For a moment it was easy to think the Cincinnati Reds might actually be on to something again. On Friday night, with the Chicago Cubs in town, we all got to watch Hunter Greene pitch like the true ace he is, and suddenly we had dreams of what he and Chase Burns could look like atop a rotation again.
That’s the kind of TOR that could dig a team out of, say, a seven-games-under-.500 hole over the season’s final half.
The Reds crashed right back to earth on Saturday, though. They gave up a late lead,
lost Nick Lodolo to the injured list again, and head into Sunday’s series finale at 43-51 and just about buried.
Andrew Abbott will attempt to shoulder the load for the Reds in this one, something he’s done with aplomb more often than not after a brutal April. Still, the Reds are going to need to find a way to solve lefty Matthew Boyd, and they’ll need to do so despite boasting just an 87 wRC+ in home games – a mark that ranks 28th out of the 30 MLB clubs.
Because the Reds are stacking righties in their lineup opposite Boyd, we’re once again getting a Spencer Steer start in CF. Ke’Bryan Hayes is also back in the lineup because reasons.
First pitch is set for 1:40 PM ET. Lineups for both clubs are listed below!
