The Cincinnati Reds have only played baseball on one day over the last four days thanks to an off day and a bunch of rain. But on that one day they did play 20 innings of baseball and picked up a split in a doubleheader. Today they are in New York to take on the Mets and open up a three game series at Citi Field. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10pm ET.
Starting Lineups
Starting Pitchers
Nick Lodolo
After missing the first five week so the season while dealing with a blister issue, Lodolo returned to the Reds rotation on May 8th. He’s struggled in his three games back, allowing 12 earned runs on 14 hits, nine walks, and three hit batters in just 15.0 innings.
The sample size is extremely small for the splits against Lodolo this season, but both left-handed hitters and right-handed hitters are hitting for a ton of power against him and walking nearly as much as they strike out. Righties aren’t hitting for much average, but lefties are hitting .333 in their limited chances against him.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 48 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 7 | .243 | .375 | .622 |
| LHH | 19 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | .333 | .421 | .667 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-seam | 2-seam | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 94.6 | 94.3 | 82.5 | 88.7 |
| Usage | 21% | 24% | 26% | 28% |
Nolan McLean
The rookie of the year candidate has had a strong start to 2026. He’s made 10 starts and only at the end of two of them has his ERA on the season been higher than 3.00. That came after his first start when he allowed two runs in 5.0 innings and then after his most recent start when he gave up six earned and nine total in 5.2 innings to the Nationals. McLean had only allowed two home runs through his first seven starts, but he’s given up four in his last three.
The splits aren’t huge against McLean but they are in favor of lefties over righties a little bit in all categories. Right-handed hitters are hitting for a very low average, don’t walk, don’t make contact, and don’t hit for power. Left-handed hitters make way more contact and walk more, and while they are hitting better for both average and power, they still hit for a low average and no power.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 84 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 30 | .179 | .238 | .295 |
| LHH | 150 | 29 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 39 | .218 | .300 | .353 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-seam | 2-seam | Curve | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 96.5 | 95.2 | 81.5 | 87.5 | 88.3 |
| Usage | 18% | 36% | 12% | 25% | 9% |
When and Where
- Game time: 4:10pm ET
- Where: Citi Field
- Watch: Reds MLB Channel, Reds.tv (in-market), MLB.tv (out of market).
- Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: 71°, cloudy, 5% chance of rain
News and Notes
Brady Singer to pitch Saturday
Yesterday it was announced that the Reds would skip Brady Singer in the rotation. We wrote about all of that here. But today manager Terry Francona noted to the media in his pre-game interview that Singer would pitch on Saturday and that, as reported by Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19 in Cincinnati, the hope is he can spend the week with pitching coach Derek Johnson and have a bit of a reset.
Winning against everyone else
The Cincinnati Reds are 25-15 against non-divisional opponents this season. They are just 2-10 against teams from the National League Central. Can they keep that going against the New York Mets, who were not placed in the NL Central overnight while we all slept – I double checked.
Division Standings
| Team | W | L | GB | Playoff Odds |
| Milwaukee | 30 | 20 | 0.0 | 75.5% |
| St. Louis | 29 | 22 | 1.5 | 31.5% |
| Chicago | 29 | 24 | 2.5 | 53.5% |
| Cincinnati | 27 | 25 | 4.0 | 13.9% |
| Pittsburgh | 27 | 26 | 4.5 | 45.9% |
| Playoff Odds via Fangraphs | ||||