The Reds left Denver with exactly the kind of win you’d expect from a team that can mash in Coors Field and then just barely survive the rest of the afternoon. They jumped all over the Rockies early, built a massive cushion, and held on for a 9-6 victory that sealed the series.
The damage started fast. Nathaniel Lowe and Tyler Stephenson both went deep in the top of the first to put Cincinnati ahead 5-0 before Hunter Greene even settled in.
Then Sal Stewart added a three-run blast in the top of the second, stretching the lead to 8-1. Stephenson wasn’t done either - he homered again in the fifth to make it 9-1.
By the end of the day, the Reds had piled up four home runs and two doubles as part of a 10-hit, nine-run outburst.
That early offensive surge gave Greene all the room he needed. By the time he took the mound in the bottom of the second, Cincinnati had already built that 8-1 advantage.
Greene then worked six innings, allowed three earned runs on four hits, struck out seven and didn’t walk a batter. In a place like Colorado, that’s a strong outing.
It also continued a really encouraging stretch for Greene. Over his last two starts, he’s thrown 13 innings, struck out 19 and issued just one walk. That’s the version of Greene the Reds want to keep seeing, and it’s a reminder that the top of this rotation might be better than it gets credit for.
And now the Reds have Greene and Chase Burns locked in on contract extensions. Starting pitching drives everything in Major League Baseball, and Cincinnati has done well identifying those two as part of its core. The fact that both are starters only makes that even better.
The schedule doesn’t get any kinder this week, though. The Reds head to Seattle to open a series against the Mariners, with late-night baseball on the Pacific Coast. First pitch is set for 9:40 E.T. on Monday and Tuesday, then 3:40 E.T. on Wednesday.
Seattle was in progress Sunday against the San Francisco Giants and entered the day 49-50, one game behind the first-place Texas Rangers in the American League West and 1.5 games back in the American League Wild Card race.
The matchup also invites a little daydreaming about what the Reds might look like in the AL West. They’d at least have a shot at a division title. Of course, that comes with the obvious caveat that the whole division is down.
As for the pitching matchups, Andrew Abbott (5-5, 4.11 ERA) gets the ball Monday against Mariners right-hander George Kirby (7-8, 3.76 ERA). Chase Burns (11-2, 2.54) will make his first start after his contract extension Tuesday opposite former Reds right-hander Luis Castillo (3-8, 4.93 ERA). On Wednesday, Brady Singer (4-9, 4.56 ERA) is scheduled to face Emerson Hancock (6-4, 3.17 ERA).
In Other News...
Joey Votto Reaches A Proud New Milestone For Reds Fans
Joey Vottos post-playing career is already taking him into a familiar kind of spotlight. The former Reds star has been making the rounds on MLB Networks MLB Now, and NBC Sports confirmed earlier this year that he would be part of its coverage for select Sunday Night Baseball broadcasts and the MLB playoffs as a pregame analyst.
Now Votto is set for his NBC Sunday Night Baseball debut on July 26, when the Philadelphia Phillies meet the New York Yankees. Hell be part of a broader studio group that includes Clayton Kershaw and Anthony Rizzo, another sign that Vottos next act is starting to come into focus, even as Reds fans continue to see his fingerprints around Cincinnati through gestures like the clock he donated to Great American Ball Park. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Veterans Suddenly Look Like Deadline Trade Bait Again
The Reds are once again in that familiar midsummer spot where the roster starts to look a little more like a warehouse of movable parts than a finished contender. With the August 3 deadline approaching, the front office is reportedly weighing expiring contracts and trying to decide which veterans fit the long view and which ones fit the trade market, a list that includes Eugenio Surez, Brady Singer, Tyler Stephenson, Brock Burke, Nathaniel Lowe, Caleb Ferguson and Pierce Johnson.
Surez, Lowe and the left-handed relievers give Cincinnati a few different ways to shop the same basic idea: present value now, future flexibility later. Even with some uneven production in the mix, there is enough name recognition and enough team need around the league to make these players worth watching, and the real question is how aggressive the Reds want to be if the right offers start coming in before the deadline. [Read more 🡒]
Former Mariner Eugenio Surez Returns With Trade Deadline Tension Hanging Over Him
Eugenio Surez has spent enough time in the middle of deadline chatter to know how these late-July weeks can feel, and the Reds third baseman is back in the conversation again after a strong stretch at the plate. He missed a month earlier this season with an oblique strain, but since getting back in stride he has looked more like the veteran power bat Cincinnati hoped to have, helping fuel the kind of speculation that comes with a player on an expiring deal.
Surez said he understands the possibility of another move, even if his attention stays on the day-to-day grind of playing baseball. The trade talk comes as Cincinnati looks increasingly likely to be in sell mode ahead of the Aug. 3 deadline, and it lands against a personal backdrop too, after Surez shared a moment with teammate Ezequiel Tovar as both checked on family in Venezuela following recent earthquakes. [Read more 🡒]