Cincinnati Reds lefty Andrew Abbott went toe to toe with Boston Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet on Opening Day in Great American Ball Park, and did so admirably. Abbott fired 6.0 IP of scoreless ball for the Reds, scattering 7 hits and a walk while striking out 4 in an 83 pitch effort that kept the Reds otherwise inept offense within striking distance of a comeback (even though that didn’t pan out).
In the four starts since then, however, Abbott has looked a shell of his All-Star self. He’s only managed
to clear 18.2 IP in that span, and has been tagged with 17 runs (16 earned) with a near equal 11/10 K/BB.
Next up for Abbott is the lineup of the Detroit Tigers, as that’s who is in town this weekend as the Reds celebrate their newest inductees into their team Hall of Fame. Detroit, to date, owns a .308 wOBA and 93 wRC+ against left-handed pitching so far in the early going of 2026, marks that both rank 18th in the league in their respective categories. They have, however, swatted only 3 dingers off southpaws this season, and only two teams can claim fewer homers in said category (the Marlins with 2 and Padres with 0, somehow).
The Reds, for the record, rank 4th in Major League Baseball with 12 homers off LHP – thanks, Elly!
Cincinnati will be up against an All-Star lefty themselves in the series opener on Friday as veteran Framber Valdez gets the start. He was mauled by the Minnesota Twins for 8 ER in 5.0 IP in his start against them on April 8th, yet in his other four starts combined he’s yielded 1 ER or fewer in each (3 ER total in 25.0 IP), so odds are the Reds are going to be up against it a bit.
Fortunately for the Reds, all-world ace Tarik Skubal pitched yesterday in the series finale between the Tigers and Milwaukee Brewers. So, he won’t feature in this particular series.
First pitch on Friday is set for 6:40 PM ET. Brady Singer will toe the rubber on Saturday at 7:15 PM ET (after the team’s big HoF induction ceremony), while Rhett Lowder will start on Sunday in the series finale at 1:40 PM ET.
