The Cincinnati Reds are making an early season trip to California this year. After San Francisco opened up the year in Cincinnati, the Reds are now making their return visit to take on the Giants. Cincinnati will be looking to have better results in this series after losing two of three to start the year to San Francisco. First pitch is scheduled for 9:45pm ET. Tonight’s game is MLB.tv’s Free Game of the Day.
Starting Lineups
The originally posted lineup had Jake Fraley starting in right field and batting 8th. He was later replaced in the lineup by Jacob Hurtubise, who is now in left, with Blake Dunn sliding from left to right field. Fraley was scratched for what the Reds are calling “left side pain”.
Starting Pitchers
Hunter Greene
It’s been a nice start to the year for Hunter Greene, but his record has gone unrewarded thus far as he sits at 0-1 despite allowing three runs in 12.0 innings. On Opening Day, Greene faced the Giants and allowed two runs in 5.0 innings on just three hits, a walk, and he struck out eight batters.
Pitching at Great American Ball Park isn’t easy. Greene, as you would expect, pitches better on the road. His home ERA was still good, coming in at 3.38, but it was a far cry from the 2.05 he posted on the road last season where batters also had just a .505 OPS against him (.647 at home).
2024 Splits
Split PA H 2B 3B HR BB K AVG OBP SLG RHH 311 52 9 2 6 27 75 .191 .281 .304 LHH 300 44 10 1 6 30 94 .174 .285 .293 Pitch Usage
4-seam Slider Split Velo 99.5 88.1 88.2 Usage 57% 33% 9% Logan Webb
San Francisco plays in a very pitcher friendly ballpark. And the splits last year for Logan Webb showed that. His ERA at home was 2.83, but on the road it was 4.11. His OPS against on the road was also 116 points higher than it was when pitching at home. Left-handed hitters performed better against him last season and most of that came down to the fact that they walked far more often. When it came to what righties and lefties did on contact against him things were nearly identical.
This spring Webb started throwing his cutter significantly more than in the past and he’s carried that forward into the regular season, too. Most of the upped usage comes at the expense of his change up.
2024 Splits
Split PA H 2B 3B HR BB K AVG OBP SLG RHH 408 98 14 0 8 14 75 .253 .280 .351 LHH 433 104 21 4 3 36 97 .263 .323 .360 Pitch Usage
4-seam 2-seam Cutter Slider Change Velo 92.5 92.4 90.8 84.2 85.3 Usage 6% 36% 20% 25% 13% When and Where
- Game time: 9:45pm ET
- Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco
- Watch: FanDuel Sports Network Ohio, MLB.tv
- Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: 57°, cloudy, 10% chance of rain
News and Notes
Matt McLain available off the bench
Pat Brennan of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that McLain did some work pre-game in San Francisco and will be available off of the bench for tonight’s game.
Keep an eye on Elly
Jay Jaffe wrote about the dreadful Cincinnati Reds offense over at Fangraphs earlier today. Not everything in the article is bad, though. Jaffe notes that even though Elly De La Cruz is hitting about league average at this point, there are signs in the underlying data that suggest if he keeps it going those numbers are very likely to not only turn around, but explode.
The physics of the Torpedo Bat
Everyone’s favorite topic from the first week of the season that’s gone a bit quiet since – The Torpedo Bat – was also written about over at Fangraphs today. This piece, written by Dr. Alan Nathan, is worth your time if you have any interest in why the bat might (or might not) be helpful for a player.
