After Philadelphia took their home opener on Friday, the Cincinnati Reds will look to get back in the win column on Saturday afternoon. The Phillies and Reds are both sending left-handed starters to the mound in a match up 25-year-olds. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05pm ET.
Starting Lineups
Starting Pitchers
Nick Lodolo
In his season debut last week, Nick Lodolo picked up the win against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The left-handed starter struck out nine Pirates and allowed just two runs while throwing 109 pitches. Lodolo faced the Phillies twice last year and it came in back-to-back starts in the middle of August. The first time out he dominated, throwing 7.0 shutout innings with eight strikeouts. The next time out Philadelphia touched him up for four runs in 5.1 innings.
Managers do their best to avoid sending lefties to the plate to face Nick Lodolo. The few that seem to be deemed good enough be in the lineup against him probably shouldn’t. Last season they managed to hit just .109 against him with one extra-base hit in 53 trips to the plate. Righties had far more success, hitting .252 with a solid walk rate and solid power against him.
2022 Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB% | K% | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 388 | 85 | 14 | 3 | 13 | 9.0% | 28.4% | .252 | .351 | .427 |
| LHH | 53 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7.5% | 39.6% | .109 | .226 | .130 |
Pitch Usage (from 2022)
| 4-Seam | 2-Seam | Change | Curve | |
| Velo | 94.5 | 94.2 | 88.4 | 81.6 |
| Usage | 36% | 23% | 11% | 30% |
Bailey Falter
The lefty is now in his third big league season. In 2021 he pitched out of the bullpen for Philadelphia and struggled, posting a 5.61 ERA. But in 2022 he moved into the rotation and things got better as he pitched to a 3.85 ERA with 17 walks and 74 strikeouts.
Left-handed batters didn’t hit for much average or get on base often against Falter in 2022. But when they did get hits, they hit for power. Right-handed hitters found far more success against him, posting an OPS of .818. Not shown in the splits below were the extreme home and road splits for Falter. Last year his ERA in Philadalphia was 5.49 (2.42 on the road) and batters had an .883 OPS against him (.695 on the road).
2022 Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 275 | 69 | 13 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 56 | .273 | .324 | .494 |
| LHH | 74 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 18 | .229 | .257 | .414 |
Pitch Usage (in 2022)
| 4-Seam | 2-Seam | Curve | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 91.6 | 91.2 | 76.7 | 83.8 | 83.3 |
| Usage | 56% | 37% | 16% | 16% | 5% |
When and Where
- Game time: 4:05pm ET
- Where: Citizens Bank Park
- Watch: Bally Sports Ohio, MLB.tv
- Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: 52°, partly cloudy, 0% chance of rain
News and Notes
Tony Santillan looks good on rehab
Last night saw Tony Santillan make his second rehab appearance with the Triple-A Louisville Bats. He threw a shutout inning in his first appearance but his control was iffy. Yesterday things went much better as he picked up a strikeout in a perfect inning where he needed just 11 pitches. His fastball was 96-98 MPH on the night.
Graham Ashcraft’s start pushed back
Connor Overton and Graham Ashcraft will swap spots in the rotation starting tomorrow according to Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Overton moves up a day and will start against the Phillies tomorrow, while Ashcraft will take the mound on Monday and face Atlanta.
Cam Collier’s 2023 debut couldn’t have gone better
It was surprising to nearly everyone that Cam Collier, rated as high as #2 in the 2022 draft, was available when Cincinnati was on the clock at the 18th spot. The Reds selected him and paid him an overslot bonus. He only played nine games after the draft, hitting .370/.514/.670 with more walks than strikeouts. Last night he got back on the field as an 18-year-old in Single-A Daytona and things couldn’t have gone much better.
Collier drove in a run in his first at-bat. In his final at-bat he doubled in the game tying run in the 9th inning. He also walked three times, finishing 2-3 with three walks and three runs batted in. He wasn’t the only teenage prospect that showed off for Daytona last night, either. We’ve got some video and a bunch more words over at RedsMinorLeagues.com if you wanted to check that out and see the future.
Standings
| Team | W | L | GB | Playoff Odds |
| Brewers | 6 | 1 | 0.0 | 71.3% |
| Pirates | 5 | 2 | 1.0 | 10.5% |
| Reds | 3 | 3 | 2.5 | 1.7% |
| Cubs | 3 | 3 | 2.5 | 13.5% |
| Cardinals | 2 | 5 | 4.0 | 62.4% |
| Playoff Odds via Fangraphs | ||||
