Photo: D. Benjamin Miller
The Cincinnati Reds are fresh off of a 3-game sweep in frigid Minnesota. Today they are in Florida where it’s nice and warm, but they are also in Tampa where they will be playing under the lights in a dome as they open up a 3-game series against the Rays. First pitch tonight is scheduled for 6:40pm ET.
Starting Lineups
Starting Pitchers
Rhett Lowder
The start of 2026 for Lowder has been solid. He’s pitched into at least the 6th inning in each of his last three starts, but in the last two he’s allowed four and three earned runs. Lowder has given up just one home run this season and he didn’t allow any in 2024, meaning he’s given up just one long ball in 53.2 big league innings.
The platoon splits against Lowder are both similar and very different. Neither group hits for much average against him, though righties are better. They both have a .274 slugging percentage against him, too. But left-handed hitters have walked a ton and walk as often as they strike out when facing him. Right-handed hitters never walk against him.
Career Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 109 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 19 | .245 | .266 | .274 |
| LHH | 113 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 18 | .189 | .319 | .274 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-Seam | 2-Seam | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 93.2 | 92.5 | 85.2 | 86.2 |
| Usage | 26% | 30% | 24% | 21% |
Jesse Scholtens
Since the start of the 2024 season, Scholtens has pitched just 18.0 innings in the big leagues – all for Tampa Bay. He’s pitched in two games in both 2025 and 2026 at the MLB level. Coming off of a missed 2024 season, he pitched in 68.2 innings in Triple-A with a 4.72 ERA. This season he’s made one start in Triple-A where he threw 5.0 shutout innings.
Last season with Charlotte and Durham in Triple-A he had pretty big splits. Right-handed hitters didn’t do much of anything against him. Lefties were able to hit for a solid average, but they didn’t walk much at all. Where they stood out was hitting for a good amount of power against him when they did pick up a hit.
2025 Triple-A Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 123 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 34 | .207 | .268 | .324 |
| LHH | 137 | 32 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 34 | .254 | .299 | .460 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-Seam | 2-Seam | Slider | Split | |
| Velo | 93.4 | 92.5 | 86.5 | 85.4 |
| Usage | 25% | 18% | 48% | 9% |
When and Where
- Game time: 6:40pm ET
- Where: Tropicana Field
- Watch: Reds MLB Channel, Reds.tv (in-market), MLB.tv (out of market).
- Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: They have a dome.
News and Notes
Reggie Sanders on the Jim Day Podcast
As we get closer to the 2026 Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame induction weekend we’re starting to see more stories about this year’s inductees – Aaron Harang, Brandon Phillips, Reggie Sanders, and Lou Piniella. Jim Day’s podcast this week has Sanders on to talk about his time in the game and with the Reds. You can find it wherever you prefer to get your podcasts, but here’s a direct link if you want to listen on a computer or even your phone but not through your podcast app.
Division Standings
| Team | W | L | GB | Playoff Odds |
| Cincinnati | 14 | 8 | 0.0 | 25.0% |
| St. Louis | 13 | 8 | 0.5 | 15.4% |
| Pittsburgh | 13 | 9 | 1.0 | 61.1% |
| Milwaukee | 12 | 9 | 1.5 | 42.9% |
| Chicago | 12 | 9 | 1.5 | 56.9% |
| Playoff Odds via Fangraphs | ||||