Hunter Greene gets the nod for his second career Opening Day start as the Reds take on Logan Webb and the San Francisco Giants. Terry Francona officially makes his Reds managerial debut as he looks to be the second Reds manager to win their Opening Day debut game since 1998; David Bell is the last.
Game 1
Hunter Greene started the game out like you expect a Cy Young candidate to do. After getting a flout to start the game, Greene mowed down the next five Giant hitters and wouldn’t allow a hit until the 3rd inning on a Mike Yastrzemski single. Greene would allow a run for the first time in his career against the Giants on a 2-run home run off the bat of Heliot Ramos, but Greene would recover, allowing only 1 more hit before his day would be done after 5. The Reds offense would come from Jeimer Candelario in the first. After back-to-back walks by Elly De La Cruz and Gavin Lux, the Candyman would lift a fly ball that would be trapped by right fielder Mike Yastrzemski, scoring De La Cruz. In the 3rd, TJ Friedl, De La Cruz, and Lux would each single, allowing Candelario to single again, scoring Friedl and De La Cruz, but Lux would be thrown out at 3rd. The Reds would take a 3-2 lead into the 9th following 3 scoreless innings from the Reds bullpen when Francona would turn to Ian Gibaut to close out the 9th. Gibaut would get Willy Adames to strikeout, but would walk Jung Ho Lee and allow a single to Matt Chapman, setting up a Giants rally. Ramos would strikeout, leaving the Giants to their final out with Patrick Bailey coming to the plate. Bailey would single, tying the game up at 3. Unfortunately for Cincinnati, next batter Wilmer Flores would launch a 3-run 101mph into the seats to give San Fran a 6-3 lead. The Reds would attempt a rally in the 9th. Jacob Hurtubise would reach on a hit by pitch, take second base, and TJ Friedl would single him in, cutting the deficit to 2 and bringing the tying run to the plate in Matt McLain. McLain would lift a deep fly ball to left, but would be caught at the warning track, ending the game and giving the Giants a 6-4 win.
My takeaways from this game:
Hunter Greene is the clear cut ace and is proving the he deserves to be in the Cy Young conversation after his All-Star season last year that earned him Cy Young consideration.
Jeimer Candelario looks more confident than he was at the beginning of last year, driving in 3 runs on 2 hits is a great sign from him.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand is seeing the ball very well, and looks poised for a potential breakout season.
Terry Francona is going to figure out who to go to in pressure spots; it’s game 1, give it time.
Box Score Standouts:
Hunter Greene: 5IP, 3 H, 8K, 1BB
Jeimer Candelario: 2-3 3RBI, BB
CES: 2-4 2B
Game 2
Nick Lodolo gets the call for the Reds on Saturday, He will face off against future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander for San Francisco. This will be Verlander’s Giants debut. The Giants would get on the board early. Wilmer Flores would hit his second home run of the series to give San Francisco a 1-0 lead in the 2nd. Jung-Hoo Lee would rip a single into right, scoring Ramos and giving the Giants a 2-0 lead. The Reds would strike back in the bottom of the 3rd. Matt McLain would launch a home run off Verlander into the left field seats to cut the lead to 2-1—McLain’s first hit of the season. Lodolo would begin to figure things out; he would retire 7 straight via the ground ball after 5. In the bottom of the 5th, McLain would rip a double in the right center gap, followed by Elly De La Cruz singling to score McLain. Game is tied at 2. In the 6th, Christian Encarnacion-Strand ripped a solo shot down the right field line, giving the Reds a 3-2 lead. Lodolo would finish after 6 innings of work. His command wasn’t great, but the ground ball worked in his favor. He finished with only 1 strikeout and only threw 56 of his 86 pitches for strikes, but that would be enough to keep the Reds in the game. Santillan and Ashcraft would pitch scoreless 7th and 8th innings in relief when Terry Francona would hand the ball to Emilio Pagan to close the game out in the 9th. He would go 1-2-3 and get the save as the Reds even up the series at 1 game each.
My takeaways from this game:
Lodolo struggled, but persevered and fought hard to keep the team in the game; groundballs were key as the strikeouts weren’t coming.
Matt McLain is back. He’s seeing the ball well and making great contact. His home run provided the first spark this offense needed today and his defense is a superior upgrade over last season with Jonathan India.
Bullpen could be one of the best in baseball. This bullpen is loaded with experience and a good mix of youth. Santillan is the real flamethrower of the group and Ashcraft looks to gain valuable experience. Ashcraft worked out of a jam to keep the score where it was and set up Pagan to close out the 9th.
Box Score Standouts:
Matt McLain: 2-4 HR
CES: 2-4 HR
Santiago Espinal: 2-3
Sunday Afternoon is the rubber match as the Giants have Robbie Ray pitching against Nick Martinez for the Reds. The Reds have a right-handed heavy lineup with Santiago Espinal starting in right field and batting second over lefty Jake Fraley. Lux is the only lefty in the lineup with Blake Dunn getting the start in centerfield. Both pitchers started strong out of the gate, carrying perfect games each into the 5th. Heliot Ramos would hit a solo home run off Martinez to give the Giants a 1-0 lead. The Giants would get 3 more in the 6th on an RBI double by Jung-Hoo Lee and a 2-run homer by Matt Chapman. Giants lead 4-0 going into the bottom of the 6th. Gavin Lux would break up the Perfect Game being pitched by Robbie Ray with a single up the middle in the bottom of the 6th. Later, Reds backup catcher Austin Wynns crushed a 2-run home run to cut the deficit to 2 and Matt McLain would go back-to-back with Wynns to bring the Reds within 1. That’s all the offense the Reds would get in this one. In the 8th Jacob Hurtubise would be called out trying to advance to 3rd on a ground ball off Santiago Espinal’s bat that created an inning-ending double play. The Giants would score 2 more on a sac fly and an RBI single as the Giants go on to win 6-3.
My takeaways from this game:
This lineup won’t be the consistent lefty lineup. I do like Espinal in the lineup vs lefties, just not so much in the outfield. A conversation needs to be had about the health of Spencer Steer.
Matt McLain is looking like he’s picking up where he left off in 2023. I like him batting 2nd in the lineup the most, but he could be a good leadoff option when necessary.
Baserunning issues are still a thing, Hurtubise has to know the situation and not try to advance on a groundball in front of him with a double play still in order.
Box Score Standouts:
Matt McLain: 1-4 HR(2)
Austin Wynns: 1-2 HR(1) 2 RBI
The Reds will take on the Rangers for a 3 game series on Monday and look to get to .500 with a win. Brady Singer makes his Reds debut vs. Kumar Rocker for the Rangers. First pitch is at 6:40 local.
Follow me on 𝕏 for my live thoughts on the Reds and Reds MiLB. Follow my podcast; The Red Hot Reds podcast on all socials and YouTube. We have some big interviews lined up and we go live every Sunday at 8pm EST to talk about the week that was in Reds baseball.
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