After having Friday off as a built in contingency plan for a postponement of Opening Day, the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox are back on the field at Great American Ball Park this afternoon for game two of their 3-game series to start the 2026 season. First pitch today is scheduled for 4:10pm ET.
Starting Lineups
Starting Pitchers
Stats are from 2025.
Brady Singer
Entering his second season with the Reds, Singer has shown that he can pitch at Great American Ball Park. In fact, he was much better at home than he was on the road last season, posting a 3.29 ERA in Cincinnati and a 4.88 mark on the road.
When it comes to the platoon splits, things are big there, too. Last season he was very good against right-handed hitters and didn’t let them do much of anything. Left-handed hitters had some success against him, though. They hit for a solid average, walked at a solid rate, and they showed off a good amount of power against him.
2025 Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 312 | 62 | 15 | 2 | 4 | 23 | 63 | .222 | .293 | .333 |
| LHH | 404 | 88 | 21 | 4 | 15 | 37 | 100 | .250 | .330 | .460 |
2025 Pitch Usage
| 4-Seam | 2-Seam | Cutter | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 91.4 | 92.2 | 87.9 | 82.3 | 87.0 |
| Usage | 9% | 41% | 11% | 38% | 1% |
Sonny Gray
The 2026 season is going to be the first with Boston for Sonny Gray after he was acquired in a trade during the offseason. The former Reds pitcher is now 36-years-old and is on his third team since leaving Cincinnati (Twins and Cardinals). His ERA in 2025 (4.28) was the worst he’s had in a season since 2018 with the Yankees (4.90).
The platoon splits last season for Gray were big. Right-handed hitters hit for a very high average against him and they showed off a good amount of power. Lefties made far less contact against him and that led to a much lower average. Left-handed hitters also hit for less power than their right-handed counterparts did.
2025 Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 363 | 96 | 19 | 0 | 15 | 18 | 87 | .282 | .319 | .469 |
| LHH | 390 | 89 | 12 | 4 | 10 | 20 | 114 | .245 | .286 | .382 |
2025 Pitch Usage
| 4-SM | 2-SM | Cutter | Curve | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 91.7 | 92.4 | 88.3 | 80.2 | 85.4 | 86.1 |
| Usage | 22% | 18% | 8% | 18% | 26% | 8% |
When and Where
- Game time: 4:10pm ET
- Where: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati
- Watch: Reds MLB Channel, Reds.tv (in-market), MLB.tv (out of market), You can check your zip code here and find out who carries the Reds MLB Channel in your area if you are unsure.
- Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: 48°, sunny, 0% chance of rain
News and Notes
Nick Lodolo could start rehab this week
Mark Sheldon reported that Lodolo has a bullpen session tomorrow and if it goes well that he could have a rehab start on Wednesday. We talked more about that (and several other things) in today’s Reds Notebook.
Could Elly De La Cruz be the MVP?
That’s what The Athletic’s Keith Law thinks. In his predictions column he picked the Reds shortstop as his NL MVP. This morning we talked about how it’s possible and what he needs to do to make a real run at the award.
Chase Petty dominates in Triple-A opener
The Reds #5 prospect had about as bad of a second half of the season in 2025 as you can have while remaining healthy. He had a sub 3.00 ERA in his first three months last season but after July 1st his ERA was nearly 10.00. Last night in the Louisville Bats season opener he struck out eight batters in 4.2 shutout innings and had 18 swings and misses before he reached his pitch count for the day. The Bats won 2-1. Over at RedsMinorLeagues.com we’ve got all kinds of information from the game to check out.
Division Standings
| Team | W | L | GB | Playoff Odds |
| Milwaukee | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 43.1% |
| St. Louis | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 9.6% |
| Cincinnati | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | 17.6% |
| Pittsburgh | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | 41.1% |
| Chicago | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | 47.6% |
| Playoff Odds via Fangraphs | ||||