen bases. Still not impressed with Marte as he isnt the hitting savior that he showed in triple A. His defense is shaky. Suarez is literally hot and miss and that is frustrating as well.
Today is a new day and everything. May watch the game, however our dog isnt doing well. Appears to be heading towards the rainbow in the sky. Hopefully he doesn’t.
Peace
🙁
Very sorry to hear about your dog, Kevin H. That’s a tough deal.
So sorry to hear that Kevin, those are always tough days. Ours is 13 and I worry every day.
Very sorry to hear about your dog, Kevin. 🙁
Sorry to hear about your dog, Kevin. It’s always difficult to lose a family member, four-legged or otherwise. 🙁
All the animals we have loved are waiting for us on the other side.
Wishing you the best with your dog. Hang in. We’ve had to let two go on their way over the last 3 years. They’d been part of our pack of three for over a decade.
The third guy is 16 and showing signs that the pack is going to be back together on the other side sooner rather than later.
But I would not trade a moment of the joy they’ve brought to spare the sorrow of their departure.
+10000000.
My condolences. My Jack Russell is 17 and really alot of work. He can’t hold himself and its a constant cleanup….but we love them
“ Still not impressed with Marte as he isnt the hitting savior that he showed in triple A. His defense is shaky.”
I absolutely agree.
I am so sorry about your dog Kevin. It’s so painful to lose a family pet. I do hope he gets better.
Watched a bit on my phone while playing a game with First Wife, DD#1, and The Boyfriend.
Another heaping helping of SFP!!
Sometimes I think that Larkin ought to become the manager. He always talks about hitting the ball the other way and I remember that he did it as a player almost every time. When the Reds hitters put it into practice things go much better and still enough batted balls go over the fence. However, I can’t believe that Tito does not preach the same thing. Do the players have the freedom to choose whether to follow directives? It sure looks like it sometimes and it is maddening.
Barry Larkin wanted the Reds to sign Kevin Farmer to a ling big term deal and Mae him team Captain.
Barry Larkin was a great player, but I don’t find his commentary particularly insightful. He doesn’t seem to have embraced analytics. Despite what one might think of analytics, it does have a role in the game.
If I was going to hire a member of the Reds broadcast team to manage the team it would be Chris Welsh. At least he is open to use new ideas and tools.
But seriously, if the Reds are hire a new POBO, a GM and field Manager they should come from outside the organization. At least in my view.
Moving Elly to CF would help the reds so much. Not saying it would be the right thing to do but it would solve CF and improve the defense at SS.
Elly has made 6 errors this season, gets to balls a lot of shortstops can’t, including McLain, and has a fielding pct. better than guys like Turner and Abrams. That’s the same number of errors as Witt, though Elly has about 45 fewer chances. And compared to prior years, it’s a major step forward. Why on earth should the Reds consider moving him now? Arroyo has been adequate, as in better than Hayes, but not setting the world on fire. McLain looks like a trade candidate to me or a future AAA player. Who plays SS for the Reds if you move Elly to CF? Wouldn’t a better option be for Krall to sign some legitimate OFer’s?
Agree that Elly has made huge strides on defense. However, his fielding percentage is a little misleading, as the official scorer has ruled hits on a few balls he should have played to hear Cowboy describe it. Would NOT move him during the season though. Those experiments are for spring training.
Hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday today.
It sure does feel like this season is rapidly slipping away.
The Reds are closer to having the worst record in all of baseball (5 games ahead) than they are to a wildcard spot (7 games back).
And looking ahead to September’s schedule, if the Reds aren’t a few games above .500 on September 1st, then there’s really no reasonable way you could expect them to finish above .500 for the season.
I mean sure, it’s POSSIBLE. But I haven’t seen anything from this team that makes me think they are suddenly going to find ways to beat the Brewers and Dodgers.
That ship has sailed. Barring an extraordinary run, the season was over in late May, early June. It’s nearly impossible to catch up at this point. And as last night showed, they aren’t that motivated. Tito needs to kick some rears and tell Krall to get it together.
LDS – many here would say that your recommendation for Tito is asking him to be too harsh to the players, who clearly want to win and are trying their hardest.
I applaud your recommendation, and will gladly bring the tar and feathers if it comes to that.
LDS, I agree. It appears the players are playing out the string and/or looking for some spark that isnt likely when you continue losing to your Division foes. Maybe 6-1 against the Brewers instead of 1-6 would have been that spark. But while they are professionals, there is really nothing to play for at this point other than the hunt for the spark. Kind of like the impending company shutdown. Maybe they could show a little more energy but that has to bring Ws or it feels wasted. No, I feel the players are close to the point of a disappointing season looking for those few upcoming moments when we win a few in a row. Some may even be awaiting the possibility of greener pastures and exciting meaningful games in September and October.
You could be right @Rob2. Cincinnati isn’t a favored destination for most players. Some would argue that it’s just an artifact of “small” market. I think it’s more an reflection of the front office. Krall’s annual speech on buying vs. selling, i.e., depends on how the team plays is hardly the kind of thing that motivates players. Nor is their unwillingness historically to engage with impending free agents. The players may or may not like Tito and his style. But, I have a hard time imagining that any of them are motivated by the organization’s unwillingness to invest in winning.
The Athletic released a non-scientific survey assessing which franchises the players prefer. They prefer to play for the teams with the bigger payrolls–no surprise there. Yet, we continue to hear that MLB doesn’t have a parity problem. When teams enter every season with an advantage in building their rosters, the league has a problem.
Hah…tell your boss to get it together. I suppose he could say, “I quit!” but I’d be surprised if he’d walk away from the challenge.
When you consider what was expected this has been the worst year for myself and Reds baseball in over 60 years. The team had a good start but since May 1st are 20 and 36. It’s not only the record but they are poor fundamentally and boring as can be. Tito has not done a good job and the players have been horrible. My grades Starting pitchers = B- they would grade higher but they give no length, take out Burns = A+ and they would drop to a C- Bull pen = D would be an F but they were decent in April, Fielding = C there have been some nice plays but way to many mistakes, Hitting = D- has been horrible all season, one the worst offenses in baseball, maybe the worst, Base running = D- really hard to grade because they are so boring on the base paths, Fundamentals – F nothing else to say, Coaching = D that is a gift see Fundamentals, General Manager and Front Office = F- that is as low as I can go or it would be lower. All things considered they are lucky to be 40 and 47 however I expect that to get much worse the next 4 months. I am looking at 90 plus losses, hopefully that will be enough to convince Tito to retire. Poor hire, this team needed a young manager with a lot of fire in the belly not an older guy who just sits back and watches.
This rebuild failed and there isn,t enough help in the minors to change that near term. Signing multiple big FA’s would be the only way out, which we know the Reds won’t do even assuming anyone would won’t to come to a perennial mediocre to bad franchise. Time to blow it all up again ala White Sox and lean into what they know how to do best…become really really bad. Trade Greene, Elly, Abbot, Lodolo and keep maybe Burns, Stewart, Arroyo for the next try.
The one problem is, do you trust Krall to make those trades?
He has been pretty terrible at getting good value back for his best pieces.
I don’t trust Krall to implement any strategy, when he spends he signs guys like Ke’Bryan or Candelario, when he trades he trades for guys like Gavin Lux for real prospects. You are right that any strategy is probably doomed as long as the present management is in control. Prepare to suffer more
Exactly. I shudder to think what he would trade Elly and Greene for, if/when it comes to that.
Any organization that can’t find a decent center fielder to fill in for an injured starter (Dunn) is pathetic. Friedl? McLain? No other team runs guys like that out regularly. It’s the halfway point and they’re looking up at Mendoza AND they are sub-mediocre in the field… Seriously…
I doubt there are many teams out there who are having to start the guy 3rd on their depth chart in center field due to injuries. So even if we go with “no one else is playing someone as bad as Friedl”, it’s probably not an equal comparison since I’d venture to guess at least 25 other teams don’t have their starter and backup center fielder on the injured list right now.
Reds have only 4 more wins than Colorado. They are that close to rock bottom.
So, when the season started the Reds were looking like a 1st place team and were until weaknesses showed up. The starting pitching was suspect, but the bullpen did well, until they didn’t. Walks have haunted this team all year. Brady Singer and Nick Lodolo have both been disappointing. (my opinion, of course) Getting Hunter Greene back will help, but not save the season. Getting Emilio Pagan back will also help, but he was disappointing as well before he got hurt. Having to play Matt McClain and Eugenio Suarez is killing rallies as well. Strikeout kings for this team! Anyway, with all that said, I believe the bullpen is their biggest problem. These guys have to throw strikes and avoid giving up home runs. We are only 1/2 thru the season, so they can turn it around and at least not be such an embarrassment to Major league baseball.
I bet the Rays the other day to win the AL East. They’re 4 up on NY & 5 in the loss column and I swear we have more talent.
They have 3 big hitters though and they always pitch well and play defense. #2 in hitting doesn’t hurt either. The other night they had a man on 2nd and 2 outs…and got three 2 out rbi hits in a row. We can’t get 1 in a series most of the time
Something I hinted at a couple of days ago was that better “talent,” as defined by physical skills, does not always equate with better results if the player(s) don’t know how to play the game of baseball. This is where the Reds may be stuck with several players in several ways.
I am as optimistic as any Reds fan having been around for 65 years.I am a realist as well and have narrowed my expectations.The Reds simply can’t hit and if your only course to improve is by drafting and developing you own hitters then so be it.I will look to see what the younger hitters do nightly.Thats Elly Sal Marte and Arroyo.I will of course check on Burns,Lowder and Petty and any other young players that show up.Time to reset and move forward with younger players.If the Reds are going to pay Tyler and Steer next year that’s great.If not them trade them and that goes for anybody else they plan not to sign.I would also seriously consider a new hitting strategy or new people to convey the old one cause it ain’t working.Situational hitting and the oppo approach is a must but is foreign to this team.Putting the ball in play is also foreign.Homers and strikeouts identify this teams hitting strategy which is swing hard and hope you make contact and it clears the wall.Nothing good can happen unless you make contact with the ball.
Get Steer over to help my Rays lol. I would probably add 2 years to every possible trade candidate because whatever is left of 2027 (if anything) won’t be worth watching. 100 game season or something. No way the players union agrees to anything because they’ve ran amuck for too long. Steer will be 30 in April 2028
I agree RG. You have the 4 position players pegged for sure
I know Doug is planning a mid season prospect update after the draft, but is there a preview maybe of 1- 2 players who are rocketing up the list??
Maybe Carlos Sanchez, who was unranked but in the conversation for the final spot on my list. But there are a lot more guys who have their stock down quite a bit than guys who have their stock up quite a bit. A guy like Carter Graham has his stock way up, but he’s certainly not rocketing up the list because I’m still not sure he’s a Top 25 guy. But he’s at least in the conversations now and before the season began he probably wasn’t even a Top 100 in the org guy.
All right I be the first, let’s pretend the season starts today with Hunter Green’s first game. Had he not been injured he would have pitched Opening Day. Therefore let’s pretend that today is the Opening Day that would have been and start this miserable season all over again. I will wake up from this dream soon.
It all started with this ridiculous miscommunication between HG & the Reds. I would think Tito would huddle up everyone after they got back from LA last October.
“Hey how does everyone feel? If you have anything nagging or any concerns, lets deal with it now so we’re ready to roll next year”
They are highly paid professionals right?
So disappointed in this season. I had such high hopes – but I was worried about the outfield.
We just don’t have enough good players on the offensive side of the ball. Steer McLain, Friedl, Stephenson and Marte are just not very good players. A couple are average but most are well below average. We need to trade every one of them we can a decent prospect for and start over at those positions.
I would never have predicted the bullpen would have collapsed like it has. We actually had a strong bullpen (on paper) coming into the season.
Sigh….
Agree
I believe the jury is still out on Marte.
He’s only had 791 at-bats. 37 doubles, 26 HRs, and 29 steals. Idk? It feels like he’s getting better in RF, but I quit watching for the most part.
And Steer & Stephenson? C+ or so….everyone has some of them including the Dodgers.
Tito summed it up when he said when you don’t get a lot of hits and you get opportunities you have to cash in and we don’t and we didn’t.Tito believes in his players and has said that they will perform to the back of their card.I usually tend to believe that unless age or injury or the back of the card shows a steady decline.Reds have several players that fit those categories.Geno 35,Freidl 31,Tyler 30 fit as does MMC and Benson who have fallen hard for 3 years and lets not forget Hays at third.Nobody saw Friedl and his sudden decline but the rest you could see it coming and it has.Thats 5 starters and a backup in Benson.No team especially the Reds can deal with that kind of poor performance.
Well Said Roger
Alot of good comments today. It is simply frustrating to watch. Yet, I/we do lol..
We love ’em. They’re our Reds
Why are we in last place? Defense.
As a team we are 28th (out of 30) in DRS at -20. We are -6 at C (27th), -3 at 1B (23rd), -4 at 2B (22nd), +3 at 3B (10th), -4 at SS (26th), -9 in LF (28th), -3 in CF (20th), +2 in RF (9th), and even -7 at P (26th).
KHayes is +7 (5th) even though he has not played since May 20th. Not a coincidence we were in 1st place quite a bit of the time he was playing.
TJFriedl is +2 – a nice turnaround from years’ (plural) past. He hits about as much as Hayes though.
SSteer is +2 at 1B, -3 at 2B, -2 in LF and -2 in RF. I’ll repeat, he needs to play DH or 1B. We should probably trade him otherwise.
EArroyo is +1 at 2B, so we are starting to see stabilization there.
Sal Stewart is +1 at 3B. Suarez is -5 there and should not play 3B anymore.
BDunn is +2 in CF and +5 in RF. Once healthy, he should play everyday.
We obviously need a new hitting coach. However, if we have anyone in charge of defense, we need a change there too.
We are going to need a catcher for next season. A bridge to Duno or insurance in case Duno does not pan out as a catcher.
We need to trade Lowe (-3 at 1B).
McLain – -1 at 2B and -0- at SS. We’ll see how he handles CF. He could become a nice UT guy for us. Not sure if he wants that kind of reduced playing time or if the front office thinks they can get value for him.
ELDC continues to post negative DRS numbers. He looks much better this year to me, but the metrics are proving he does not save any runs defensively.
Bleday is -3. Myers is -3. Marte is -2. Made a nice play in foul territory yesterday though.
And how can our pitchers field this poorly on top of walking everyone on the planet?
Still, we get Hunter Greene back today. I hope Burns and Greene go full Kid n Play on us and have a contest of “Anything You Can Do, I can Do Better.” Then, we’ll shut down Burns because some analyst that last played when he was 7 suggests that we can’t pitch Burns more than 30 innings on top of what he threw last year (which is not backed by reality).
Here’s hoping that Hunter has a nice season debut on our Independence Day!
“KHayes is +7 (5th) even though he has not played since May 20th. Not a coincidence we were in 1st place quite a bit of the time he was playing”
Gotta call you on this one. He hit .130 in March-April. Smooth fielder, but cmon
KBH made 16 starts over 20 days in May as the Reds went from tied for first to fourth place in less than three full weeks. Correlation does not equal causality, and even with his excellent fielding, KBH’s bat more than negated his fielding value.
I get it but just as sure as I get older by the minute Hays will play and a lot when he returns.Krall is on record saying that the team can win with pitching and defense.The offense says they have something to say about that.
“KBH’s bat more than negated his fielding value.”
Yep. Not playable. Rahabbing with the Dayton Dragons?
“we were in 1st place quite a bit of the time he was playing…” Correction: We were only in 1st place when he was playing. His defense is apparently that important.
His offense (awfense) is terrible, but a good team can afford someone like this if not everyone else is bad too.
I don’t mind people challenging this position. I certainly could be wrong. However, it is a fact that as he was not hitting at all, we were still winning games. We were last in 1st place on May 1st. His defense was arguably a big part of that.
Defensive metrics are complete garbage IMO and I hate how much they factor into WAR. Just subjective nonsense.
I prefer Statcast Fielding Run Value as it attempts to incorporate multiple Statcast measures into a comprehensive stat. Here’s the chart for the Reds who have logged 100+ innings:
https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/leaderboard/fielding-run-value?gameType=Regular&seasonStart=2026&seasonEnd=2026&team=113&type=fielder&position=0&minInnings=100&minResults=1
EDLC looks just fine at shortstop, which matches the eye test.
Thanks BK.
As bad as McLain is at hitting he is really good defensively at 2nd. You can throw all the numbers you want out there but Arroyo in no way is better at 2nd, defensively, than McLain. His foot work is atrocious and is learning on the fly. Giving him a +1 is laughable at best. McLain is not a starter but saying Arroyo is better than him defensively makes me laugh at this.
Statcast has him at 2 OAA and 2 for FRV. I agree that watching him, he will improve with improved footwork–no real surprise given how few reps he has at 2B as a pro. He made a phenomenal play yesterday, displaying great range and athleticism. He’ll be an outstanding defensive 2B. The larger question is whether he develops as a hitter.
Chase Petty was optioned, and Will Benson was DFA to open the necessary 40-man roster spot.
” Will Benson was DFA”
It took LOOOONG time for Benson.
He will be back.
Twins 13th in hitting, 7th in runs, and 22nd in payroll. They have Kody Clemens hitting like vintage Jay Bruce. Fire our guy and pay their guy
Just as a follow up on Marte and yes he does have close to 800 career at bats but those 200 + after the return from his suspension with little or no spring I never even add in.He was thrown out there and he was awful and the Reds continue to throw him out there and he was still awful.He was an above average hitter last year and at times was the Reds best hitter but slumped late and still hit 260.That for me got him a starting job but it didn’t for the Reds then after 29 at bats and again after 29 at bats he was sent down.He had a better slash line in June then Steer Bleday or MMC did.In July he is 3-13 with a homer and 3 RBI.Yes he needs to walk more but if he is left alone and played the rest of the way he will do fine.Reds need hitters and he is only 24 years old and can steal a base and throw with easy power.He just needs to play and gain some confidence at the plate and in the field.Some say there is more to him being sent down and some day he appears to be kind of not with it at times but did everybody see the catch he made last night.He could have pulled up and watched it go in the seats but he didn’t.The Reds lose nothing by letting him play on a team that has players much much older with little or nothing to offer.
Lineup is out and Marte and Arroyo are back to being part time players again.This organization is a joke.How much more do we have to watch MMC and Friedl?I won’t watch this circus.
Are we back to Marte is not getting enough of an opportunity again. The guy is getting opportunities and barely making contact. Looks stiff. It’s everyone else’s fault though sure.
Have you looked at Friedl or Hayes’ numbers? They both still have more at bats than Marte. For that matter, look at what Bleday has done since the start of June compared to Marte.
Wrong. Few k’s, hard contact
Wrong. Few k’s, hard contact. Replying to TC
When Marte learns to hit the other way, he’ll break out. Until then, he only gets hits on mistakes. You pitch in on him, he punishes you. You go away, he’s Mario Mendoza. Sliders down and away for pull hitters are as old as at least Alfonso Soriano. To this day, Javier Baez cannot hit them.