Reds Injury Updates On Nick Lodolo, Caleb Ferguson And Jose Trevino

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Dateline: Cincinnati

The Reds are still waiting for Nick Lodolo, Caleb Ferguson and Jose Trevino to return to active duty.

Manager Terry Francona gave an update before the Reds series opener against the San Francisco Giants.

Lodolo missed time three straight years now with a blister on his left index finger. The goal was to develop a callous so that he wouldn't feel discomfort when throwing is best pitch, the back foot slider. It is such an effective pitch that breaks in on right handed hitters and dives toward their back foot. Several times batters have swung at pitches that actually hit their right foot.

"Nick will throw a small side (session) today, kind of touch and feel," Francona said. "He will throw to hitters on Friday in Minnesota. He hasn't thrown any breaking pitches, yet."

Ferguson has a strained right oblique.

"Ferguson is going to throw a side on Wednesday," Francona said.

Trevino has a bulging disc in his back.

"He's going to do some catching today and hit some soft toss in the batting cage," Francona said. "Sunday was just ok. So we want to take it where we don't give him too much and slow him down. There's a chance depending on how the week goes that he faces Lodolo on Friday. We don't want to give an artificial time table. We want to let his body tell him where he is."

Louisville right hander Julian Aguiar was placed on the injured list. He missed all of last season due to surgery.

"He had some swelling. Dr. (Timothy) Kremchek was going to take a look at him but I did not get an update."

Reds Trade Christian Encarnacion-Strand

 

Dateline: Cincinnati

The Reds cut ties with hitting prospect Christian Encarnacion-Strand on Monday. 

He was designated for assignment on April 8 when Jose Trevino was placed on the injured list. The Reds selected the contract of P.J. Higgins to back up Tyler Stephenson.

The Reds could not find a position for Encarnacion-Strand and the addition of Eugenio Suarez is expected to use up time as a Designated Hitter.

CES played in 128 games for the Reds. In those games he hit 17 doubles and 21 home runs. He drove in 72 runs.

The 26-year old missed a lot of time over the last two seasons with severe hand and wrist injuries. Offense wasn’t a problem as long as he stayed in the strike zone. He was just expendable because he lacked a defensive position.

Before the Reds designated CES for assignment, he hit .222 for Louisville with a double, triple and two home runs. He drove in eight runs in 10 games.

This spring Encarnation-Strand had five hits in 15 at bats with two doubles. He was sent to minor league camp in the first round of cuts.

13 Lucky For Pete Rose

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Dateline: Cincinnati

Pete Rose got his first Major League hit on this date, April 13, 1963.

It was a triple off Bob Friend in a 12-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. At the end of the game he was hitting .071. It was the day before his 22nd birthday.

Was there anyone in the stands at Crosley Field that night who would predict that he would break Ty Cobb’s record of 4,192 hits or finish his career in 1986 with 4,256 hits.

The “Hit King” had another momentous event on April 13, 1984. 

Rose hit a double off Jerry Koosman of the Philadelphia Phillies in a 5-1 victory for the Montreal Expos at Stade de Olympique in Montreal.

Rose was hitting .270 after that game.

Current Reds’ manager Terry Francona did not play that day but witnessed from the dugout.

Noelvi Marte Optioned Rece Hinds Recalled Perhaps

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Dateline: Cincinnati

Noelvi Marte was optioned to Triple A Louisville after the game Sunday with the Los Angeles Angels.

Although the Reds did not announce a corresponding move. It would be a good bet that Rece Hinds will be promoted to replace him on the roster.

Marte was struggling out of the gate. 

“He is trying to hit everything,” manager Terry Francona said Sunday.

Marte had four hits in 29 at bats and at least two of those were infield hits. He wasn’t driving the ball. One day after his wall catch from last year was commemorated by a bobblehead this weekend he was sent down to make adjustments.

Hinds had a fantastic spring.

He hit .410 in 39 at bats with four doubles, a triple, five home runs and 11 RBI.

Hinds slashed .354/.457/.771 at Louisville with three doubles, a triple, five home runs and 16 RBI in 13 games. 

He is just returning from the bereavement list.

Jose Soriano Silences Reds Slumping Bats That Took Advantage Of LA Bullpen

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Dateline: Cincinnati

Jose Soriano had a scoreless seven inning performance, the third start in which he allowed no one to score. The Los Angeles Angels scored plenty off Reds' pitching in a 9-6 in a rout that became closer. It still allowed Los Angeles to take two out of three games this weekend.

Los Angeles hit five solid singles in the first inning against Reds All-Star Andrew Abbott.to post three runs, giving their ace, Soriano a large cushion. The cushion was even larger when one looks at the fact that Soriano has given up one lone run in three starts coverong 20 innings.

Abbott got Zach Neto out on a fly to right but Mike Trout singled to left. Jo Adell followed with a bloop single to center. Abbot retired Jorge Soler on a line out to left. Elly De La Cruz went deep into the hole at shortstop to keep Vaughn Grissom's single from driving in a run. It gave Abbott a chance to get out of the inning without a run scoring but Nolan Schanuel singled home two runs and Logan O'Hoppe drove in the third run with a solid single.

"In the first inning he (Abbott) couldn't get the last out," Terry Francona said. "He pulled a couple fastballs and paid for it. I didn't really think he was throwing the ball that bad. He started spinning it better in the second. Then there started to be some pitches that were up a little bit too much and caught too much of the plate."

It got worse for Abbott after the Reds were out in order in the first.

Neto walked with one out. Trout doubled just inside the third base bag, scoring Neto. Adell singled to left but Trout held third. Spencer Steers errant throw allowed Adell to move to second. Soler scorched a pitch foul that hit Trout flush. Soler scored Trout on a fly to medium center. On the throw, Adell tried for third but thrown out by catcher P.J. Higgins.

Oswaldo Peraza led off the fourth inning with his second home run of the season. Abbott walked Bryce Teodosio and that was the end of him for the game. Kyle Nicolas came out of the bullpen. Tedioso stole second. Nicolas walked Neto and Trout to load the bases with no outs. De La Cruz saved another run with another diving stop in the whole. He was able to bounce a throw laying on the ground to force Neto at third as Teodosio scored the seventh run of the game.

Abbott was charged with seven earned runs in three innings, alloweing eight hits and two walks. He struck out one.

"I was locating pretty well in the first inning. I got some soft contact which found holes. I just didn't make pitches when I had to. We talked about getting more groundballs and we've done that. To this point they haven't been to our guys. There is nothing wrong with it. It is still soft contact. I think I gave up two hit balls over 95. I'm doing what I need to do. It's just luck of the draw. Today was not a good day."

Matt McLain led off the Reds' fourth with the first hit off Soriano, a ground single to center.

The Angels added an eighth run in the seventh on a ground out. Brock Burke gave up his first run of the season.

Sam Moll was charged with an unearned run. He walked two and appeared to be out of the inning but Higgins was called for catcher's interference that loaded bases. He walked Schanuel to force in the run.

Soriano finished seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits with two walks. He struck out 10 and dropped his ERA to 0.33.

The Reds scraped out a run in the bottom of the eighth against Soriano's replacement Sam Bachman. TJ Friedl walked and moved to second on indifference. De La Cruz beat out an infield single. Sal Stewart dumped an RBI single into center field. Will Benson walked. Bachman uncorked a wild pitch that O'Hoppe couldn't find and De La Cruz and Stewart scored. Benson moved to third. Nathaniel Lowe walked for the third time. Nick Sandlin relieved and got Steer to fly out to left.

"Soriano came as advertised," Francona said. "He's got high 90's, two seam movement, breaking ball, split. Then he four seams it every once in a while up high. He's pretty impressive."

The Reds came off the mat in the last two innings, after using wild pitches to score four runs over the last two games. The bottom of the ninth became an adventure with the Angels bullpen. Sandlin bailed Bachman out in the eighth. He needed a life preserver of his own in the ninth. Noelvi Marte reached on an error by third baseman, Oswald Peraza. Pinch hitter Dane Myers singled and Friedl was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs.

First year manager Kurt Suzuki called on veteran Drew Pomeranz to pitch to McLain. The Reds second baseman lined out to Peraza who dove to the third base bag to double off Marte. De La Cruz his his fifth home run of the season and fourth off a left handed pitcher to make the final margin 9-6. Pomeranz struck out Stewart to end the game.

It was the second game in a row that Reds' pitchers walked nine batters.

Andrew Abbott Faces Angels Ace To Determine Series

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Dateline: Cincinnati

Andrew Abbott, the reigning Reds' Most Outstanding Pitcher as voted by the local chapter of Baseball Writers Association of America, will pitch the deciding game of the three-game series.

Abbott, a 2024, All-Star, is 0-1 with a 3.18 ERA in his previous three starts, including his last start against Miami, where he allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings. The Reds rallied late against the Marlins' best pitcher, Sandy Alcantara to win 6-3 in 10 innings.

Today he gets another tough mound opponent in Jose Soriano. The Angels right hander is 3-0 with a 0.45 ERA. In his first two starts of the season against the Houston Astros and the Chicago Cubs, Soriano pitched six scoreless allowing a total of four hits and six walks. He struck out a total of 11. Soriano allowed one run in eight innings in besting the Atlanta Braves in his last start.

To challenge Soriano the Reds will send this lineup:

TJ Friedl CF

Matt McLain 2B

Elly De La Cruz SS

Sal Stewart 1B

Eugenio Suarez 3B

Nathaniel Lowe DH

Spencer Steer LF

Noelvi Marte RF

P.J. Higgins C

Abbott is up against:

Zach Neto SS

Mike Trout CF

Jo Adell RF

Jorge Soler DH

Vaughn Grissom 2B

Nolan Schanuel 1B

Logan O'Hoppe C

Oswald Peraza 3B

Bryce Tedodosio LF

Soriano is 0-1 against the Reds in three games, one start with a 0.00 ERA. Abbott is 0-0 in one start against the Angels, four innings three earned runs.

Reds Walk Off With A Win To Even The Series With The Angels

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Dateline: Cincinnati

The Reds walked to a victory 7-3 over the Los Angeles Angels.

Struggling at the plate the Reds were gifted nine walks to supplement their nine hits, three by Elly De La Cruz. 

The Reds came into the game with a Major League low .160 batting average with runners-in-scoring-position but improved that with a still paltry 2-for-10 fortunately Nathaniel Lowe drove in three runs with one of those. Sal Stewart had the other. Both were in the first inning.

The Reds took advantage rookie right hander George Klassen's wild side. Klassen helped the Reds with three walks. De La Cruz singled Spencer Steer, who walked, to third base with one out. De La Cruz stole second. Sal Stewart handcuffed first baseman Nolan Schanuel with a bouncing ball of his glove. It was ruled a hit and Steer scored. Eugenio Suarez walked. Nathaniel Lowe doubled past first base into the right field corner. All three runners scored. Tyler Stephenson walked as Lowe went to third on a wild pitch. Noelvi Marte hit into a fielder's choice as Lowe was thrown out at home. Ke' Bryan Hayes grounded out to end the inning.

"It let us play with a little room to breath and we needed it," Terry Francona said. "It was a big swing to clear the bases."

Lowe was in the lineup actually giving Matt McLain a rest with Stewart playing second base.

"I was looking for a pitch to do damage with. I found one good enough and it found a hole. You can't think about struggling. You have to think about the task at hand. The team is still trying to find an identity. It's April 11th, right? The last I checked we've got a lot of leeway ahead of us. I'm confident in this group. We're going to bust out. We're going to get consistent and we're going to like the results a lot."

Brandon Williamson walked two batters in the second inning but a double play, De La Cruz to Stewart to Lowe freed him from trouble.

Steer lined a pitch off the left field foul pole in the second inning off Klassen. It was Steer's second home run of the season. He has been hitting the ball hard the last few games but without many hits. He was at .182 to start the game.

"Spence is going to be just fine," Francona said. "We saw him last year start out so slow and look what he did." Steer ended up with a .238 average with 21 home runs and 75 RBI.

"It's part of the process, not getting too wraped up in results," Steer said. "If you worry about results this game will eat you alive. It's natural to try harder when you're struggling but I don't really see that from many guys. I think we've done a good job of battling and keep going."

The Angels loaded the bases with no outs in the third. Zach Neto singled. Mike Trout walked andJo Adell was hit by a pitch. Williamson struck out Jorge Soler. Schanuel grounded out to shortstop as Neto scored. Vaughn Grissom flied out to left.

Williamson's lack of command cost him two runs in the fourth. He walked Yoan Moncada and Neto. Trout delievered them with a double to cut the Reds lead, 5-3

Klassen left the game with a contusion to his index finger. Former Red Brent Suter took over. Suter held the Reds four 3 2/3 innings to keep the Angels within reach.

Connor Phillips walked two more batters bringing eight but was bailed out by Pierce Johnson, who pitched an inning and 2/3 before turning the game over to Graham Aschcraft. Johnson was given credit for the win by the official scorer since Williamson failed to go five innings.

"I thought Pierce Johnson really calmed it down," Francona said. "Willy (Williamson) had six walks. Connor came in and had a couple. Pierce came in and really slowed it down."

"We did some good things because we had to. Walking that many people doesn't lend itself to a crisp game. Fortunately, we caught the ball and turned some double plays."

Tony Santillan entered the game in the eighth. Logan O'Hoppe swung at strike three. The ball bounced off the signs behind home plate, directly back to Stephenson. O'Hoppe was ruled safe at first by the first base umpire Ben May but called out for running inside the baseline by home plate umpire, Adam Beck. Angels manager Kurt Suzuki was ejected for strongly debating the ruling.

Santillan gave up a single to Schanuel but Hayes quickly turned a key double play.

By the time Emilio Pagan was ready to come into the game the Reds expanded their lead to four runs.

Angels reliever did a fine job holding the Reds on one hit, De La Cruz second double of the game but Marte singled in the ninth. With two outs acting manager John Gibbons brought in Chase Silseth, who couldn't find the plate either. Marte advanced to second on a ground ball and scored on two wild pitches. Friedl, defensive replacement Matt McLain. De La Cruz and Stewart resembled a parade as all three walked. Friedl scored on Silseth's third wild pitch of the inning.

Pagan pitched a scoreless ninth but evened the gifts by walking Trout in a hitless, scoreless ninth inning.

The Angels also took nine walks but had just five hits.

Reds Take Early Batting Practice

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Dateline: Cincinnati

The Reds took early batting practice on Saturday at noon.

Reds hitters have struggled with the exception of Sal Stewart, who is slashing .340/.458/.681. The Reds lineup on Saturday has five players with batting averages below .200.

From bottom to top, they are Ke'Bryan Hayes .088, Noelvi Marte .143, TJ Friedl .154, Tyler Stephenson .182 and Spencer Steer .182.

The Reds have won eight games by scoring only 41 runs, last in the Major Leagues. One of the reasons is the Reds hitting with runners-in-scoring position at a Major League low of .162, including 0 for the last 13. They were 0-for-10 on Thursday and 0-for-3 on Friday.

Still, batting woes, were not the reason for the early battting practice. "We have a 4:00 game today, we don't take batting practice on Sunday and we have on off day, Monday," manager Terry Francona explained.

It has been suggested that Francona, shake up the lineup and move batters around.

Francona rejected the idea. 

"You make the lineup out for a reason," Francona said. "If guys do what you think they can do, it makes sense. I've never been a fan of like lineup Bingo (picking names out of a hat). I think that leads to a lot of inconsistencies in everything. Like Friedl right now. Do I think Friedl is a good hitter? Yeah. Has he had a good first two weeks? No. So if you move him down to nine (somtime) he is going to get hot. Leave him where he is. If you move people, you have to move other people too. I always try to do what I think makes sense. I don't think bouncing people around makes sense."

"I told Steer he swung the bat really good," Francona said. "When you don't get rewarded for it, you want to do more. That's where you get in trouble. You hope he doesn't try to do more."

Matt McLain is on the bench for the first time this season. It was a planned day off with an off-day Monday.

Brandon Williamson Takes On Mike Trout And The Los Angeles Angels

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Dateline: Cincinnati

Brandon Williamson gets the ball for the third time this season. His first two starts were a mixed rosin bag, allowing six runs in 4 2/3 innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates in an 8-3 loss. The last time out he threw 6 2/3 scoreless innings against the Miami Marlins.

Williamson has never faced the Los Angeles Angels. The only current Angels he faced are Travis d"Arnaud who walked in his only plate appearance and Jorge Soler who has one hit in four at bats. It was a home run. Williamson faced former Red Jeimer Candelario three time, allowing a double but Candelario was designated for assignment before the game.

The Angels send right hander George Klassen against the Reds. Klassen made one start at Triple A Salt Lake City against Las Vegas. He was promoted and started against the Seattle Mariners in his first Major League appearance on April 5. He pitched 2 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on three hits and five walks. He struck out four.

Klassen in 24-years old. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 2023 draft by the Philadelphia Phillies out of the University of Minnesota. The native of West Bend, Wisconsin, came to the Angels with LHP Samuel Aldegheri for RHP Carlos Estevez.

The Reds send this lineup against Klassen:

TJ Friedl CF

Spencer Steer LF

Elly De La Cruz SS

Sal Stewart 2B

Eugenio Suarez DH

Nathaniel Lowe 1B

Tyler Stephenson C

Noelvi Marte RF

Ke' Bryan Hayes 3B

Williamson will face:

Zach Neto SS

Mike Trout CF

Jo Adell RF

Jorge Soler DH

Nolan Schanuel 1B

Vaugh Grissom 2B

Logan O'Hoppe C

Yoan Moncada 3B

Bryce Teodosio LF

Nathaniel and Josh Lowe Meet On The Field For The First Time Since The Death Of Their Mother

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Dateline: Cincinnati

Wendy Lowe lost a long battle with cancer on March 5. She was just 60 years old.

On Friday, April 10, just over a month later, her two sons met on a Major League field at Great American Ball Park for the first time since.

Their father David made the first trip to Cincinnati to watch them play against each other in a 10-2 Los Angeles Angels win over the Cincinnati Reds.

"It's always fun. It will be nice to see him, to see my dad and have a nice weekend together," Nathaniel said before the game.

Josh Lowe is two years younger than older brother Nathaniel and on this night Josh was on the winning team but it did not detract from the special meeting between the two.

They were both drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2016 draft. Josh was taken in the first round with the 13th selection in the entire draft out of Pope High School in Marrieta, Georgia. Nathaniel was taken in the 13th round while attending Mississippi State University.

"It was pretty cool," Nathaniel said. There was no trash talk or sibling rivalry as the older brother never felt upstaged. "No way. He was like the super star prospect draft pick. I was like hoping for a shot. It turned out the way it turned out. I can't change anything now."

David Lowe is managing the loss.

"He's pretty solid," Nathaniel said. "He's staying busy with work. I know he's excited to be here this weekend and see the both of us at the same time. I'm happy for that opportunity. It was great the schedule lined up like that."

Josh was excited about the reunion, too.

Lowe Brothers Meet at GABP Josh to the left

"It's always an awesome time, playing against my brother," Josh said. "It is something we don't take for granted. I'm looking forward to it, tonight. My dad is excited to be here to see his two sons play."

They were able to play together in the minor leagues with the Tampa Bay organization.

"We keep it light. We talk here and there. I'm always watching to see if he's playing or not. He does the same. He'll text me after a game, stuff like that."

Nathaniel appeared in the Major Leagues first on April 29, 2019 with the Rays. Josh was promoted and debuted on September 8, 2021. By that time Nathaniel was traded to the Texas Rangers. Josh joined the Angels on January 16 of this year in a three team deal. Tampa Bay sent Josh to LA. The Reds got Brock Burke from the Angels. Tampa got Gavin Lux from the Reds.

With their father in the stands Josh hit a home run off Chase Burns to help the Angels secure the win. Nathaniel entered the game late as a pinch runner
for Sal Stewart.

The novelty was not lost on first year Angels manager Kurt Suzuki. He played in the big leagues until 2022, he's only four years removed from being active.

"It is really cool that they get to play each other," Suzuki said. "I never played against Josh but I played against his brother Nathaniel a lot with Texas. I think it is really cool. I'd like to see my kids play each other in the big leagues."

His boys are nine and 12. It is a few years off if it happens. 

"It is a testament to their talent, their work ethic. I never played with Nathaniel but just speaking to him. He's a great person. Josh is a top notch guy."