The Cincinnati Reds are back on the field tonight at Great American Ball Park. They will be starting a new series with the 50-41 Philadelphia Phillips, who are trying to chase down Atlanta atop the National League East before the All-Star break. First pitch tonight is scheduled for 7:10pm ET.
Starting Lineups
Philadelphia Phillies | Cincinnati Reds |
| Trea Turner – SS | Elly De La Cruz – SS |
| Kyle Schwarber – DH | Sal Stewart – 1B |
| Bryce Harper – 1B | JJ Bleday – LF |
| Alec Bohm – 3B | Eugenio Suarez – 3B |
| Edmundo Sosa – LF | Nathaniel Lowe – DH |
| J.T. Realmuto – C | Spencer Steer – RF |
| Bryson Stott – 2B | Tyler Stephenson – C |
| Derek Hill – RF | TJ Friedl – CF |
| Justin Crawford – CF | Matt McLain – 2B |
| Zack Wheeler – RHP | Andrew Abbott – LHP |
Starting Pitchers
| Pitcher | IP | ERA | WHIP | BB | K |
| Andrew Abbott | 95.0 | 3.88 | 1.44 | 45 | 73 |
| Zack Wheeler | 80.0 | 2.36 | 0.94 | 20 | 84 |
| Links: Andrew Abbott’s Stats | Zack Wheeler’s Stats | |||||
Andrew Abbott
After a rough start to the season in his first six games, Abbott has turned things around. In his 12 starts since April 30th he’s posted a 2.71 ERA in 66.1 innings pitched. One of those starts was in Philadelphia where he allowed one earned run in 5.1 innings in a game won by the Reds. The last time out he struggled with his control against the Brewers as he walked five batters in 5.0 innings while giving up two runs.
The splits don’t look too big when it comes to OPS but there’s a lot going on with it all. Before diving in too deep, lefties are hitting for a higher average, but walk less and hit for less power. Now to dive in the deep end – lefties hit .481/.500/.704 against Abbott in his first six starts. They’ve hit .200/.250/.293 since. Righties have hit just .220/.307/.376 against him since those first six starts, too.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 303 | 64 | 6 | 1 | 12 | 38 | 42 | .244 | .339 | .412 |
| LHH | 112 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 31 | .275 | .313 | .402 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-seam | Cutter | Curve | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 92.7 | 88.5 | 79.7 | 82.2 | 85.9 |
| Usage | 47% | 1% | 14% | 20% | 18% |
Zack Wheeler
After missing the first month of the season, Wheeler has returned to the mound for 13 starts. He’s been dominant in most of them and the Phillies are 11-2 in games he pitches in. His last start, though, was his worst of the year as Pittsburgh had nine hits and scored four runs in 4.2 innings against him. Phladelphia still won that game.
The platoon splits aren’t much when it comes to OPS against Wheeler – just a 30 point difference and both groups are under the .600 mark. Right-handed hitters are walking less often and hardly walking at all. Lefties walk more but still not much. Neither group hits for average or power against him.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 120 | 23 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 35 | .198 | .225 | .336 |
| LHH | 188 | 32 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 16 | 49 | .189 | .266 | .325 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-sm | 2-sm | Cutter | Curve | Slider | Split | |
| Velo | 95.4 | 95.0 | 91.2 | 79.9 | 81.2 | 87.4 |
| Usage | 36% | 16% | 11% | 8% | 14% | 14% |
When and Where
- Game time: 7:10pm ET
- Where: Great American Ball Park
- Watch: Reds MLB Channel, Reds.tv (in-market), MLB.tv (out of market).
- Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: 83°, cloudy, 5% chance of rain
News and Notes
Ke’Bryan Hayes Rehab Update
After going 1-6 while on rehab assignment with High-A Dayton, Cincinnati has moved the rehab assignment for Hayes up to Triple-A Louisville. The Bats are at home this week.
Down on the Farm
Two pieces today for you on the minor leaguers. First is one we had here at Redleg Nation that looks at a former 2nd round draft pick who showed up last night firing 98 MPH fastballs in his 1st outing. Then there’s the one on Carter Graham being named the Midwest League Player of the Month for June. He’s had an absolutely incredible season and has been the best hitter in the farm and was recently promoted to Double-A.
Division Standings
| Team | W | L | GB | Playoff Odds |
| Milwaukee | 56 | 33 | 0.0 | 98.7% |
| Chicago | 50 | 40 | 6.5 | 71.6% |
| St. Louis | 47 | 41 | 8.5 | 37.5% |
| Pittsburgh | 46 | 45 | 11.0 | 37.5% |
| Cincinnati | 41 | 48 | 15.0 | 2.5% |
| Playoff Odds via Fangraphs | ||||
@Doug. Nice piece
Sitting Marte just feels like conceding to mediocrity. Trying to run the max patience lineup and get Wheeler out of there, I guess.
Abbott throws three sweepers right down the middle against Schwarber to get a popup, and then three more to Harper for a strikeout. Awesome start !
Wheeler’s K-Prop tonight was 7.5 +112
Meter sits at 3 after 1st inning
Bleday hits a liner to right for the first Red hit of the day against Wheeler, who struck out the first two batters… but that’s all we got going in the 1st.
Abbott looks like he’s enjoying himself on the mound tonight, he’s perfect thru 2.
(And we win a challenge.)
Nice job by Abbott through 2.
Maybe our Reds offense will come alive? Maybe McLain breaks out of his 3 for 36 slump?
Wheeler making our hitters look foolish.
Lowe battles for 10 pitches but comes up empty… Reds go down in order in the 2nd.
A dbl and a single put runners on the corners in the 3rd, one out … Abbott needs to knuckle down now !
After one run scores, Abbott goes 3-0 to Schwarber, who then hits one out with one on… Phillies up 3-0.
Oh, what could have been…
Schwarber the Reds killer.
Too bad we couldn’t sign him.
4-0 down against Wheeler, game over?
Only 3-0, but how many can we give up ? Not many …
Thanks Andrew! My math was working. Obviously.
Still feels kind of insurmountable.
* Wasn’t.
Neither is my typing…
Ballgame – meatball 3-0 pitch – Terrible !
Why pitch to Schwarber with 2 outs and first base open?
I thought he was just going to pitch around him.
why would you throw a meatball right down the middle of the plate at 3-0 to a hitter like Schwarber?
It was very silly by Abbott or had no command
Exactly. Why? Whatever you do, don’t let Schwarber beat you. Center cut. I don’t understand. Just walk him. He will kill you. Has 30 dingers already. Gee whiz. Stupid.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!
Friedl and Mclain Should be bunting for base hits not getting it done swinging or looking
Friedl and McLain feel like back to back automatic outs.
McLain now 3 for his last 37.
.081 average. Atrocious!
Friedl batting .167 since his callup…..McLain has not hit all year…that’s what you have hitting in front of Elly and Stewart….and the Reds are in last place in the division…I wonder why
I don’t get it. I don’t care if they play gold glove defense… still need to score runs…
I thought McClain would be a Mark Grudzielanek/Steve Sax (with a little more pop) in the Reds lineup for the next 10 years when I first seen him. Shoulder injuries can be career changers for baseball players. Something changed w him and you can look at his face and see him trying to adjust constantly at the plate.
Wasn’t expecting much in the 3rd … and didn’t get much either.
No Marte no Arroyo no watch. Trying to get McClain to hit is like trying to get Keanu Reeves to win an Oscar. They.cannot.do.it
Or Jeffrey Dahmer to give up meat!
May I politely suggest that you use a difference point of reference. There is nothing remotely funny about that.
Reds will be lucky to win one of their next 6 home games, including tonight!
Nattering nabob of negativism.
Literally the game is away with a 3-0 lead and Wheeler on the mound just in the 3rd inning …
Between McLain and Friedl…it’s going to be “neck n neck” on who will win the “career fell off the face of the earth” award this year
Has to be Friedl. He actually did something in the past couple of years. McLain has done squat.
I remember McLains 1st year….I thought he was really going to be something for the reds for years to come…..and you are right….has done nothing since and looked nothing like that first season
Thought the same
Reds continuingly their first game of the series blues.
Should have challenged that 6th pitch to Realmuto and got the Strikeout !
But he got it on the 8th pitch any way…
He never would have gotten it. He had to throw out the runner first and then he would have to challenge it. No way the ump gives it to him in that time frame
Abbott looks like he’s still got it…
Philly announcers pretty blown away by the number of Stephenson’s challenges. The guy just knows the strike zone.
He’s phenomenal in that regard!
Unfortunately with Wheeler dealing and how much the Reds strikeout, I have very little faith that we can come back. I don’t like feeling that way.
You have felt that way a lot in the last couple of months.
Sadly I have. 5 divisional wins now on July 7th just ain’t cutting it.
Watching the reds this season, is like a World Cup game, team gets up 3-0….game is over
Wheeler is going to deliver between 12 and 14 Ks tonight
Reds. 1 hit and 8 strikeouts through 4.
No words…
Man every first game of the series the Reds look like they got better things to do.
Reds take another one to the chin in the 4th…
Eight strikeouts already this is embarrassing. To make it interesting why not call down one fan each night to sign a one game contact and put em on the lineup?
Lol, that was great , lol ?
Watching the Rays/NYY. They said NYs catchers are hitting .170 w/499 ops. Send them Stephenson and start the fire sale. New prospects are kind of fun. You can have hope like 2023. This Reds team is like going to a funeral.
8 strikeouts in 4 innings … sell em all . I’d rather watch some of the minor leaguers up here getting at bats . This is insane !!! Game after game after game double digit strikeouts …Krall/Meador shouldn’t be back in this front office after this joke of a roster ….
Never seen offensive ineptitude on a level like this for a very long time in MLB .
Aside the 3rd inning Abbott has been sollid tonight , 7 Ks and no walks thru 5 …the mistake against Schwarber put him in the hole
True. At this rate a 1-0 game would still feel insurmountable with our offensive offense.
Abbott solid, overall.
10 Reds strikeouts and counting…
9 strikeouts and counting… ouch.
10 SO’s and we are in the 5th inning….same thing, night in and night out
That’s what irks me so much. It’s night after night. Talent or no, how can this be? What in the world is Valaika having our hitters work on with their approach that we’re consistently this bad?
Ten (10) SOs thru 5 innings by Reds participants! Can’t call them hitters!
It’s even difficult to give the Reds participation trophies most nights because they fail to show up for most ballgames. LOL
The (number) in parentheses was discontinued in the 1980s.
Stephenson just keeps hitting.
The ball boys chair robbed him of a double.
Abbott grooved the 7th pitch to Schwarber, but the K this time !
Friedl should not be tendered next year really…
Next week.
K-Prop cashes in the 4th inning.
I really should have laddered up on that one.
Now has 11 through 5
Reds pickup their 2nd hit of the day with a single Ty Steve in the 5th … the rest K’d.
MLB teams must be licking their chops when they see the reds on their schedule this season….Reds season…. April: good May: horrible June: horrible July: horrible (in progress)….rest of season: in the toilet
Truth.
This just isn’t fun anymore. Game after game of mostly offensive ineptitude is hard to accept. Hitters look lost. Strikeouts are through the roof. Where’s the organizational accountability?
What’s the more impressive pitching performance tonight. I say Abbott except for the one meatball pitch he’s done well 8 strikeouts no walks. Weaver has 11 strikeouts but he’s pitching against the Reds hitters. Deserves an asterisk.
Abbott cruises thru the 6th like he hasn’t a care in the world…
Abbott manages to have a quality start …8 Ks and no walks but this isn’t enough because he hasn’t run support so far
Abbott with 6 good innings but one BIG mistake on the 3-0 pitch to Schwarber!
The sad part (and i am sure each starting pitcher knows it) if you have a bad inning, or a few bad pitches….you are, probably, going to take an L….this offense is a joke. It’s SO after SO and the only way they score is by the HR. A total failure….seems every opposing pitcher sets a season or career high for SO’s in a game against the reds this season. Unreal
Our pitchers have to be virtually flawless and that’s an impossible ask…
Time to get Rodriguez up here from
Louisville and stop the foolishness with
mcLain and Friedl in the outfileld . Neither one deserve to be playing , much less
starting . Rodriguez 2-2 , 3 RBI tonight with 2 home runs ( 21 now total on the year) .290 avg . …. What you waiting for KRALL/Meador !!!!! Seen enough of these other clowns you got on roster ! Scared to start the dudes clock aren’t you …..
0-2 count on Mclain. How many people had him pegged for a strikeout?
McLain futility update:
3 for his last 38.
20 strikeouts.
But he plays great defense is what I’ll hear…
He does play good defense but he shouldn’t be playing. If the rest of the team was all hitting then you could get away with playing him.
JB, you’re correct. He does.
Having said that if I had my way it would be great defense in AAA while trying to rediscover how to hit. He looks so lost. I’m sure Valaika will figure it out…
Not sure he will find it again. He can’t hit a breaking ball to save his life. I don’t know why he doesn’t swing more at the first pitch. It’s usually a fast ball and the best pitch of the at bat. All down hill after that.
JB, we need a sarcasm button. My bad.
You 100% correct. I agree with you. Way too many takes on strikes then extremely poor pitch and zone recognition. I don’t see him ever improving sadly.
13 strikeouts!!
Reds making Wheeler look good … Sal gets the Reds 3rd hit of the day in the 6th.
Tito in the postgame conference after he gets asked about the million Ks will give all the credit to Wheeler so it’s normal
They should really ask Tito: what about all the other boatload of pitchers that SO reds batters non-stop? But you can’t ask Tito a difficult question…it’s not allowed
13 whiffs in 6 innings should get some folks fired … I don’t care who it is …. I mean it’s not just tonight obviously ….. it’s rare a game goes by where there aren’t double digit strikeouts … something is just woefully wrong here with these approaches …
I was just about to post the same thing. It may not be Valaika’s fault, but he’s got to go. They need to shake things up. Could it get any worse?
Reds relievers need to buckle down. Free pizza is in sight.
Quality start by Abbott. There’s your silver lining.
OMG….now Sadek and Larkin has to talk about “tarps off” …..can this night get any worse?
Every freaking game he goes on and on about it. Drives me nuts…
Stupid tarps off was a St. Louis thing. We can’t even get our own thing copy the enemy.
Agree, G. Its such a lame trend that’s so lazy. Take off your shirt and get on TV. Sometimes it’s like 12 guys. Plus I hate any trend started by the Redbirds.
Three innings of hope for this game left to go.
Pierce Johnson takes over in the 7th, and gives up a walk, but that’s it … Time for the Reds to make a move !
Don’t worry! We’ll get ’em in the 8th & 9th innings when Wheeler is done!
Hayes will be back soon – I can hardly wait. He’s the spark plug that’s going to turn this team around.
I’m a grumpy old man but I don’t like the smiling joking around between our players and the other team when we are getting killed almost every night.
Suarez! We have a run folks!
Geno provides a bit of hope!
Eugenio puts us on the Board !
Well, that’s how the reds score…the HR…..reds stay true to form
If he isn’t traded, Geno leading the team in HRs at season’s end wouldn’t really surprise me.
does this umpire have a clue on this strikezone?
That’s a ball Stephenson good at challenge as a hitter as well as catcher
But he swings at the same pitch as his last at bat for strike 3. Way out of the zone. Down and away. Same exact pitch. I know. He had a hit. Whoopee. Never learns.
Stephenson now challenges as a hitter. Dude is just cracking up the Philly announcers.
Good vibes only! Reds need about 3 more good vibes to take this one.
Despite a very strong performance by Wheeler, the Reds are only down 3-1 so they still have a chance. Abbott pitched well so it’s up to the relievers. Six batters left for both teams.
Reds can only hope that Chase Burns grows into Zack Wheeler.
has Sadek ever met a meaningless stat that he does not like?
You have to listen to the visiting announcers. Way better than the steaming pile of the Reds.
I usually go back and forth between the two….i guess i am just a glutton for punishment!
Another pitcher sets a personal best K record against the Reds! Surprise!
What were Sal and Ferguson doing on that “hit” to 1st base by Turner?
Turn out the lights, the party’s over.
Anybody else notice how often Reds pitchers, especially the RPs, issue walks after being ahead in the count 0-2 or 1-2?
Nope. Nobody does.
Phillies pick up one in the 8th … 4-1 now.
Just got home, this team is so bad, much worse than their 41 and 49 record. It’s not like they look like they are excited to be playing and that is on Tito. It is going a long and sad season the rest of the way.
Reds would have to win 31 games in a row to be 24 games over .500 like the Brewers!
Johnson has his 1st career walk
Nice at bat by Johnson
O’Hearn RF for the Pirates 16 HRs 61 RBIs Free Agent Signing
Lowe 2B for the Pirates 21 HRs 64 RBIs Trade
Reds continue to receive little Offensive production consistently nightly out of who plays 2B and RF for them.
One hit, one time. How about it, Reds?
Nice game by Abbott, he’s having another solid season.
Phillies coaches showing some fire. At least that’s what I think it is. No used to seeing that from our dugout so I’m not sure
An opportunity for a massive jolt of good vibes here.
The game is on Suarez’s bat
Ok Geno this is why we brought you home. 9 career grand slams lets make it ten!
Bases loaded for Suarez with 2 outs in the 8th…
Wins the challenge and then strikeouts on a ball low … There is no joy in Mudville.
You couldn’t make this stuff up
Still alive
Did the Reds have any challenges left? Seems like that would have been a good time to use one.
Sigh
You didn’t expect them to drive in a run did ya ?
No I knew he would strike out on a slider low and away, that’s what this bunch does. What an awful year.
Yep. Geno goes down on that pitch constantly, as well as many others. He had to know it was coming. That woulda made it a 2 run game with bases still loaded. SMH.
Couldn’t have hit that pitch with a 10 foot boat oar …not even close to a strike
Then he swings at one nowhere close to the strike zone.
That’s our Geno!
That was a McLain special all the way. These hitters stink. Suarez had no business swinging at that pitch. Valaika has them whiffing at a staggering pace.
15 strikeouts. Just crazy.
On the bright side, free pizza is still in play.
Suarez atrocious season is one of the reasons the Reds have been bad…Really wrong signing
Suarez has performed poorly, but the signing wasn’t that bad. Geno was coming off a season where he hit 49 Home Runs. Also, it was a one year deal.
IMO Geno was signed partly to placate fans after the Reds failed to sign Kyle Schwarber.
This may be and probably is the WORST Reds hitting team or Reds batters in the history of the Reds organization.
You can drop the probably they are the worst I have seen in my 55+ years of being a fan and it’s not really close.
I cannot remember one as bad as this team is so far. Even 1982 team had .253 BA.
Reds only scored 99 runs in June. Could be less in July.
This is an awful hitting team. Awful!
Scorcher by Steer is hit number 5.
Geez. Reds hitters can’t wait to strike out. 17 and counting.
17 strikeouts out of 27 possible outs is truly remarkable don’t you think?
16 games out of 1st place in the NL Central Division after tonight!
Duran and his 97-98 mph splitter puts an end to it.
These at bats are beyond atrocious ….
apparently doesn’t matter in this
organization …ZERO ACCOUNTABILITY AT ALL LEVELS starting from the top.
18 strike outs what an embarrassing night same stuff every night.
We’re No. 1! In SOs that is!
18 Ks. The two teams combined for 27 strikeouts. Half of the game’s out came without the ball being put into play.
18 Ks for the Reds tonight…abysmal…
18 freaking strikeouts. Unbelievable.
Truly atrocious. But nothing will change.
This feels like a 100 loss team. BAD.
Make it 18. Joke of a team. Who thought Friedl would K? 3 on the night. He’s so done and it happened quick. I’ve gone from watching every game to sporadically checking. Now I’m checking out more permanently. As some on here say, probably best for my health.
Baseball fever. Catch it!
Can’t wait for them to draft a high school pitcher who is 5/6 years away from MLB … fully expect them to do something like that . Have zero confidence in the pick the Reds will be making the upcoming draft …
incompetence reigns in this front office
Looks like the Reds will fall 16 1/2 games back by the end of the night. Eight games under .500. If the Reds didn’t have a great April, things could be even worse.
This season has been a complete disaster. It would not be surprising if the Reds finish with 90 losses this season.
Neither TJ or Matt M should be on the major league roster. But with the injuries who would play center Hector has not played CF so I am not sure.
This team is terrible. Chris V should be fired tonight, but since Tito brought him along, I doubt it happens.
But for all the blame on owners not ponying up to sign Kyle, do we know if Krall didnt step in and say lets sign Geno. He will be nearly as good and cheaper. Geno and Matt don’t have a clue.
Arroyo should be playing every day. Don’t care what splits may look like.
McLain and his 3 for his last 38 with 20 strikeouts and is a .079 average should immediately be sent to AAA along with Friedl. They don’t give you competent at bats. They’re an embarrassment to the team although 18 team strikeouts illustrate just how poor at hitting this team is. This is the worst Reds hitting team that I’ve seen in a long time.
ThePhillies should have brought their outfield in and used
7 infielder. Would that have been legal ????