Photo: Redleg Nation Staff
After being swept by the New York Yankees over the weekend, the Cincinnati Reds welcome in one of the hottest teams in baseball. The St. Louis Cardinals have gone 11-3 over their last 14 games to climb out of last place in the National League Central. Both teams will be running out left-handed starters this evening with the first pitch set for 6:40pm ET.
Starting Lineups
Starting Pitchers
Brandon Williamson
It was just one start, but Brandon Williamson looked good in his big league debut after battling inconsistency in Triple-A this season. The lefty pitched into the 6th inning in Colorado and allowed just one run while striking out six batters.
Even in the minor leagues this season teams tried to avoid sending too many lefties to the plate against Williamson. Left-handed hitters have had some success in picking up singles, but they aren’t walking much and they aren’t hitting for any power against him. Right-handed hitters are hitting for a lower average than lefties, but they are walking significantly more and hitting for way more power.
Splits (AAA & MLB)
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 135 | 33 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 19 | 26 | .255 | .340 | .479 |
| LHH | 50 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | .277 | .320 | .362 |
Pitch Usage (AAA & MLB)
| 4-seam | Cutter | Curve | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 91.8 | 87.2 | 73.9 | 81.5 | 84.3 |
| Usage | 51% | 6% | 13% | 20% | 11% |
Jordan Montgomery
For the most part, Jordan Montgomery has pitched quite well this season. But a 7-run outing on April 18th and a 6-run outing on May 10th have made up for 13 or his 24 earned runs this season. In his other seven starts this season he’s given up 11 runs in 42.1 innings pitched – that’s an ERA of 2.34.
This season teams have tried to avoid lefty-on-lefty match ups with Jordan Montgomery. The few left-handed hitters that have gotten the opportunity to face him have picked up hits at a solid rate, but they’ve all been singles and they haven’t drawn a single walk in 40 plate appearances against him.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 185 | 45 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 13 | 41 | .266 | .324 | .485 |
| LHH | 40 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | .275 | .275 | .275 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-Seam | 2-Seam | Cutter | Curve | Change | |
| Velo | 93.7 | 93.4 | 89.0 | 80.9 | 84.2 |
| Usage | 13% | 42% | 1% | 24% | 19% |
When and Where
- Game time: 6:40pm ET
- Where: Great American Ball Park
- Watch: Bally Sports Ohio, MLB.tv
- Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: 75°, partly cloudy, 0% chance of rain
News and Notes
Joey Votto and Connor Overton updates
There were some good updates and some not-so-good updates out of Great American Ball Park today. Joey Votto’s progressing with his recovery from his shoulder and biceps surgery and is doing better, but not quite ready for games yet. On the flip side of that good news is the bad news that Connor Overton had a setback while rehabbing in Arizona and is undergoing elbow surgery. We’ve got more information on both from our piece this afternoon if you’re looking for that.
Spencer Steer: Super Sub?
Earlier today Jason Linden took a look into the future and argued that the best role for Spencer Steer may very well be that of a super sub for the Cincinnati Reds. With the positions he can play and the guys that are coming up, it may push him into such a role and it’s possible he could fill that role out better than anyone has in quite a while for the club.
Standings
| Team | W | L | GB | Playoff Odds |
| Brewers | 25 | 21 | 0.0 | 62.2% |
| Pirates | 24 | 22 | 1.0 | 12.4% |
| Cardinals | 21 | 27 | 5.0 | 45.3% |
| Cubs | 20 | 26 | 5.0 | 12.9% |
| Reds | 19 | 27 | 6.0 | 0.7% |
| Playoff Odds via Fangraphs | ||||
