What can we take away from the Reds' Opening Series?
Reds Win the Series!
The Reds were unable to secure the victory on Opening Day in front of a record crowd at Great American Ball Park. However, they were able to win the next two, securing the series win against the division-rival Pirates. It easily could have been a sweep, but the Reds instead dropped a disappointing 5-4 game on Thursday. They came back to win 6-2 on Saturday and 3-1 on Sunday. Here is a quick review from the weekend.
Starting Pitching
Frankly, it is incredibly difficult to win a baseball game when your team walks 9 batters. This was the case in the opening game, as starting pitcher Hunter Greene walked 3 in 3.1 innings, leading to 3 earned runs scoring. However, it was not all bad, as he touched 105 MPH with his fastball and struck out 8 batters. Greene was plagued by a 30+ pitch inning which cut his outing short.
Lodolo was solid on Saturday, striking out 9 over 5 innings on the way to a win. A laborious first inning and some slight difficulty locating his breaking ball led to a shortened start for Lodolo. Ashcraft had the most dominant start of the weekend, striking out 6 in 7 innings, while giving up only one run.
Bullpen Highs and Lows
Highs and lows will probably come to characterize the Reds bullpen in 2023. On Thursday, Fernando Cruz had a meltdown of sorts in relief of Hunter Greene. He walked 3, 2 of which with the bases loaded. This led to the loss that day, and showed just how ugly some games will be this year.
However, the bullpen arms showed that they are capable of doing in the next 2 games. On Saturday, 4 relievers (Gibaut, Farmer, Sanmartin, Diaz) combined for four scoreless innings, retiring 16 straight batters to end the game. Alexis Diaz notched his first save of the season on Sunday. Alex Young and Derek Law notched a scoreless 8th in the effort to preserve Ashcraft's dazzling start.
Hitters Heating Up
Jonathan India has looked every bit his 2021 form, leading the team in hitting out of the gates. He has been on fire, and I would not bet against him to continue as such. Spencer Steer was the first Red to "ding" in 2023. We are watching Steer closely as a sleeper candidate for Rookie of the Year.
He appears to have the confidence of manager David Bell as well, as he was written into the 2nd slot in the batting order on Saturday. The Reds' offense came out strong against 43-year-old lefty Rich Hill on Saturday. In the first inning, Jonathan India popped a leadoff home run, Tyler Stephenson knocked a double off the wall, and new Red Kevin Newman socked a 2-run shot against his former team.
The Reds only mustered 3 runs on Sunday, but it was enough to win. As I watched, I seemed to notice a lot of lazy pop-ups from the Reds offense. Pittsburgh did not have to work very hard to make a lot of plays. This will be something to watch going forward.
Additional Notes
I still maintain that this will be a decent hitting team. Jake Fraley has the potential to be a 30/30 type player, and his power has already been shown. TJ Friedl is less talented in my mind, but very similar to Fraley and perhaps more scrappy.
He hit a home run and had a bunt hit in the same game today. That sort of thing is exciting to us here at the TK. If these guys can support a strong core of India, Stephenson, and Votto, it could be a fun year.
Speaking of him, Joey Votto homered on the first pitch he saw for the Louisville Bats in their season opener. Video of the hit showed an upright, imposing Votto in the box. In the meantime, Jason Vosler has gotten off to an admirable start for the Reds at first base, leading the team in extra-base hits and total bases.
The Reds have come up with a fun celebration for home runs, adorning the hitter with a cape and Viking helmet upon their return to the dugout. This is the kind of thing that has been missing from Reds baseball for several years. This is also the kind of thing winning teams do at all levels of baseball. Even if the Reds do not end up as a winning team, the importance of chemistry cannot be overstated, and this is a sign of a united clubhouse.
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