Reds Take 2 of 3 From the Cardinals, Andrew Abbot is Good
Issue #2
This series felt very good to win, especially after dropping the first game of the series. The broadcast said it was the first series win the Reds have taken in St. Louis in two years. Good to put that behind us, and better to contribute to a continually terrible Cardinals season. Yadier Molina may have been the most valuable player to a contending franchise in the last 30 years. St. Louis is a shambles without him.
Song of the Day
Mecca - Earthgang
Reds @ Cardinals Recap
Friday May 9
Ben Lively vs. Jordan Montgomery
The Cardinals hitters peeked their heads out of a season-long slump and put up 7 runs on Ben Lively. 6 of those runs came on two-run homers from Nolan Arenado, Nolan Gorman, and Jordan Walker. Lively gave up the runs and got 0 runs of support from the Reds offense, but he went 6.2 innings so only one reliever had to be used. Giving up runs isn’t great, but his ability to eat most of the game’s innings was important for the next two in the series.
Saturday May 10
Andrew Abbot vs. Miles Mikolas
Andrew Abbot is the story of this game. He went 5.2 innings and gave up 0 runs, bringing his total scoreless innings in the Show to 11.2 - that’s every inning he’s pitched so far. I’m not super-tooting his horn, but he’s looked in control and has performed well in both starts. The Reds (all teams) need more reliable starting pitching, and Abbot has over performed in the role so far. He pitched very well on this night in a big spot, away, against division rivals.
4 of the Reds 8 runs were two-out RBI. In the second inning with two outs Stephenson, Benson, Fairchild all reached on singles and Luke Maile doubled to clear the bases and put the Reds up by 3 runs. In the top of the 9th, India scored from second with two outs on a single from (again) Tyler Stephenson.
Matt McLain hit his third triple of the season on a mistake by Jordan Walker in left field, who charged badly on a line drive and missed - the ball went to the wall. McLain is hitting for a .343 average right now and going for extra bases 36% of the time he gets a hit. He is a great hitter with good speed and clever base running, and it’s hard to say that the results are beginner’s luck. He looks like he belongs on a big league field. Hustle and skill don’t regress.
Sunday May 11
Hunter Greene vs. Adam Wainwright
Hunter Greene is 21 years old. Adam Wainwright is 41 years old. Wainwright has been pitching as long as Hunter Greene has been alive.
Elly De La Cruz legged out his second infield single of the series and scored twice in this game. He has been an extremely productive player so far. He has one triple, double, and homer each and three singles. Half of his hits have been for extra bases, and he’s reached base on infield grounders that almost no other power-hitter beats to first. He’s stolen two bases. With an OPS (on base % + slugging %) of 1.041 in 19 at bats, De La Cruz has been good for just over a base per at bat. He’s also stolen twice, and is very fast around the bases. He’s played in 5 games and scored 6 times.
Jonathan India hit a homer (with two outs) in the top of the 1st . I still think that he should stay in the leadoff spot, with his special knack for getting on base and then across the plate, but I definitely understand the reasoning of hitting him 3rd in the lineup. Just hurts to see him come up with two outs.
Curt Casali had a beautiful throw to second to shoot down Paul Goldschmidt for the first time he’s been caught stealing in a long time. India’s tag was smooth as well.
Alexis Diaz, who finished out both the second and third games of the series (read: thank you Ben Lively for going 6.2 innings and allowing the bullpen to use only one arm even though you gave up way too many runs in the first game) now has a strikeout rate of 49%. Almost half of the batters he faces strike out. His ERA is 1.84. It’s been longer than my lifetime—I think—that the reds have had a shutdown guy like this. I hate to wish for too much, but extending this guys contract is on my list.
Looking Ahead: Reds @ Royals
First pitch is 8:10 tonight. The Reds should take care of business in this series. The Royals have so far been one of the worst teams in baseball, so it would be nice if our rookies continue to smoke the ball.
I am excited to watch Zach Greinke pitch. He is a legendary figure both for his talent and his… unique qualities. I saw a stat that said he’s struck out four active managers he’s pitched so long.
It is a run of rookies that will start pitching in Luke Weaver, Brandon Williamson, and Ben Lively but against the Royals in 2023, hopefully it will be enough.
Elly might hit another long bomb, and I bet McLain will have at least one more double.