Key Hits Elude Reds Denied Sweep

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Dateline: Cincinnati

The Reds didn’t get a key hit when they needed one stranding 17 base runners in a 4-2 loss to the New York Mets.

 It was a bullpen day for the Mets.

The Reds were 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position.

“We just didn’t hit some far enough,” Terry Francona said. “We had good at bats throughout.”

There modest winning streak ends at three wit the Atlanta Braves due in for the weekend.

Andrew  Abbott gave up two out home runs to Juan Soto, his 12th and Eric Wagaman his first of the year.

The Reds created plenty of traffic for opener Huascar Brazoban and bulk pitcher Jonah Tong but managed one unearned run through five innings. 

Tong pitched 3 2/3 allowing an unearned run on three hits but he walked four, while getting credit for the win.

Elly De La Cruz reached on a throwing error by Tong. Nathaniel Lowe singled with two outs to score De La Cruz.

A two-out error by De La Cruz allowed the Mets to extend the lead after Luis Torrens and Carson singled to score Brett Baty.

Tyler Stephenson opened the bottom of the sixth with a double off Tobias Myers. TJ Friedl popped up in the infield. Blake Dunn singled for his second hit of the game but Stephenson had to stay at third. De La Cruz was hit by a pitch by lefty Brooks Ramey, loading the bases. JJ Bleday was retired on an infield fly. Sal Stewart beat out an infield hit to score Stephenson.

Abbott finished with six innings, allowing three runs, two earned on five hits and a walk. He struck out four.

Benge drove in another run after Jared Young single to start the seventh off Zach Maxwell. “Big Sugar” got the next two batters but Benge single restored the Mets two-run lead. Maxwell walked Bichette and Terry Francona brought lefty Caleb Ferguson to face Soto in his first appearance of the year. Ferguson recovered from a strained oblique. Backup catcher PJ Higgins was called for catcher’s interference but got Mark Vientos to foul out to Dunn in right.

Devin Williams relieved Luke Weaver who held the Reds for x innings.

Williams came into the game with a lifetime 34 appearances against the Reds. He had a 2-1 record and a 1.32 ERA. He finished 17 games in those appearances with 15 saves.

He walked three batters but struck out three getting Myers and Dunn in strikeout s with the bases loaded for his eighth save of the season.

Every Reds’ starter reached base at least once and three of the four bench players reached base, Higgins with a walk, Matt McLain and Will Benson were pinch runners. Only Myers failed to reach base.

Sweep The Mets Francona’s Instruction To Andrew Abbott

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Dateline: Cincinnati 

Resurgent All-Star left hander Andrew Abbott is given the ball with one instruction beat the New York Mets and secure a sweep.

 Why is this important?

Last season the Mets and Reds had the exact same record at the end of the season. They were tied for the last playoff spot. The Reds owned the tiebreaker and went to the playoffs. The Mets went home.

Manager Terry Francona in reality doesn’t think in these terms because a win over any team at any time could have the same consequences at the end of the season. Francona wants this game merely because it is the next on the schedule.

Abbott takes his 4-2 record and 3.97 ERA to face the Mets. The Mets try to avoid the streak with Huascar Brazobon, a reliever making his third start. He is 3-1 with a 1.73 ERA. He made 19 relief appearances and in his previous two starts he pitchers total of 2 1-3 innings.

The Mets are shy a starter and struggling to fill its rotation. The Mets used former starter Sean Manaea for three innings on Tuesday. He will be unavailable on Wednesday. AJ Minter pitched a scoreless innings in a feel-good story coming back from recovering from surgery that pulled a muscle completely off a bone. 

Unless the Mets make a roster move. they have just one  lefthander available, former Red, Brooks Ramey. They also have former Red Luke Weaver and an old nemesis from Milwaukee, Devin Williams.

Brazobon has made seven appearances against the Reds all in relief in his career. He has pitched 8 1/3 scoreless innings on five hits. 

Abbott has recovered from a poor spring training and start of the season.

In five starts since he gave up four runs in four innings against the Colorado Rockies on April 30, Abbott has two quality starts of six innings. He has allowed five runs, four earned in 28 innings, an ERA of 1.29.

In his last start against the Philadelphia Phillies, Abbott pitched 5 1/3 innings and gave up one run on three hits and three walks, while winning his third decision tin his last three starts.

Lifetime against the Mets, Abbott is 0-2 in four starts with a 5.12 ERA.

His last start against them was on September 5 last year. He gave up five runs on nine hits in 4 2/3 innings.

Lineups Reds

Blake Dunn RF

Elly De La Cruz SS

JJ Bleday LF

Sal Stewart 3B

Eugenio Suarez DH

Nathaniel Lowe 1B

Spencer Steer 2B

Tyler Stephenson C

TJ Friedl CF

Mets Lineup

Carson Benge RF

Bo Bichette SS

Juan Soto LF

Mark Vientos 1B

Marcus Semien 2B

AJ Ewing CF

Eric Wagaman DH

Brett Baty 3B

Luis Torrens C

The Franchise Supported By A 15 Hits Sets Reds Up To Sweep

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Dateline: Cincinnati

Chase Burns won his seventh game of the season with five plus strong innings as the Reds supported “The Franchise” with plenty of runs to take the series with a 7-2 win over the New York Mets.

The 29-25 Reds banged, blooped and bunted for 15 hits. Three belonged to JJ Bleday who faced all three of the Mets left handers.

 The Reds won three straight and five of the last six.

The Reds jumped on Mets starter, David Peterson early and it could have been worse for the home team.

Blake Dunn walked to open the game. As Peterson was striking out Elly De La Cruz was called safe at second on a steal. The Mets challenge got the call overturned. With two outs and no one on, Sal Stewart, singled up the middle. Eugenio Suarez doubled to the left center field gap driving in two. Dane Myers singled but Suarez was thrown out at home.

The Reds loaded the bases in the second inning. JJ Bleday singled. Peterson walked Tyler Stephenson. Matt McLain laid down a bunt that rolled down the third base line. It stopped dead in fair territory. Dunn, however grounded to Peterson who started a 1-2-3 double play.

The Mets got one hit off Burns in the first five innings. A double by number nine hitter Luis Torrens.

The Reds put the game out of slam range in the fourth inning.

Myers, Bleday and Stephenson single in succession to to score a run. McLain topped the ball to third baseman Brett Baty he went to apply a tag on Bleday, holding third. Third base umpire, Vic Carapazza signaled safe but another Mets’ challenge succeeded. Dunn grounded out but De La Cruz doubled two runs home. 

Bleday opened the sixths with a single. Stephenson picked up his second RBI of the game with a double and went to third when the shortstop Bichette threw the relay past the catcher.

Sean Manaea got three outs to strand Stephenson.

Burns cruised through five scoreless innings on one hit. He got the first out of the sixth but Bichette singled and Juan Soto hit his 11th home run of the season. AJ Ewing singled and Terry Francona brought Sam Moll in from the bullpen.

Burns finished with 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks. He struck out eight. He left with an ERA of 1.96.

Moll pitched an inning and 2/3 with two strikeouts. 

The Reds squeaked three straight singles by Dunn, De La Cruz and Stewart to build the lead back to 7-2. 

Pierce Johnson entered in the bottom of the eighth. He gave up a single to Torrens but got Benge and Bichette to fly out. Brock Burke came in to pitch to Soto, who flew out to left.

Tony Santillan pitched an easy ninth to close it out in a non save finish.

Chase Burns On The Attack For A Change

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Dateline: Cincinnati

Chase Burns is on the attack for a change. On Tuesday (052626), he will not be trying to stop the team’s record from going below .500 or breaking an eight-game losing streak. 

Instead he takes his 6-1 record and 1.83 ERA to the mound to extend the Reds momentum.

 His mound opponent is the New York Mets, ace, left hander, David Peterson.

He is 3-4 with a 5.03 ERA.

Burns ERA is tied with the Milwaukee Brewers Jacob Misiorowski for 4th best in baseball.

He has five quality starts in a row or half of his 10 starts this season. Altogether, Burns has seven quality starts. He has given up a total of four runs in 31 innings, a 1.16 ERA. 

It will be Burns first appearance against the Mets.

Peterson is 30 years old. He was the 20th player chosen in the 2017 out of the University of Oregon. 

Peterson was clobbered by the Washington Nationals on April 29, charged with seven runs on five hits and three walks in 3 2/3 innings.

Since then he was much better over four starts. He allowed eight runs, five earned in 18 innings, a 2.50 ERA. His last start on May 21, also against the Nationals was five innings, allowing one run on four hits and three walks.

Peterson has allowed two home runs in his 48 1/3 innings. 

Lifetime against the Reds, he made five starts with a 1-1 record and 4.88 ERA. Two of those starts were last season the Mets won both games. Peterson was credited with a win in the second start on September 5, he pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and a walk.

The Reds lineup:

Blake Dunn RF

Elly De La Cruz SS

Sal Stewart DH

Spencer Steer 1B

Eugenio Suarez 3B

Dane Myers CF

JJ Bleday LF

Tyler Stephenson C

Matt McLain 2B

The Mets lineup:

Carson Benge RF

Bo Bichette SS

Juan Soto DH

AJ Ewing CF

Jared Young 1B

Brett Baty 3B

Marcus Semien 2B

MJ Melendez LF

Luis Torrens C

Analysis Of Managers Decisions

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Dateline: Cincinnati

Breaking down a game winning event in a situation where both managers use strategy to squeeze a victory out of a close game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds.

The bottom of the 11th inning of the second game of a rain induced doubleheader 

 The game is tied with Spencer Steer starting in second base as the man who made the last out in the 10th.

The Cardinals pitcher, Riley O’Brien is tough on right handed hitters acceding to Reds’ manager Terry Francona. He also gets ground balls 1.50 times more than fly balls and for his career 57% of those ground balls against right handed are hit up the middle rather than the opposite field or pull side.

 This is the data set a available to St. Louis manager Oliver Mormol.

With the winning run on third base and one out. Mormol decided to pitch around Dane Myers. The on deck hitter Blake Dunn has less experience and is a rookie trying to impress, putting more pressure in himself.

Mormol brought left fielder Brayan Torres, who was in his second game of a major league career after 11 years in minor league baseball. He had played 213 games as an infielder. He was placed in the hole at shortstop with Masyn Winn moved up the middle. Mormol had no one in left field, the other two fielders were shallow and up the middle.

Why?

“I leave left field open hoping they try to hit it that way. Usually when they try to pull it they end up on top of the ball which leads to my three infielders on that side of the infield,” Mormol said. “If I split them they see they want to stay up the middle which leads to a better swing.”

Mormol was trying to bait Dunn into trying to hit to a gap rather than staying up the middle where Dunn’s strength is.

“You make them want to do that. That’s very difficult to do against Riley. Think of the approach you would take to go to right field against Riley. That is the approach which would give you the most success. I would almost do that with anybody except our lefties. Your just trying to bank on a poor approach (from the hitter). You have to bank on what’s most likely, a pull side ground ball or a slice to right field.”

Dunn did not take the bait.

“He (O’Brien) ran that sinker in. I kind of got fisted but was able to keep it away from that guy up the middle,” Dunn said.

The hit traveled past the pitcher’s mound in the air, costing Steer a split second to make sure it wasn’t caught in the air. The fact that it was low enough and caused Winn to take two steps to his left, forcing him to throw against his momentum that allowed Steer to just beat the throw and avoid the catcher’s tag.

“It was an awkward read with that kind of short floater. Steer was able to make a good slide at home and just beat it.”

Dunn didn’t change his approach.

“I’m trying to work through the middle of the field. With the five infielders, I would say ideally you want to hit the ball in the air. For me, I’m just trying to keep it simple. To keep it the same. If I work in the big part of the field, the middle of the field good things will usually happen. I stayed to the middle of the field and come through with an RBI there,” Dunn said.

Francona explained the heroics of Steer and Dunn.

“Steer did a good job there,” Francona said. “He was ready for a bunt. He was already thinking go.”

“That guy (O’Brien) has really been tough on righties. Dunn did enough. What he’s doing so well, he is just playing the game. He’s not trying to do too much. He’s just playing the game,” Francona explained.

Nick Lodolo Adds Five O’s To Spell Reds Win

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Dateline: Cincinnati

Nick Lodolo put up O’s in his first five innings of the Reds’ 7-2 win over the New York Mets.

Marcus Simien broke his shutout in the sixth inning but Lodolo took a big step getting back to form with a season-high six innings. He allowed just the one run on six hits. He struck out seven without a walk.

drive.

 As Lodolo was stifling the hosts, Reds’ hitters were poor house guests according to Mets starter Nolan McLean.

Spencer Steer drove in three runs. Tyler Stephenson and JJ Bleday homered to pace the Reds’ offense.

The Reds started with two runs in the second inning. Sal Stewart was hit by a pitch. Eugenio Suarez singled and Nathaniel Lowe walked. Steer beat a double play relay to drive in the first run. Suarez scored on a wild pitch. 

JJ Bleday hit his seventh home run of the season in the third inning.

They broke it open with four runs in the fourth inning . Suarez walked and Lowe doubled. Steer’s singie up the middle against a drawn in infield. Tyler Stephenson hit his fourth home run with Steer scoring ahead of him.

Simien led off the sixth with his fourth home run but Lodolo finished the inning. 

Brock Burke was charged with a run on a double and two ground outs. Tejay Antone finished the seventh.

Sam Moll struck out the Mets side in the eighth. Graham Ashcraft finished off the Mets with two strikeouts.

The Mets out hit the Reds nine to six but Reds pitchers did not walk a batter. Reds pitchers have walked 244 batters on the season, the third most in the MLB.

Cincinnati has quietly won four of its last five games to improve to 28-25 with the game Tuesday the 1/3 point in the season.

Nick Lodolo Gets Mets On Memorial Day

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Dateline: Cincinnati

Nick Lodolo will take on the New York Mets at Citi Field in the quaint little village called New York City.

It is his fourth start after returning from a blister on his left index finger with an 0-1 record and 7.20 ERA.

“He isn’t the pitcher he’s going to be,” manager Terrry Francona said. “But he will get there.”

 He is 1-0 with a 1.54 ERA in two career starts against the Mets. His last start against them was on July 18 last season. Lodolo was the winning pitcher, allowing two runs in seven innings on four hits.

His mound opponent Nolan McLean is 24 years old and the third round pick of the Mets in the 2023 draft out of Oklahoma State University. 

McLean is 2-3 in 10 starts with a 3.57 ERA. He is coming off a rough start against the Washington Nationals in which he allowed nine runs, six earned on eight hits, including two home runs.

McLean is facing the Reds for the first time.

The Reds lineup:

Blake Dunn CF

Elly De La Cruz SS

JJ Bleday LF

Sal Stewart 3B

Eugenio Suarez DH

Nathaniel Lowe 1B

Spencer Steer RF

Tyler Stephenson C

Matt McLain 2B

The Mets send this lineup against Lodolo:

Carson Benge DH

Bo Bichette SS

Mark Vientos 1B

Marcus Semian 2B

A.J. Ewing CF

Tyrone Taylor RF

Nick Morabito LF

Brett Baty 3B

Luis Torrens C

Colerain’s Roger McDowell Inside 86 Miracle Mets

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Dateline: Cincinnati

Roger McDowell’s new book Hot Foot tells the inside story of the 1986 World Series Champions season and growing up as a baseball nerd in the Colerain area.

He tells how his father helped instill a work ethic and respect for committment that allowed his talents to take him to the highest level of competition in Major League Baseball.

The voice of the book is in the first person because he is telling a story a contradiction perhaps to a bit of wisdom learned which will be mentioned later.

The story told to Doug Feldmann, who is a professor at Northern Kentucky University, a former scout with the Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners. He is currently an official scorer for Major League Baseball.

In the book, McDowell, tells how he grew up with three siblings in a tiny apartment in Monfort Heights. Played football, basketball and baseball at White Oak Middle School and Colerain High School. He accepted a partial scholarship for baseball at Bowling Green State University that allowed him to further his education while improving skills that led him to the 1986 World Series against the Boston Red Sox.

He was a normal kid who worked at McDonald’s on North Bend Road. 

McDowell tells how he and a friend used the truck of the shop teacher at Colerain to spread sawdust so the field would recover from rain, so they could play. He tells how they got the not-so-bright idea to spread gasoline and light it to “dry” the field.

He explains how he developed his bread and butter pitch the sinker in summer ball. How he developed life-long friendships at BGSU arriving after Orel Hershizer, who later became his teammate with the Los Angeles Dodgers. McDowell chronicles his time in the Mets farm system with Doc Gooden and Lenny Dykstra.

He arrived in the Major Leagues in 1985, making one of his two career starts against the Reds at Riverfront Stadium on May 4. He was determined to stay quiet and learn which let him earn the trust of manager Dave Johnson, veterans, Ray Knight, Gary Carter, Mookie Wilson and Keith Hernandez, a current Mets broadcaster, and one of his best friends to this day.

An excellent story teller, McDowell explains how he used practical jokes to lighten the pressure of a big league pennant race. He and Howard Johnson developed a method for giving unsuspecting teammates a hot foot, or putting on his uniform upside down. 

McDowell deftly explains the transition of pro baseball from a kid’s game to a business.

He shows a general appreciation for the places he was able to visit by playing Major League Baseball the people he met and befriended along the way from baseball executives to the fun he had with the Bleacher Bums at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, the trainers, the clubhouse attendants and all the people behind the scenes, who see to the players wants and needs to free them to concentrate in competition.

McDowell discusses his appearance in the Seinfeld sitcom with Hernandez.

He explains how he became a pitching coach, or pitching instructor as he preferred it to be called, to give back the knowledge he accumulated along the way with the help of others.

He succeeded pitching guru, Leo Mazzone, to become the pitching coach under the late, great Bobby Cox with the Atlanta Braves.

As a personal note that I will write in another post, how although our paths only crossed a few times, how our journeys paralled.

Roger and I attended the same High School had the same baseball and football coach and have many mutual friends. I had classes at Colerain with his brother Jeff and his sister was two year behind me in school.

I lived in Toledo and Bowling Green at the same time he pitched for the Falcons.

I moved to Queens New York that had a view of Shea Stadium, three years before he arrived with the Mets and stayed until 1990.

I came back to Cincinnati and covered baseball at Reds home games for SportsTicker and later interviewed Roger as a player for the Dodgers and the pitching coach of the Braves.

In these last few paragraphs, I just violated a truism that Roger learned from Clint Hurdle as a young player. Joe Duran of the New York Times wrote an article early in Roger’s rookie year. Hurdle went to Roger. “There certainly was a lot of I’s in it,” Hurdle declared. “There is no “I” in team.

I, however, recommend this book to get a clear picture for those of us who had the desire but not the talent to play the game at the top level.

It is a baseball nerd’s delight. I was delighted to read it.

Reds Game Against The St. Louis Cardinals Is Postponed

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Dateline: Cincinnati

The game against the St. Louis Cardinals for Sunday was postponed by rain.

The game will be made up as the first game of a day-night doubleheader on Monday August 17 at 1:40pm. The regularly scheduled game will be played at 6:40 pm.

Fans holding tickets for today’s game may present their same ticket for the make-up game scheduled for Monday, August 17, 2026 at 1:40 pm with no exchange necessary.

•            Game 1 (the rescheduled game from today) will be at to 1:40pm ET

•            Game 2 (the originally scheduled game) will be at 6:40 PM ET

Both games of the split doubleheader will be nine-inning regulation games.

Gates will open for the make-up game for Season Ticket Members at 12:10 pm and the general public at 12:40 pm.

The timing of the originally scheduled game for Monday, August 17, 2026 at 6:40 pm remains unchanged. Gates will open for that game for Season Ticket Members at 5:10 pm and the general public at 5:40 pm.

Please visit reds.com/rainout for more information.

Brady Singer Has Another Chance To Give Reds A Series Face Left Hander In ML Debut

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Dateline: Cincinnati

Veteran Brady Singer was given the ball last Sunday in Cleveland with the series tied at a game apiece. It is de ja vue against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday (052426).

Singer is 2-4 with a 6.26 ERA in 10 starts. He has allowed three home runs in each of his last two games. Against Cleveland last time out he pitched four innings, allowing five runs on seven hits, of which three were home runs. He had two quality starts in a row. On April 14 he pitched six innings and gave up one run. His next outing on April 19 he allowed three runs in six innings. His last win was on April 25 against Detroit but he only lasted 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs. In his last four starts, Singer has allowed 16 runs in 17 innings.

The 29-year old right hander is 2-3 with a 3.04 ERA in five starts. His last start against St. Louis was on September 17 last season. He was the winning pitcher in a 6-2 verdict in which he pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs, one earned on three hits.

His mound opponent is 24-year old left hander Brycen Mautz. He was called up today, replacing Matthew Libertore, who was listed as the starter on Friday. The Cardinals optioned Matt Svanson to Memphis to make room.

Mautz was the Cardinals second round pick in the 2022 draft out of the University of San Diego. He was also born in San Diego.

Mautz was in his first season at Triple A Memphis this season. He made nine starts and had an 0-2 record with a 2.90 ERA. He pitched 40 1/3 innings, allowing 13 earned runs on 31 hits, including four home runs. He walked 24 and struck out 43.

The Reds will send this lineup to face Mautz:

Blake Dunn RF

Elly De La Cruz SS

Sal Stewart 3B

Spencer Steer 1B

Eugenio Suarez DH

Dane Myers CF

JJ Bleday LF

Tyler Stephenson C

Matt McLain 2B

The Cardinals challenge Singer with:

JJ Wetherholt 2B

Ivan Herrera DH

Alec Burleson 1B

Jordan Walker RF

Nolan Gorman 3B

Masyn Winn SS

Bryan Torres LF

Pedro Pages C

Victor Scott II CF