Photo: D. Benjamin Miller
The series opener began well for the Reds but then St. Louis shut things down and the Cardinals wound up pummeling Cincinnati 10-3 on Friday night. This afternoon the two NL Central rivals will meet for game two of the 3-game series. First pitch is set for 2:15pm ET.
Starting Lineups
Starting Pitchers
Nick Lodolo
After missing the first six weeks of the season, Lodolo has returned and made five starts for Cincinnati. It’s been a mixed back, but his last two starts have been his best of the season as he’s allowed four earned runs in 12.2 combined innings.
The splits against Lodolo are still in small sample size areas but they also aren’t what you’d expect to see. Left-handed hitters have hit very well against him and have walked nearly as often as they’ve struck out while also not striking out much. Right-handed hitters aren’t hitting for average, but they have gotten on base frequently via the walk and hit by pitch, and they are hitting for plenty of power against him.
Splits
SplitPAH2B3BHRBBKAVGOBPSLGRHH8716316917.225.326.549LHH33920145.346.455.538
Pitch Usage
4-seam2-seamChangeSliderVelo94.494.288.682.4Usage26%23%25%26%
Matthew Liberatore
When St. Louis came through Cincinnati a few weeks ago Liberatore didn’t pitch against the Reds. He’s been inconsistent this season with multiple outings that would fall on the very good side of things but multiple outings where he simply wasn’t good. In his last start he threw 5.1 shutout innings against Chicago, but the three start before that he allowed 11 earned runs in 14.2 innings.
Similar to Lodolo, the splits against Liberatore are not what you would expect. Teams aren’t sending many left-handed hitters to the plate against him but the guys who do get to face him have been teeing off as they are hitting for both a high average and a ton of power. Righties are hitting for a good average and walking at a good rate but they are not hitting for much power at all.
Splits
SplitPAH2B3BHRBBKAVGOBPSLGRHH200486042040.271.342.373LHH6822116317.344.368.672
Pitch Usage
4-sm2-smCutterCurveSliderChangeVelo94.594.690.779.286.687.4Usage32%9%4%16%23%16%
When and Where
Game time: 2:15pm ETWhere: Busch StadiumWatch: Reds MLB Channel, Reds.tv (in-market), MLB.tv (out of market).Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)Forecast: 86°, cloudy, 10% chance of rain
News and Notes
Hunter Greene’s return
Prior to today’s game Terry Francona noted that Hunter Greene could return before the All-Star break. That shouldn’t really be much of a surprise given the timeline given when he has the surgery. He did note that Greene was “doing really good”, as reported first by Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19.
Elly De La Cruz update
His recovery from his hamstring injury is going well enough that his “check up” MRI has been pushed forward by three days and now it will happen on Friday, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Division Standings
TeamWLGBPlayoff OddsMilwaukee38230.090.5%St. Louis33285.031.3%Pittsburgh34305.559.3%Chicago33316.542.7%Cincinnati31317.59.4%Playoff Odds via Fangraphs
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