The Cincinnati Reds barely hung on last night in Boston after taking an 8-0 lead, winning 9-8 with the Red Sox stranding the tying run on third base. The Reds will look to avoid that tonight but wind up with the same result as they face off against a left-handed starter. First pitch is set for 7:10pm ET.
Starting Lineups
Starting Pitchers
Luke Weaver
Coming off of a 6.1 shutout inning performance where he allowed just three hits, Luke Weaver will look to build upon that tonight in Boston.
Luke Weaver’s splits are crazy. Right-handed batters don’t walk at all and they strike out often. But they are also crushing everything that they do make contact with. Left-handed hitters walk more and strike out significantly less, but they are not hitting nearly as well. Lefties have an OPS 285 points lower than righties do against Weaver this season.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 91 | 28 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 24 | .326 | .363 | .628 |
| LHH | 73 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 13 | .224 | .288 | .418 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-seam | 2-seam | Cutter | Curve | Change | |
| Velo | 93.9 | 93.6 | 86.5 | 82.1 | 85.9 |
| Usage | 44% | 1% | 16% | 14% | 25% |
James Paxton
After missing most of 2021 (1.1 innings), all of 2022, and the first six weeks of 2023, James Paxton is back on the mound for Boston. His first two starts this year went well as he allowed three runs over 11.0 innings with three walks and 14 strikeouts. But his last time out he allowed five runs in 3.0 innings against the Angels.
We aren’t sharing any splits for Paxton right now. He’s thrown 35.2 innings in the last four seasons. The information from any sort of “recent” splits for him is rather useless.
Pitch Usage
| 4-Seam | 2-Seam | Curve | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 95.4 | 94.8 | 80.5 | 85.5 | 85.8 |
| Usage | 57% | 5% | 18% | 16% | 3% |
When and Where
- Game time: 7:10pm ET
- Where: Fenway Park
- Watch: Bally Sports Ohio, MLB.tv, ESPN+
- Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: 76°, sunny, 0% chance of rain
News and Notes
TJ Friedl testing out his hamstring
TJ Friedl said it’s just hamstring tightness that he’s dealing with. He’ll test it out pregame.
— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) May 31, 2023
Elly De La Cruz hits a walk-off homer
If you want to be mad that Elly De La Cruz is still in Louisville and not in Boston, have it it. We’re all there with ya. But we’re still going to appreciate the fact that last night he hit a walk-off homer in Louisville that also extended his hitting streak to 10 games. Video and a whole lot of words on him, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, and more at this link.
Standings
| Team | W | L | GB | Playoff Odds |
| Brewers | 28 | 26 | 0.0 | 52.5% |
| Pirates | 27 | 27 | 1.0 | 11.1% |
| Reds | 25 | 29 | 3.0 | 3.4% |
| Cubs | 24 | 30 | 4.0 | 16.5% |
| Cardinals | 25 | 32 | 4.5 | 39.4% |
| Playoff Odds via Fangraphs | ||||
