The Cincinnati Reds take their tattered pitching staff further on their road show on Monday, this time to the City of Brotherly Love. That’s where they’ll find the Philadelphia Phillies, who so hot right now they’re shucking popcorn.
Seriously, they were once 9-19 and fired their manager, yet since Don Mattingly took the helm they’ve just started destroying everything in their path and now boast the exact same 24-23 record on the season as the Cincinnati Reds. That’s good enough for 2nd place in the NL
East right now, and the Reds can thank them for company in the cellar of the NL Central as the Phillies enter tonight’s game fresh off a three-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates to park them also at 24-23 on the season.
One-time almost-Red Kyle Schwarber has been leading the charge for the Phillies, his 20 dingers so far this season the most in all of baseball. The Reds, who do not have Kyle Schwarber on their roster despite him hailing from Middletown, will try to pick up the pieces against him this evening, with hopes that Nick Lodolo can finally lock-in after missing over a month on the shelf with blister issues and return to the excellent form he flashed back in 2025.
The exhausted bullpen sure could use the rest.
First pitch on Monday will be chucked by righty Andrew Painter at 6:40 PM ET, and Terry Francona has shuffled his lineup once again to feature Matt McLain as the Reds leadoff man for the evening. TJ Friedl and Ke’Bryan Hayes will bat back to back at the bottom of the order, with both currently ranking among the 9 worst hitters of the 223 with at least 120 PA this season.
Here’s the full lineup for the start. Go Reds!
