Elly De La Cruz Drives Four Runs Save Two With His Glove Spencer Steer Homers To Take Early Lead

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Dateline: Cincinnati

Spencer Steer hit a two-run home run and Elly De La Cruz drove in four runs to send the Reds to a 7-2 win over the Colorado Rockies to open the three game series.

Two players were happy to see Kyle Freeland come off the injured list to make his 10th career start against the Reds. Freeland himself and Spencer Steer

"We try to keep the same mentallity," De La Cruz said. "We play to win. We want to keep it that way. The work I put in the off season was to be healthy to be able to play everyday. I feel pretty good. I feel pretty comfortable at the plate."

Steer belted his fifth home run of the season to allow the Reds to stake Chase Burns to a 3-0 lead. His home run was the third he's hit off Freeland in the nine at bats he faced him.

De La Cruz didn't shed a tear either. He came into the game with three singles and six at bats against the veteran left hander.

"Right handed he has been so much better," Francona said. "You've heard me say and I'll say it again, when you drive the ball the other way, you're fundamentally very sound. He and Sal are strong enough when they hit the ball the other way, they get rewarded."

Dane Myers walked to open the Reds half of the first. He moved to second when second baseman Edouard made a sliding stop on Matt McLain's bullet up the middle. De La Cruz got jammed but placed the bloop just beyond the reach of first baseman, Troy Johnston. Cruz stole second while Sal Stewart was at the plate. After a pop out to second base, Steer reached the left field stands to score two runs. 

Burns struck out three batters in the first inning after walking Julien leading off. He gave up a leadoff single in a scoreless second inning but gave up a leadoff home run to Julien in the third, his second of the season. T.J Brumfeld open the fourth with a double but De La Cruz short hopped a high bouncer over the head of Ke'Bryan Hayes at third base and made an acrobatic throw to Stewart, who scouped to ball in time to nip Tyler Freeman at first. 

"I just wanted to catch the ball and make a play," De La Cruz said. "It was a high bounce so I was able to see it. You have to throw. If you don't throw, you're not going to make an out."

De La Cruz may not have been impressed with himself but veteran manager, Terry Francona was.

"That play he made to his right was a physically as an impressive play as you're ever going to see," Francona said. "I thought the play that may have been more impressive was the double play ball because that ball probably should have hit him in the Adam's Apple."

The Reds got the the run back in the bottom of the third. Myers singled and stole second. De La Cruz made it 5-for-8 against Freeland with a line drive up the middle to drive in his second run of the game.

Jake McCarthy bunted for a single with one out in the fifth. He stole second and scored on Julien's second hit a solid single.

Burns pitched out of another jam in the sixth. Rumfield singled to become the fifth lead off man to reach in six innings. Stewart alertly took out the lead runner after fielding a hard bunt by Freeman. Johnston doubled but Burns recorded his ninth strike out with Kyle Karros and got Tovar on a fly to right.

"I told Sal that was a great play after the inning," Hayes said. "He's has a great internal clock."

Burns finished with six innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and a walk and nine strikeouts.

"You're trying to go as far as possible. You kind of get fatigued out there so you take it pitch by pitch," Burns said. "When they start making better contact, you bear down and make sure you locate. DJ and I talk about it all the time, just staying in tune and staying in my breath. I try to slow the game down mentally."

"He left a couple sliders that they hit," Francona said. "But when they had a couple runners in scoring position even when we played back, he took it upon himself to go for the strikeout. He reached back and threw some really good sliders."

Graham Ashcraft, first "Grindstone Cowboy" to relieve in the seventh inning. He gave up Julien's third hit and a single by Micky Moniak with to put runners on the corners with one out. Hunter Goodman hit into a 6-4-3 double play.

Tony Santillan entered in the eighth. He allowed a two-out walk and a single but struck out Tovar to send the game to the eighth.

Tanner Gordon pitched two scoreless innings for Colorado but ran out of gas in the eighth.

Myers infield single allowed him to reach base for the third time. De La Cruz hit his 10th home run of the season to the opposite field to increase the margin. He matched Tony Perez as the only Reds' player to hit 10 home runs by May 1. Stewart hit a ground rule double to right center and scored on Nathaniel Lowe's single.

Brock Burke pitched the ninth in a non-save situation with three left handed batters due up. He struck out the last two batters to nail it down. He dropped his ERA to 0.63.

The Reds are 15-1 when they lead after six innings and 14-0 when they lead after seven innings.

 

Nick Lodolo Returns Soon Hunter Greene, Eugenio Suarez, Caleb Ferguson Progress

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Dateline: Cincinnati

It is like trading for a starting pitcher. Nick Lodolo left his last spring training start after two batters in the last game in Goodyear, Arizona, his final tuneup to start the season. 

Lodolo developed a blister on his left index finger and was removed with a 1-1 count on Jose Ramirez the start against the Cleveland Guardians. He was placed on the injured list to start the season.

The left hander has been working with trainers and working with a soft surface, weighted ball to heal the blister. After side sessions and a couple bullpen sessions, Lodolo, pitched in a rehab assignment for the Daytona Tortugas on April 2. He had to leave after reagravating the blister. On Sunday he tried again and pitched five scoreless innings against South Bend. He threw 55 pitches and had to throw more in the bullpen after he left the game.

Lodolo will pitch Saturday for Louisville in Omaha.

"We'll see where he's at after that," Terry Francona said. "We had a cap of 10 breaking balls. He threw a number warming up and he threw eight in the game, I believe."

Hunter Greene is in Arizona long tossing from 110 feet. He is under the supervision of the rehab specialist Eric Gonzalez. 

"We're anticipating about three weeks from now, he'll throw his first bullpen," Francona said. 

Eugenio Suarez had a mild oblique and is getting treatement daily.

"When he is paind free, we'll do another MRI. We're not there yet. When he's scanned again, we will see how much activity we can introduce," Francona said.

Caleb Ferguson pitched one inning for the Chattanooga Lookouts against Birmingham. He had a walk and a strikeout in a scoreless inning. He threw 14 pitches, seven strikes and had a balk with a disengagment violation.

He will pitch again on Friday.

"We will see what he wants to do Friday, whether he wants to start or come in during the game," Francona said.

Chase Burns Tries To Climb Colorado Rockies In Series Opener

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Dateline: Cincinnati

Chase Burns faces the Colorado Rockies for the second time in his brief career. Burns pitched six innings against Colorado on July 11, 2025. He pitched six innings, allowed two runs on four hits and three walks. He struck out 10 and allowed a home run to Ryan McMahon, who is now with the New York Yankees.

Burns is 2-1 with a 2.57 ERA in his first five starts this season. He has a bad start against the Los Angeles Angels in which they scored five runs in 5 1/3 innings against him. His other four have been another story. He has two quality starts, giving up no runs in six innings against San Francisco and one run in six against the Texas Rangers. He was awarded the win in his last start against the Tampa Bay Rays, allowing two runs in 5 2/3 innings on four hits and two walks. He struck out eight. He has yet to strike out 10 in a game like he did four times in 2025.

The Rockies send left hander Kyle Freeland to the mound with a 1-1 record and a 2.30 ERA. He's made three starts this season. He has nine career starts against the Reds with a 4-2 record and 6.39 ERA. Last season, Freeland started against the Reds in Denver on April 25. He gave up six runs on 10 hits and a walk with four strikeouts. Spencer Steer hit a two-run home run off him.

His last start was 21 days ago. He is coming off the injured list with shoulder inflamation. His last start on April 7 against the Houston Astros, Freeland pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing a run on three hits and one walk. He struck out five.

The Reds lineup against Freeland is:

Dane Myers CF

Matt McLain 2B

Elly De La Cruz SS

Sal Stewart 1B

Spencer Steer LF

Nathaniel Lowe DH

Tyler Stephenson C

Rece Hinds RF

Ke'Bryan Hayes 3B

The Rockies attack Burns with:

Edouard Julien 2B

Mickey Moniak CF

Hunter Goodman C 

TJ Rumfield DH

Tyler Freeman RF

Troy Johnston 1B

Kyle Karros 3B

Ezequiel Tovar SS

Jake McCarthy LF

Reds Grindstone Cowboy Bullpen To The Rescue

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Dateline: Cincinnati

The 1990 Reds under Lou Piniella had the Nasty Boys, Randy Myers, Norm Charlton and Rob Dibble to nail down wins.

“We had seven inning games,” Piniella recalled. “If we had the lead in the seventh inning, it was slam the door baby,”

So far in 2026 manager Terry Francona has the “Grindstone Cowboys” to close wins, and hold the team in games until the offense can rally. This bullpen held in games14-0 when leading after six innings 2-0 when tied after six. 

They grind when behind 6-1 comeback wins,  through four wins that the team was behind after six innings or later, including, six wins in the last at bat.

 They are 14-0 when leading after six innings.

The bullpen has kept the team afloat, while waiting for the offense to come around.

The “Grindstone Cowboys” saved 10 of the 18 wins, third best in baseball. and won nine games themselves, highest in Major League Baseball.  

They are eighth in total appearances, 28 and are 13th with 108 1/3 innings pitched.

The Reds relievers are second in baseball with a 2.91 ERA. Opponents have a .201 batting average against them second lowest in the majors.

These stats indicate why the Reds have bolted to the National League Central Division lead, a division in which every team has a winning record. The .643 winning percentage is third behind the Atlanta Braves .690 and the Los Angeles Dodgers .679.

The bullpen allowed a team that is last in hitting .213, 27th in on-base-percentage .307 and 19th in runs scored 118 is that high in the standings.

Manager Terry Francona it's able to rely on them in the 11 games decided by two runs or fewer, including seven one-run games.

Five pitchers have saved games. Emilio Pagan leads with six, Connor Phillips, Tony Santillan, Graham Ashcraft and Brock Burke have one each.

“This bullpen throws the highest rate four seamer. You don’t see a lot of sinkers,” Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said before the three game series. “They come right at you. They throw 99 so why wouldn’t you. Pagan doesn’t really throw 99, Santillan will, Burke will, Phillips will. Ashcraft will throw 100 mile an hour cutters. Moll will spin it.”

These are the highlites for the Grindstone Cowboys.

Graham Ashcraft:

He’s pitched seven straight scoreless games. He’s retired 12 of the 14 batters to face him. Ashcraft has stranded all three of base runners inherited. He has not allowed a home run in 47 innings.

Ashcraft mainly works the seventh innings of games just like Randy Myers of the Nasty Boys.

Tony Santillan the setup man like Norm Charlton.

He had an 11 game scoreless streak snapped on Friday when he gave up two home runs. He retired the fist batter faced 9 of the 15 times. He’s retired stranded six of eight inherited runners.

Emilio Pagan:

He leads the team with six saves. He is fourth among MLB relievers with reliever with two wins. The closer as Nasty Boy, Rob Dibble was, has retired the first batter faced nine times in 12 attempts. He stranded both inherited runners. He is nine strikeouts short of 600 and 11 appearances short of 500.

Brock Burke, one of two left handers, has a five game scoreless streak. He earned his first career save on April 5, striking out the side in the ninth inning against the Texas Rangers. He has retired the first batter 10 times in 14 games. Four of the six runners inherited were stranded. Burke has a 0.68 ERA.

Pierce Johnson allowed a pair of runs Sunday to snap a nine game scoreless streak of 8 2/3 innings. He has 11 appearances without a walk.

Sam Moll:

The other left hander has retired nine of the 14 first batters faced. The first batter he faced in Sunday reached on an error. He retired 37 batters before giving up a hit. He stranded eight of 10 inherited runners.

Connor Phillips:

He leads the Reds with 15 appearances. He is second with 12 scoreless appearances. He retired nine first batters and stranded six of eight inherited runners. He earned his first career save against the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 30. Batters are hitting just .158 against him.

Jose Franco:

He has been a starter for Triple ALouisville. He rejoined the Reds on Saturday, replacing Kyle Nicolas. He made his first career appearance on March 30 against Pittsburgh. He made two starts at Louisville after making the opening day roster when Nick Lodolo and Caleb Ferguson started the season on the injured list. He gave up a two-run home run to Gleyber Torres on Sunday to increase his ERA from 3.18 to 4.70.

Dat Dude BP Joins Reds Elites With Hall Of Fame Entrance

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Dateline: Cincinnati

Brandon Phillips was always a shining star, even coming out of Redan High School in Stone Mountain, Georgia, his talents commanded attention.

His personality did too. Phillips was always, the brightest bulb in the pack. He called himself Dat Dude and he was indeed that guy. You were either in his corner or out of it. But whichever way you went, friend or foe, it was an intense experience.

His smile was infectious. His frown devestating.

On the field he was all competitor. He was never afraid to push the limits.

 The Montreal Expos grabbed him in the second round of the 1999 draft. He never made it to the Major Leauge's with them. Instead he was the prospect that brought the established star in a trade. The Expos needed a starting pitcher badly in June 2002. They traded their two best prospects, Grady Sizemore and Phillips to the Cleveland Indians for ace Bartolo Colon.

Phillips started his Major League career with the Indians as a September call up that year, playing for manager Charlie Manuel. The next year new manager Eric Wedge put Phillips, 22, at second base for 112 games. He hit .208 with 18 doubles, a triple, six home runs and 33 RBI. He only walked 14 times and struck out 77 times. His on-base-percentage was a low .242. He stole four bases but was caught five times.

Phillips and Wedge clashed. The second baseman was sent to the minor leagues out of spring training in 2004 and 2005. He only played in six games at the major league level in both of those seasons, in spite of hitting .303 with eight home runs and stealing 14 bases at Triple A Buffalo in 135 games in 2004 and hitting .256 with 15 home runs in 112 games in 2005. He was designat for assignment out of spring training in Winter Haven in 2006.

The Reds’ general manager Wayne Krivsky, took advantage of rift and discontent to trade for Phillips on April 7, 2006 for a player to be named later, Jeff Stevens. It was a give away.

The Indians cried in their bat racks for years after that as Phillips ample talents bloomed in Cincinnati.

He produced for the Reds right away and quickly became a fan favorite. Not only did he hit .276 in 149 games with 28 doubles, a triple, 17 home runs, 75 RBI and 25 stolen bases, he was a flashy, effective defensive player.

Phillips became a bonfide star in 2007. He hit .288 with 26 doubles, six triples, 30 home runs and 94 RBI. He became part of an exclusive 30-30 club with 32 stolen bases. 

Phillips won a Gold Glove, the first of four, in 2008.

He was an All-Star in 2010, 2011 and 2013.

Phillips hit a career-high .300 with a career-high 38 doubles in 2011 along with Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards. He scored 107 runs in 207 and 100 in 2010. He drove in 98 runs in 2009 and 103 in 2013. He hit over .290 in both 2015 and .2016. He laced 30 or more doubles four straight years from 2009 through 2012. 

During his 11 seasons with the Reds, Phillips hit .279 with 311 doubles, 32 triples and 191 home runs,  which is 13th place on the Reds' all-time homer list. Eugenio Suarez just passed him this year.

He stole 209 bases and slashed .279/.325/.429 for a 753 OPS.

He was traded to the Atlanta Braves, to play in his hometown, in February 2017. Phillips finished his 17-year career with the Boston Red Sox in 2018. 

On Friday, April 23 Phillips signed a one-day contract with Cincinnati, so he could retire a Cincinnati Red. 

At the pregame ceremony before the game Saturday (042526), Phillips told Reds’ fans, “I was at home in 2006 looking for another opportunity to provide for my family and show the world that I could play the game that I love.

New owner Bob Castellini, had fired Dan O’Brian as GM and hired Krivsky in February.

Krivsky traded Willy Mo Pena for Bronson Arroyo as one his first moves in spring training. After Phillips designation for assignment, Krivsky took advantage and made the trade before Phillips could be put on waivers . Now Arroyo and Phillips are both in the Reds’ Hall of Fame. 

“Wayne Krivsky, Jerry Narron (Reds manager) and Mr. Castellini called me in and told me to be the best player, I can be.” 

“All the dignitaries here,” said Phillips pointing to the members of the Reds’ HOF in attendance. “I can not believe I’m in the presence of you all. You were all better than me.”

Phillips told the story of Eric Davis, the senior advisor has worked with young Reds’ players as a senior advisor for the last 18 years. suggesting a longer bat.

“One day I was in the dugout,” Phillips said. “He was like Brandon what size bat do you use. I said 33 1/2, 32 (ounces). He said, “that’s a twig. Swing this bat right here. This is what I swung.’ He came out with a 35 inch bat. I was struggling at the time so I went ahead and tried it. The first at bat I went up with that long 35 inch. I struck out. I went back to the dugout and threw it in the trash can. He came downstairs and told me to try it one more time. I said this is the last time I’m going to try it. Next at bat, I hit that damn ball. I said Oh My Lord. I swung that 35 the rest of season.”

Spencer Torkelson Slugs Tigers To Sweep Avoiding Win

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Dateline: Cincinnati

Spencer Torkelson continued his home run streak to five games and slugged two doubles to stop the Reds from sweeping the Detroit Tigers in an 8-3 win.

Rhett Lowder started slowly in the effort to sweep the Detroit Tigers but settled in to finish five innings as Reds' batters took him off the hook.

In the first inning, Detroit combined singles by Gleyber Torres  and Riley Greene with a walk to Spencer Torkelson to set up Kerry Carpenter for a two-out, two-run double.

Lowder scattered three hits over the next four innings and finished with five innings, allowing two runs on six hits and one walk. He struck out seven.

"In the first inning, he was kind of yanking everything," Terry Francona said. "DJ settled him down. To his credit, it was a high pitch count after two innings but he gave us five. He looked way more like Lowder after that."

Lowder changed tactics after the first inning.

Nathaniel Lowe took Tiger starter Keider Montero deep for his fourth home run of the season and fourth in three days of this series. It was the second time, Lowe had home runs in three straight games since August 2022 as a member of the Texas Rangers.

"Even when we left him in against the left hander, he hit the line out. He feels really good about himself," Francona said. "He knows he's getting an opportunity. He's trying to make the most of it. He's seeing the ball pretty good."

JJ Bleday hit a home run in his first game with the Reds off Montero.

Bleday and Lowe were among the last decisions the Reds made in spring training.

The Reds chose Lowe because he was a veteran and his demeanor was more compatable with a bench role.

"We feel Bleday can help us," Francona said. "We didn't want him to have that last bench spot. We wanted him to go play."

"Lowe is not used to being on the bench but he admits he had a bad year. He told us that he played his way out of a starting job. He wants to play his way back."

The Reds took the lead in the fifth inning. Ke'Bryan Hayes led off with a triple. Matt McLain hit a double to score him.

Brock Burke relieved Lowder in the sixth. He surrendered a double to Torkelson and walked Matt Vierling and Jahmai Jones but struck out Jake Rogers and retired Kevin McGonigle on a fly out to deep center.

The Tigers roared against Sam Moll and Pierce Johnson in the seventh inning. A rare error by Hayes at third base allowed Torres to reach base. Pinch hitter Hao-Yu Lee hit his first home run of his career to give the Tigers a lead. After Johnson relieved Moll, Torkelson hit his fifth home run of the season. 

Torkelson tied the team record for hitting home runs in five straight games, accomplished five times, the last by Marcus Thames in 2008. The others are: Willie Horton (1969), Vic Wertz (1950), Hank Greenberg (1940) and Rudy York (1937).

"He hit a couple home runs coming in, so you put a little asterisk by his name, for a guy who is not where he's at." Francona said. "You hear me say all the time, guys are going to get to their level. A couple of the swings he kept his hands in so well, he got the barrel to it. He's strong."

Carpenter tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Vierling.

Jose Franco took over for Johnson to face Detroit in the eighth. He walked McGonigle and served up a home run ball to Torres.

McGonigle is hitting .330 and his single in the second inning extended his hitting streak to 11 games and has reached base in 24 straight starts.

"McGonigle, (expletive), they say he has a bright future. He has a bright present too," Francona said. 

The Tigers got four scoreless innings from Brant Hurter, Will Vest, Kyle Finnegan and Brenan Hanifee.

Rhett Lowder Looking For Sweep Of The Tigers

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Dateline: Cincinnati

The Reds send their young star to be starter, Rhett Lowder, to the mound with a whisk broom in his back pocket. 

For the third straight series the Reds head into the final game with a chance to sweep. This time against the Detroit Tigers.

Lowder is 3-1 with a 3.10 ERA. He allowed one run in six innings against the Tampa Bay Rays to set up a sweep opportunity in his last start. Three of his five starts have been quality starts. This would be his first appearance against the Tigers.

Facing the Reds trying to avoid a sweep is 25-year old right hander, Keider Montero. He holds a 1-2 record with a 3.68 ERA.

This will be his fifth start. He had one quality start, a six inning scoreless outing against the Miami Marlins on April 10. Montero pitched 5 2/3 innings in his last start against the Milwaukee Brewers. He allowed three runs on five hits and one walk.

He has pitched one game against the Reds in relief. He relieved Brant Hurter in the first inning on June 13 last season and pitched five innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and a walk.

The Reds send this lineup against Montero.

TJ Friedl CF

Matt McLain 2B

Elly De La Cruz SS

Sal Stewart 1B

Nathaniel Lowe DH

Spencer Steer RF

JJ Bleday LF

Jose Trevino C

Ke'Bryan Hayes 3B

Lowder is tasked with this lineup:

Kevin McGonigle SS

Gleber Torres 2B

Colt Keith 3B

Riley Greene DH

Spencer Torkelson 1B

Kerry Carpenter LF

Matt Vierling CF

Wenceel Perez RF

Jake Rogers C

Reds Trap Tigers With Three Home Runs Brady Singer Tames Tigers

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Dateline: Cincinnati

Detroit Tigers rookie Kevin McGonigle was intent on ruining the Reds Hall of Fame induction of Lou Piniella, Brandon Phillips, Reggie Sanders and Aaron Harang.

He deposited Brady Singer's second pitch of the game onto the center field terrace. Colt Keith and Riley Greene his singles back-to-back but Singer squelched further damage.

The Reds showed the old guard how good they are with a 9-2 win to clinch the series against Detroit and improved to 18-9 on the season.

The Reds took it out on Tigers' starter, Jack Flaherty. Matt McLain walked and Elly De La Cruz matched him. Sal Stewart hit his ninth home run into the left field stands. Nathaniel Lowe went back-to-back with his third home run in 24 hours. 

Hard luck Ke'Bryan Hayes hit a long double over Matt Vierling's head in center field to opne the second inning. TJ Friedl was credited with a sacrifice bunt as Hayes moved along. McLain struck out but De La Cruz crushed his ninth home run the opposite way to the left base of the batter's eye. 

Spencer Torkelson hit his second home run of the series and fourth on the season to cut into the lead.

The Reds continued to assault Tiger pitching. 

Tyler Holton allowed an inning opening single to Hayes. Friedl dumped a single to right. De La Cruz walked and Stewart chased two home with a hard ground single passed the second baseman, Javier Baez.

"Sal is just a good hitter. He fouls off tough pitches. He may look off balance sometimes but when you're a good hitter and you see enough pitches, the pitcher will make a mistake and you can do some damage," Francona said.

Stewart drove in five runs and leads the Major Leagues with 29.

"I'm confident in my guys," Stewart said. "I know what we can do. There are ups and downs in this game. We understand that. I trust these guys. I love my teammates."

Stewart has been carrying the offense in the early season as they were near the bottom of baseball in runs scored. The last 10 games they have scored six or more runs five times. In that span Friedl had his first extra base hits with two against the Tigers in this game.

"It was only a matter of time until the bats came alive," Friedl said. "We've been playing good baseball over that last 10-game stretch. The pitching has been incredible. We've been playing good defense. We started getting things rolling on the offensive side."

Singer gave up his eighth hit with one out in the sixth.  Connor Phillips shut down Detroit the rest of the inning.

"There were a lot of base runners, some hits," Terry Francona said. "Some bending but not breaking. You look up at Brady in the sixth and you usually have a good chance to win."

Singer finished with 5 1/3 innings, two runs on eight hits and no walks. He struck out three.

Graham Ashcraft and Sam Moll pitched scoreless innings with the Reds infield turning two double plays.

Friedl's third hit of the game was a home run off Drew Anderson. It was Friedl's first of the year.

Emilio Pagan pitched the ninth in a non-save situation. He had not pitched in five days. He pitched a scoreless ninth.

Colorful Lou Piniella Manages To Be Inducted Into The Reds Hall Of Fame

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Dateline: Cincinnati

Colorful manager Lou Piniella will join the Reds' Hall of  Fame collecting a World Championship ring and a couple of dented water coolers.

Reds fans elected him to the team Hall of Fame.

"When they called and told me I was thrilled. I told him that he just made my year," Piniella, who is 82,  said. "I will remember this the rest of my life. This is a historic franchise. The fans, everything are great."

The 1990 Reds won nine straight games to start the season and led the entire went wire to wire and never spent a game out of first place.

"I remember going to spring training and looking at my roster," Piniella recalled. "I was thinking to myself, these kids are vey talented. I looked at my pitching with Jose Rijo, Tom Browning, and a couple of young kids, if our pitching holds up, we can win. My message to them on opening day was: you guys are at the right age, the right experience and the talent to win everything. I said go out, play ball and good things will happen to us."

"We built up a big lead and I was able to rest the team, in the summer. We got into the playoffs. Pittsburgh was a good team. The team we beat in the playoffs was a good team. The Oakland was heavily favored but I felt that we would play very well. I didn't know we'd sweep them. I thought we'd be very competitive because Oakland was a fastball pitching team. Our kids hit fastballs well. At the same time Oakland had big sluggers where you could throw velocity at them."

Piniella was prophetic. The Reds swept the Oakland A's in four games.

"Pete Rose did a great job of putting the team together. We just tweaked it a little."

Rose was the manager in 1989 when he was suspended for life for betting on baseball.

Piniella took over after a 17-year career as a player and two years of managing the New York Yankees.

The Reds brought in outfielder Billy Hatcher to fit between Eric Davis and Paul O'Neil. They added Randy Myers to go with Rob Dibble and Norm Charlton to form the "Nasty Boys"

"They made the difference. We used to play a seven inning game. If we were ahead in the seventh inning it was shut the door, baby," Piniella explained. "We had some power but we also had some speed and athleticism. If we could tack on a run here and there in the middle of a game. It made it tough on the opposition."

In the post season, Jose Rijo caught fire. "He was unhittable," Piniella said. 

The Reds have not been to the World Series since. Neither did Piniella in the remainder of his 23-year career. He did win three Manager of the Year Awards although he finished second to Jim Leyland of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1990. Piniella, known as "Sweet Lou" won 1,835 games as a manager and had a winning percentage of .517. Piniella managed the Seattle Mariners to 116 wins. The only other team to win that many was the 1906 Chicago Cubs although the Cubs did it in 155 games while the Mariners took 162 games to do it.

Piniella was known for his temper. He was ejected in 64 games, five in 1990 and 11 in his three years with the Reds. On August 21, 1990, one of the most famous ejections in baseball lore was Piniella, taking first base up by its "roots" and flinging it into the outfield. Not satisfied with distance, he went out to pick up the base and throw it farther.

https://youtu.be/Xwk6QsMve5g?si=KtqtH7H2PFXIUvJ5

"Truhfully, now that I'm 82 years old and hopefully a lot smarter, I wish I had toned it down some," Piniella said. "I really do. Truthfully, I'm an easy going guy but on the field, I'm very competitive. When I first started managing, Mr. (George) Steinbrenner said, 'when you get mad at the umpire put on a little show. The people enjoy it. I get the back page of the New York Daily News and the New York Post. I'll pay your fines.'  I took it to heart but I wished truthfully, I had toned it down some."

The Reds owner the infamously, cheap, tight fisted owner of the Reds in 1990, Marge Schott, was different.

"Marge was a little reluctant but she eventually paid it," Piniella laughed. 

Now heated arguments between managers and umpires have been largely removed from the game with replay review and the new ABS camera system for balls and strikes.

"Truthfully it would have suited me just fine," Piniella said. "I do feel like the fans miss a good argument once in a while. It's fun for them. Baseball is a sport. It's a business. But it's also entertainment. You gotta entertain the folks some too. Still it would have saved me a few ejections. "

"When most managers got kicked out the game the fines was three or four hundred. My fines started at a thousand plus," Piniella reminisced."

Most players he managed expressed fear for his disapproval. The real fear were gum ball machines and water coolers.

Piniella had gum ball machines on the desk in his office. After one tough loss, those machines felt the brunt of his anger. He released his rage before inviting the press in for the postgame conference.

"Watch out for the gum balls," Sweet Lou warned. 

Water coolers weren't safe either. After a bad play or a base running mistake or anything else that didn't go the Reds way. He would kick the water cooler which was near the end of the dugout in the days before bottled water. 

While he was with the Reds, a play brought him distress and he turned to kick the water cooler and whiffed, falling flat on his butt. Reds players surpressed a laugh.

"Go ahead and laugh," Piniella said. "It was funny."

"When I played the poor water cooler took a beating," Piniella said. "I'd swing at a bad pitch, make a stupid out. The water cooler took the brunt of it. In fact in Kansas City, I took a couple home. I paid for them two times over."

Piniella left the Reds when Marge Schott wouldn't maintain the team.

"We had a great organization from the front office to the scouts, to the talent in the system. This was the only job I took where the team had a chance to win. Pete Rose had some good teams with talent,"Piniella said.

"Marge told me I won with a $13 million payroll, I could win again with a $13 million payroll," Piniella remembered. "I told her the other teams are getting better. We have to increase our payroll. She said the same thing, $13 million, I said, 'you're not interested in winning. So I went home." 

Brady Singer Hunts Tigers To Keep Reds' Momentum Going

      https://gofund.me/b67c71781

Dateline: Cincinnati

Brady Singer hopes to grab the Detroit Tigers by the tail, just like Buck Owens sings about.

The Reds' right hander is a quiet, steady starter, looking to improve on his 1-1 record and 5.32 ERA. His hunt has been on and off so far this season with a short start of 2 2/3 innings followed by two quality starts, a one run, six inning game against the San Francisco Giants in which he struggled early but grinded out a 2-1 win. His last outing on April 19. He allowed three earned runs early but gutted out six innings as the Reds came back to take a 7-4 victory in 10 innings.

As a member of the Kansas City Royals, Singer has faced the Tigers 15 times as rivals in the American League Central Division. He is 7-1 with a 3.16 lifetime against the Cats. He was the winner in an 11-1 win in Detroit on June 14, 2025. He pitched six innings allowing one run on four hits.

His mound opponent is Jack Flaherty a right hander who came through the Reds National League Central rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals. Flaherty in his second season in Detroit is 0-1 with a 3.47 ERA. He has allowed two runs or fewer in four of his five starts. The opposition has scored a total of two runs in his last 15 innings, covering three starts. His last outing was a 3 1/3 effort in which he allowed two unearned runs on three hits and six walks against the Boston Red Sox. The walks caused an early exit.

Against the Reds he holds a 3-3 record with a 4.53 ERA in 11 starts. His last start against the Reds was the same 11-1 loss that Singer won. Flaherty was tagged with seven runs in 4 2/3 innings with home runs by Elly De La Cruz, Tyler Stephenson and Spencer Steer.

The Reds send this lineup against Flaherty. 

TJ Friedl CF

Matt McLain 2B

Elly De La Cruz SS

Sal Stewart 1B

Nathaniel Lowe DH

Spencer Steer LF

Tyler Stephenson C

Will Benson RF

Ke'Bryan Hayes 3B

The Tigers counter with:

Kevin McGonigle SS

Matt Vierling CF

Colt Keith 3B

Riley Greene LF

Dillon Dingler C

Kerry Carpenter DH

Spencer Torkelson 1B

Wencel Perez RF

Javier Baez 2B