The Cincinnati Reds pitching took care of their business on Friday night and the offense came through in the clutch when they needed it as they picked up a 4-2 win to open the series up. Today the Reds will look to win again and guarantee themselves a series victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. First pitch this evening is scheduled for 7:15pm ET.
Starting Lineups
Cincinnati Reds | St. Louis Cardinals |
| Elly De La Cruz – SS | JJ Wetherholt – 2B |
| Sal Stewart – 1B | Jordan Walker – RF |
| JJ Bleday – LF | Alec Burleson – 1B |
| Eugenio Suarez – DH | Ivan Herrera – C |
| Tyler Stephenson – C | Lars Nootbaar – LF |
| Noelvi Marte – RF | Masyn Winn – SS |
| TJ Friedl – CF | Bryan Torres – DH |
| Edwin Arroyo – 2B | Blaze Jordan – 3B |
| Ke’Bryan Hayes – 3B | Nathan Church – CF |
| Hunter Greene – RHP | Andre Pallante – RHP |
Starting Pitchers
| Pitcher | IP | ERA | WHIP | BB | K |
| Hunter Greene | 16.1 | 6.06 | 1.16 | 5 | 26 |
| Andre Pallante | 105.1 | 4.02 | 1.26 | 31 | 75 |
| Links: Hunter Greene’s Stats | Andre Pallante’s Stats | |||||
Hunter Greene
After missing nearly all of the first half of the season after having bone spurs removed from his elbow during spring training, Greene took the mound of July 4th. There were fireworks, but they were for Baltimore as they scored eight runs in 3.1 innings against Greene as he walked four batters, gave up a homer as part of seven hits. In the two starts since then he’s allowed three runs in 13.0 innings with one walk and 19 strikeouts.
The sample size for 2026 is still way too small to talk about the splits against him, but last year’s numbers tell us that the splits are quite small. Neither group hits for average or gets on base against him. When they do get hits, lefties show good power while righties show moderate power.
Splits (2025)
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 213 | 40 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 63 | .199 | .241 | .353 |
| LHH | 207 | 35 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 15 | 69 | .184 | .251 | .384 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-seam | Slider | Split | |
| Velo | 98.8 | 89.2 | 87.4 |
| Usage | 57% | 34% | 9% |
Andre Pallante
It has been a solid season for Pallante this year. But over his last four starts he’s struggled in three of them. He’s allowed 14 runs in 22.2 innings in those starts and struck out just 11 batters. One of those starts was a 5.2 shutout inning performance, too. On May 23rd he faced the Reds in a doubleheader and allowed just one run in 6.0 innings that day.
The splits for Pallante are noticeable. Right-handed hitters have a lower average, don’t walk much, and hit for very little power. Left-handed hitters hit for a high average and so-so amounts of power, but also don’t walk much. Both groups of hitters make a lot of contact. Not shown below is that he’s pitched worse at home where his OPS against is .759 (.581 on the road) and his ERA is 4.99 (2.66 on the road).
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 208 | 42 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 37 | .225 | .298 | .326 |
| LHH | 237 | 60 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 17 | 38 | .273 | .325 | .418 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-seam | 2-seam | Curve | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 95.2 | 95.4 | 78.1 | 87.6 | 88.2 |
| Usage | 31% | 19% | 18% | 30% | 3% |
When and Where
- Game time: 7:15pm ET
- Where: Busch Stadium
- Watch: Reds MLB Channel, Reds.tv (in-market), MLB.tv (out of market).
- Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: 88°, cloudy, 10% chance of rain
News and Notes
Matt McLain and Blake Dunn
Both guys were expected to start rehab assignments with Louisville this week. That is not happening for Dunn. If you missed last night’s game, Jim Day noted on the broadcast that the team put a pause on sending him out on the assignment and that elbow surgery may be on the table for him. McLain joined the Bats in Toledo on Friday night and went 1-3 with a double, run scored, and an RBI.
Down on the Farm
Cincinnati signed Kenny Ishikawa, their 13th round draft pick. A left-handed pitcher and outfielder, Ishikawa was drafted as a two way player and it looks like the Reds may give him the chance to do both early on and see how it shakes out. You can see the scouting report from draft day on Ishikawa here. Cincinnati has now signed 19 of their 21 picks. You can see who all has signed so far here at the 2026 Cincinnati Reds Draft Tracker.
The Arizona Complex League playoffs begin tonight. The Reds rookie-level affiliate won their division on the final day of the season and will be one of the four teams on the fields tonight to try and win a league championship.
Division Standings
| Team | W | L | GB | Playoff Odds |
| Milwaukee | 64 | 39 | 0.0 | 99.5% |
| Chicago | 58 | 45 | 6.0 | 84.6% |
| Pittsburgh | 53 | 51 | 11.5 | 40.2% |
| St. Louis | 52 | 51 | 12.0 | 17.6% |
| Cincinnati | 48 | 54 | 15.5 | 2.2% |
| Playoff Odds via Fangraphs | ||||
I wonder if this lineup means the FO and Staff already threw in the towel this season… How can they justify to have Nathaniel Lowe on the bench today in favour of Hayes and Friedl?? …MAybe they will be the Reds heroes in this game but I consider them aren’t the best players on the field if they would try to make a run at this point
It’s like little league, everyone gets a chance to play!
The towel had been thorn in a while ago.
There’s 11 teams with a better record and 3 with a worse record.
Hayes is, without question, the best defender on the field, at least for the Reds. The baseball related activity that doesn’t have any reason to value defense is home run derby. That’s not not what they’re playing.
I feel sometimes people think defense doesnt equate to wins.
To me the Reds best defense on the infield is Hayes,De La Cruz, Mclain and Steer at 1st. Bleday in left, Myers in Cf and Whoever you want in right. As I am not convinced Marte is the answer.
Stewart is your DH.
+10000000, Kevin.
I was thinking the same thing. When every win is crucial, why is Spencer Steer not in the lineup? Noelvi Marte, REALLY?
@Doug glad you make mention of the Arizona league. I find it a bit challenging to get information. Didn’t know they made the 4 team playoffs. Please keep us informed. Thanks
thrown
Hope to win a 2-1 type of game. Greene needs to absolutely shoot the birds down. Go Reds.
Buckle up and let’s have some Saturday night BBQ Cardinal!!!
I actually had a cheese steak (on my Blackstone). I saved half of it for Melvin, but he didn’t show up.
Poor Melvin.
Bummer 🙁
I’m full already. Half a Tuna Melt from Izzy’s for lunch; the other half for dinner. Potato salad and pickles split between the two meals.
Relatively pedestrian first inning. Maybe Sadak should use those words. 😀
Elly not focused there. Ugh
Rushed it and didn’t focus. Clear E-6. Hope we don’t gift him 2nd.
Reds’ official scorer would have given the guy a hit
These gray and red hats should become their everyday hats. Great look. Like the Bengals all white uniforms.
I agree! I love the grey uniforms and hats! Not crazy about not having the wishbone “C” on the caps! Love the Bengals all white uniform as well!
St. Louis’ first bloop hit. That didn’t take long.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus! And yes Virginia, the Reds have won 3 games in a row! And yes Virginia, the Reds are 5-2 since the All-Star break!
Let’s make it 4 in a row and fricassee some birds tonight!
Go Reds! Score early and often and let Hunter Greene do his thing!
Would have taken an on-target throw, but there was a chance. “Was” being the operative word.
Baseball gods picking on Elly early, huh.
Elly needs to focus and get his head in this game!
He does not believe in winning with defend. Its ok SS long as he has a couple big hits.
Unearned run, but it still counts.
defense, of course, has little importance.
10000%
There’s a gift run. KBH can field his position, but we need offense when the other guys drop the ball. If McLain could hit like 2023 then there’s your SS. Elly is always going to be 6’6 all elbows and knees & thats not ideal for SS. Range is fantastic so I guess they live with it
We need offense, and we need defense. No spin. The Reds are down a run and Greene is throwing extra pitches because of a stupid error.
OK, for all I chide Sadak, he just said something that gives me a better perspective. He cited the size of the outfield in square feet of fair territory.
Lowe 1.326 ops off Palante so lets sit him
Steer .793 with .381 obp off him…he sits
I don’t get Tito…really never have
Friedl 4-23 coming in with a .382 ops off Pallante. Gotta get those big #s in the game.
They showed Elly in dugout. He looked frustrated, and assuming of course he was upset he made a error.
He is just more locked in this year in his game.
It’s hard to fathom how Friedl could fall off the cliff so violently. I guess he really is an old 30.
Truly it is. Sad to watch honestly
Again, can someone please explain to me the benefit of TJ Friedl in the lineup? With KBH and Marte also in the lineup tonight the Reds have 3 hitters hitting below .200! The Cardinals worst hitter in the lineup tonight is hitting .214!
I got nothing. He’s not even a shadow of what we saw the past couple of years.
I think Francona did it solely to make you comment on RLN.
He’s being paid $3.8 million and is on the roster????
Blake Dunn has a potentially serious elbow injury, Dane Myers is a 1 year guy and Noelve Marte is hitting under .200 and not good in CF
Real question is what is the Reds plan for CF because there is no one on the current 40 man roster that fits that description moving forward .
Nice 7-pitch inning by Greene to bounce back from whatever that was in the 1st inning!
Of course, that time Elly wasn’t running. 😐
if he was I am guessing a routine ground out to 1st. Stewart continues to struggle
Imagine how many RBIs Stewart would have if he wasn’t “struggling”
True, however that could be said about others. If Elly was struggling he would be getting alot of heat. Stewart seems to get a pass at times.
Stewie has 10 rbis in the last 7 games…idk?
He is batting 148 in last 7 games and 224 in last 15 games. Other players would be called to be sent down by some on rln
Not many pitches being thrown by either starter.
Nice little parlay tonight cooking: CES rbi, HG 6 Ks, Louisville/Toledo Over 7.5
Louisville Toledo was 3-3 in the 1st, CES has his rbi. Cmon Hunter!
CES is playing for Baltimore now.
My bad. CES does have an RBI. No idea what I was thinking.
Again, another Reds SP pitching his heart out waiting and hoping his team’s offense will scratch out some runs!
There you go Tito. Where’s this been your entire stint here? Geno probably hits a heater…big slow curve and Bleday can make it…which he did
The reds are 13th in stolen bases.
Elly…of course.
LOL@ Indy I will give ya that lol
Someday I’m hoping Nootbaar commits a TOOTBLAN (whatever that is). I’d like to buy a vowel.
Another good inning from HG. Time to back him just a little bit. Please??
Just asking for some hit-n-runs when their guy doesn’t have big strikeout stuff. Bleday, Arroyo, Steer, Stewie….they can all run a little. Friedl, Marte and McLain can’t get on base so theres that
Should’ve taken Under….we never hit this guy
Friedl fan,however I wonder if this is just a terrible year.
I mean talking about falling off badly. Maybe he will retire after this season. Yikes
Arroyo due for a hr!!!
Friedl has been pathetic…doing nothing on the offense…and in 7th spot today…sheez
Yeah Tito randomly throwing out KBH, Friedl, and Marte in the same game doesn’t seem prudent
Painful! Just painful watching Friedl’s at bats these days!
There is NO justification for Friedl being on this team….
Lost in all of this…..Fangraphs did a deep dive into analytics on the best pitchers in baseball with Stuff plus etc and the Cincinnati Reds have 2 of the top 15 pitchers in all of MLB- Hunter Greene and Chase burns
For those that claim Reds don’t have core talent…..it’s not true.
Greene, Burns,Elly and Sal are elite
Abbott and Steer and Bleday are solid pros
Ashcraft Santillan and Lowder have great upside.
Lodolo is a wild card but could be very dominant.
That’s an impressive 11 players
Any MLB GM would love to have that foundation that is controlled and cheap
Looks like the Cardinals outfield plays very shallow for KBH, costing him a hit on a hard hit liner.
Got some dudes in this lineup got ZERO BUSINESS PLAYING AT ALL !
Lowe 1.326 ops off Pallante. I guess Tito can’t be bothered with numbers. Maybe he’s a little dinged up or something? 4 for 11 with 2 HRs
HG going to burn me. He’s not looking for Ks at all. Which is fine, but I was expecting 7 as usual
Pitch efficient hunter Green is Cy Young
Ill gladly pay your bill once
Don’t need Tyler Mahle nibbling for 99 pitches thru 5
Greene is pitching for contact , only 3 Ks through 5 IP… He deserves run support …
Reds take the lead this inning.Crooked number coming up just for you Mark.
And Stewart continues to struggle
We get it. Maybe you can keep repeating that
Only has eyes for Elly
Scroll if you dont like it. No difference than people bashing Elly daily or Friedl, or Hayes.
Take a hike JB
C’mon JB
I’d certainly compare a criticism of Sal Stewart who is on pace for ROY top 3 and 30 home runs and 100 RBI and OPS .800 with criticism of the 2 worst hitters objectively in baseball in Hayes and Friedl who are flirting with OPS of .400’s
Let guys with delusional opinions live on their delusional islands.
@Old School
Calling me delusional is unacceptable and unnecessary. Stop it as I am allowed to have my opinions like everyone else and last I looked I didnt say anything that wasnt true. Comment edited
Kevin you might need to take a timeout. I’ll hand you a warning on this one, but you had a comment that didn’t go through earlier tonight for cursing and now this one is you avoiding the curse filter. You know better than that. Next time I will suspend you from commenting.
You all gotta chill out, too. Stop arguing and fighting with each other. Stop bringing up stuff from days or weeks ago where someone said something you didn’t like, disagreed with, whatever. It’s tired. It’s old. Who cares? Let it go. You’re adults.
@ KEvin
I called your opinions Delusional and Yes- comparing Sal Stewart to Ke’bryan Hayes is 100% delusional.
but if multiple people start referring to your posts…….not you…..as delusional…well maybe the shoe fits ?????
Elle takes yet another pitch dead down the middle. He guesses wrong constantly.
Curious how many mlb hits do you have?
Ok you’re a fan, we get it. Going golfing on 2-1 out of the zone ruined the whole at-bat though. Those guys on LA don’t chase
Yes the nibbler whose stuff at one time was good enough not to nibble.Hunter is saying get me some runs and I will take this baby home.
Sell sell sell….Tito that is. This lineup is inexecusable
Lineup is definitely pitiful !!! Terrible – had enough holes in it before he ran this one out and made it even worse …
Reds unable to hit against this average pitcher Pallante…Always the same story…
Without gambling I would’ve quit in May. This is one of the most boring Reds teams I can remember. No small ball….HR binge on occasion, but everyone does that at Gabp. Wayyyyy too many nights like this
Hour and 15 minutes in and almost to 7th inning …Greenes getting no support AT ALL
Pallante mixing his pitches and speeds like a good pitcher.
Elly took a wainwright like 12/6 curve for strike 3 but swung at a ball slider ahead in the count.
Reds need more patient disciplined hitters. They don’t have enough.
Uber aggressive approach is why they can’t hit and that’s a bunch of 20 something’s mostly being told find that first pitch and crush it and the pitchers know that and hitters chasing OPS.
Be aggressive and do damage…..that’s the Reds hitting approach and why they are in the bottom of mlb in hitting.
No patience. No discipline. No one wants to hit in a deep count with 2 strikes.
2 hangers. Bad HG all of a sudden. Game over. You know he wants to go to LA or someplace where 2-3 runs won’t beat him most of the time
And the wheels start to fall off for HG! 3 runs are probably all the Cards will need tonight!
Greene has lost it. Ugh
Greene facing for third time the lineup hasn’t been good…the game is getting away
Greene is falling apart here. Cant get an out.
I’m out. Catch you all tomorrow afternoon.
HG can stop pitching to contact any time now.
@ Indy
St Lou strikes out the 4 fewest of all MLB teams.
You’d have been better off taking Pallante K prop.
Reds are 28th in MLB in K’s
True enough, but the Cards haven’t been hitting that well lately. Oh well. I did win Louisville Toledo Over 7.5 already. Have no idea why 2 scrub starters had a total that low
Idk about HG. Luis Castillo used to dazzle me, but here he is near the end and he’s under .500 with some a mediocre 3.60s career era. HG on that track
HG has little, if any, movement on his fastball! ML hitters can adjust to speed much easier than movement!
And yet he’s been one of the best pitchers at preventing runs from scoring for the last two years…. so maybe they actually can’t adjust?
This is akin to a early career Hunter game where it all just fell apart at once.
Yep,
I feel a Clete coming on!
Wow what a disaster ,,,Greene absolutely fell apart in this inning after solid 5 innings…I can’t understand why he is locating pretty bad…
Runners circling the bases like vultures around a body… This game never had much of a chance, and now that is gone.
That was quick. Knockout blow was a groundball that bounced high….
Hunter had it going till he couldn’t get out of an inning.
Let July 25th in St. Louis be declared as the end of the Reds season and a massive sell off over the next 8 days.
RIP Reds 2026
Hey I just commented. I don’t appreciate you calling me a delusional fan. It is uncalled for and unnecessary.
I didn’t say anything that wasnt true and like you I have a right to my opinion
I agree OS. I said to you last night that Krall might sit on his guys before he trades them if the Reds can get down to 3 or 4 by next Wednesday. They needed to make a little run here and tonight was a clunker and an exclamation mark to the season. Sell and bring up some young guys and let them play. Disappointing season.
Yup
I was at Opening day.
Didn’t see this happening but we will be wanting baseball in January during a nuclear winter. Sigh….
Greene let us down today. Plain and simple.
They are also deep in the 7th with 2 hits and no runs, so everyone is letting everyone down today.
Agree. Can’t win when you can’t score.
You’re right
The WLW 700 announcers (Sadak and Welsh) seemed to think he lost focus after walking the leadoff batter in the 6th. Greene had breezed through 5 IP, and they thought he might go 7 IP or even 8 IP.
Another change they mentioned was that STL hitters were more aggressive in 6th inning, often first ball hitting.
Okay Doug, I will let it go and chill.
Before I go though. I will not stand by and be called delusional for stating a opinion. I continuely see people repeating about friedl, Hayes, and walks over and over. I make a comment then old school calls me delusional. Nah, I wont tolerate that Doug.
I, however will take a break from commenting. Peace
I got banned for 72 hours from the only card room in Indy and I need that place to supplement my income. Everyone gets frustrated at times. Everyone also has a right to their opinions, but I don’t know why it turned into Elly vs Stewart in your mind?
Elly got the hype…with the hype comes expectations. We were pumping him up after the crazy stuff he did like he a Mike Trout/Vince Coleman combo. He’s got holes, but this entire team is deeply flawed
It hasnt Indy. My comments were saying Stewart has been struggling mightly. Me repeating it is the same as others on here repeating about walking batters etc etc.
I wasnt comparing Elly to Stewart, I was just saying sometime some players on rln get a pass when struggling and others seem to be constantly criticized.
Didn’t call you delusional Buddy! Just the opinion comparing Sal Stewart offense recently in the same sentence with TJ Friedl and Ke’Bryan Hayes offensive production. Geez.
Anyway…what are we going to do at the trade deadline?
Fair enough maybe I am sensitive lol.
You recently said we have a core and I agree. I like to see them trade Singer and maybe Ferguson and Lowe Try to sign Stephenson and keep the core intact.
U said I think 11 players they should keep
Yeah…I think Burke could also bring back a good prospect. I didnt think Pagan had any trade value 1 month ago but interesting to see if the Reds try to trade him or if anyone will pick up his 2027 contract for $10 million
Unfortunately we are all now not focused on a pennant run in September for the Reds but instead Trade deadline deals for the future……sigh.
Maybe this game was lost before it started when Tito wrote this lineup…What a way to throw it away
its a team game and Hunter lost it really quickly but its his 3rd start this year.He will own this and move on and compete again in 5 days.Its past time anyway to look towards the deadline and next year and beyond.Its early and I don’t like it but what else is there to do.My worry that they may run off 4 or 5 more in a row and Krall would start with the yes we can yes we can is now over.Listen to all offers make the best deals possible bring up some more players from the minors if need be and play it out.
He was on my list originally because it took him 3 years to throw a 3rd pitch. Chase can do it, but his ball has movement. His slider is way better. Idk? I think he works hard and he’s dominant when he’s on. He also should’ve been ready by April or close to it, but thats another story. Still a great talent and we’ll see what happens. Can’t trade low with him for sure
Krall has made it clear they are open for business. The FO knows it’s over. I think some fans have put a lot more belief that the days following the All Star break could change things than the organization has. They know.
What they don’t know is if they can get much in return for the expiring contracts they are looking to part with.
100%
If it helps the Pirates and Skenes getting hammered down 11-0 late.Its baseball.
Whats not to love about Geno that was grand slam time or fan for the 4th time.Reds still down 7-0.
Bases loaded and no outs. 0 runs story of Reds season.
Home run derby Kevin.Its just what they do.Worked last two games with Sal and Geno going deep late but not tonight.
Yep…
Reds 700 WLW announcers tonight mentioned STL 3B Nolan Gorman being sent back to AAA after hitting sub .200 this year. He’s only hitting .145 in AAA, so he’s lost his focus (they said) due to the “shock” of being sent down.
He is a vet with 6 years in the big leagues and still only 26 years old.Below average on offense for first 5 years and worse this year in 200 at bats.Has had over 1600 at bats in the big leagues.Guess its an attention getter so hope it does and he makes it back up.Not a bad idea to do that and often wonder why we don’t with some veteran players.
Ok Tito, put Lowe, Steer and Myers back in the lineup tomorrow and keep them there until the deadline. Elly, Sal, Bleday, Steer, Lowe, Geno, Stephenson, Myers, Arroyo until the deadline.
I totally agree and after that if they trade them all, then there will be playing time for everyone who stay with the team