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
Starting Pitchers
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)
SplitPAH2B3BHRBBKAVGOBPSLGRHH2134011161163.199.241.353LHH2073511091569.184.251.384
Pitch Usage
4-seamSliderSplitVelo98.889.287.4Usage57%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
SplitPAH2B3BHRBBKAVGOBPSLGRHH208425141437.225.298.326LHH2376014061738.273.325.418
Pitch Usage
4-seam2-seamCurveSliderChangeVelo95.295.478.187.688.2Usage31%19%18%30%3%
When and Where
Game time: 7:15pm ETWhere: Busch StadiumWatch: 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
TeamWLGBPlayoff OddsMilwaukee64390.099.5%Chicago58456.084.6%Pittsburgh535111.540.2%St. Louis525112.017.6%Cincinnati485415.52.2%Playoff Odds via Fangraphs
