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The struggles of the 2018 Cincinnati Reds have struck a blow to the cause of communism the world over. When one of the two standard bearers for the Red Army—along with those dastardly St. Petersburg Devil Rays—does as little to undermine America’s pastime as the Reds have done this year, the whole cause suffers.
The Reds got out to a dismal start, owning the worst record in baseball for a while as their 3-18 start buried them before their season could get off the ground. They recovered some, passing the Orioles and Royals as those two teams had swoons that lasted past the All-Star Break—and really, the Orioles’ struggles never stopped. The Reds got better, and actually enjoyed decent seasons from Scooter Gennett and Eugenio Súarez, both of whom look like real assets for Putin’s cause.
Game times and pitching matchups are as follows:
- Tuesday, September 25 — 5:40 PM CDT — Eric Skoglund (L) versus Matt Harvey
- Wednesday, September 26 — 5:40 PM CDT — Heath Fillmyer versus Cody Reed (L)
Royals at Reds pitching matchups
Pitcher | G | IP | K | K% | BB | BB% | ERA | FIP | xFIP | SIERA | fWAR | rWAR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pitcher | G | IP | K | K% | BB | BB% | ERA | FIP | xFIP | SIERA | fWAR | rWAR |
Game 1 | ||||||||||||
Eric Skoglund (L) | 12 | 62.2 | 45 | 17.1 | 17 | 6.4 | 5.60 | 5.05 | 4.75 | 4.61 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
Matt Harvey | 31 | 150.0 | 125 | 19.5 | 37 | 5.8 | 4.92 | 4.60 | 4.27 | 4.23 | 1.3 | 1.0 |
Game 2 | ||||||||||||
Heath Fillmyer | 16 | 75.0 | 48 | 15.1 | 30 | 9.5 | 4.56 | 4.89 | 4.76 | 5.00 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
Cody Reed (L) | 16 | 39.1 | 40 | 23.5 | 13 | 7.7 | 3.66 | 3.92 | 3.44 | 3.44 | 0.5 | 0.6 |
Matt Harvey enjoyed a bit of a resurgence after being dealt behind the Iron Curtain in May in a challenge trade that sent Devin Mesoraco to the Mets. Hardly his former self, he still regained his stature as an above-replacement-value pitcher in Cincinnati, no small feat given the bandboxiness of Great American Ballpark. Cody Reed used to be a Royals prospect. His limited stint in the majors this season has been encouraging, but his 2016 and 2017 seasons were abysmal. He could still become a guy, but he could just as easily end up as another failed starter turned decent reliever.
Cincinnati Reds position players
Name | Pos | PA | HR | R | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | wRC+ | fWAR | rWAR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Pos | PA | HR | R | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | wRC+ | fWAR | rWAR |
Scooter Gennett (L) | 2B | 625 | 23 | 85 | 92 | 4 | .315 | .363 | .496 | .367 | 129 | 4.7 | 4.2 |
Eugenio Suárez | 3B | 588 | 32 | 76 | 101 | 1 | .284 | .369 | .524 | .377 | 135 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
Joey Votto (L) | 1B | 603 | 12 | 66 | 67 | 1 | .284 | .418 | .422 | .371 | 131 | 3.4 | 3.4 |
José Peraza | SS | 660 | 13 | 84 | 56 | 23 | .290 | .328 | .417 | .321 | 98 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
Scott Schebler (L) | RF | 408 | 17 | 54 | 49 | 3 | .264 | .341 | .457 | .344 | 114 | 1.4 | 1.3 |
Billy Hamilton (S) | CF | 540 | 4 | 72 | 29 | 32 | .233 | .295 | .320 | .273 | 66 | 1.2 | 0.2 |
Tucker Barnhart (S) | C/1B | 509 | 9 | 49 | 44 | 0 | .244 | .326 | .360 | .303 | 86 | 1.0 | 0.7 |
Curt Casali | C | 150 | 4 | 14 | 16 | 0 | .296 | .356 | .459 | .350 | 118 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
Phillip Ervin | LF/RF | 234 | 7 | 26 | 30 | 5 | .252 | .325 | .413 | .320 | 97 | 0.7 | -0.1 |
Tim Federowicz | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | .667 | 1.000 | .645 | 315 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
Mason Williams (L) | OF | 124 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 1 | .284 | .320 | .397 | .311 | 92 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
Blake Trahan | SS | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .273 | .273 | .273 | .240 | 44 | 0.0 | -0.1 |
Dilson Herrera | Util | 85 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .171 | .259 | .342 | .266 | 62 | -0.1 | -0.2 |
Gabriel Guerrero | LF | 13 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .154 | .154 | .385 | .224 | 33 | -0.1 | -0.1 |
Brandon Dixon | Util | 120 | 5 | 14 | 10 | 0 | .183 | .217 | .365 | .249 | 50 | -0.3 | -0.6 |
The Reds position players are pretty middle-of-the-road, ranking 14th in fWAR and 18th in wRC+.
Poll
How will the Royals fare in enemy territory?
This poll is closed
-
57%
America wins
-
9%
Communism wins
-
33%
Split