The Reds are going into San Francisco coming off of a miserable week of baseball. It started off promising with a 14-3 win over the Texas Rangers. Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain led the charge, going a combined 6-8 with 3 home runs and 10 RBIs. Brady Singer made his Reds debut vs. Kumar Rocker of the Rangers and was phenomenal. He is just the second Reds pitcher ever to pitch 7 innings or more without allowing a run. That’s about all the positives for the week of baseball for the Reds. They would proceed to be shut out 1-0 the remainder of the series by the Rangers pitching staff. The positives for the Reds is their starting pitching, Carson Spiers, who pitched excellent in his season debut for the Reds vs Texas.

The Reds traveled to Milwaukee to play the Brewers. The Brewers seemingly own the Reds, with a 231-217-1 record over Cincinnati since 1997. It would be more of the same for the Reds in game 1 of the 4-game series, getting shut out 1-0 for the 3rd consecutive game—the 3rd team in the live ball era to have such a feat, the last being the 1960 Phillies. It was looking like there would be more of the same in the second game. The Reds were trailing 1-0 going into the 5th, but Nick Martinez allowed a 2-run home run, giving Milwaukee a 3-0 lead. The Reds would finally score 2 in the 8th, ending their 35-inning scoreless streak. It should be noted that multiple players would be sent back to the team hotel due to illness, including manager Terry Francona. Matt McLain would be scratched due to a hamstring injury and would miss the remainder of the series.

Game 3 would be a bounce back game for the Reds. They would jump out to a 7-0 lead through 4. Blake Dunn would hit a solo home run in the 2nd, followed by a TJ Friedl 2-run home run. In the 4th, Christian Encarnacion-Strand destroyed a home run 111mph off the bat at 451 feet, extending the Reds lead to 5-0. Later, Jose Trevino hit his first home run as a Red, a 2-run shot. Reds lead 7-0. Singer would allow 4 in the 5th, allowing the Brewers to come back; they trailed 7-5 after 5. In the 7th, Elly would get to bat with the bases loaded with a chance to put the game away. He’d single up the middle to score 2, Reds lead 9-5. The Reds would score 2 more, a sac fly by Candelario in the 7th and an RBI single by Lux in the 9th—Reds finally get a win, 11-7.

Sunday, the Reds had a chance to split the series, which would’ve been a crazy thought given how bad the Reds offense has been this week. Milwaukee would jump out on Spiers and reliever Sam Moll through the first 4 innings, leading 7-0 after the 4th. Spencer Steer would hit his first home run of the season in the 5th, cutting the Reds deficit to 7-1. Jackson Chourio would hit his 2nd home run of the game off Ian Gibaut in the 7th and that would be enough for the Brewers to get the win. The Reds would get 1 more in the 8th on a TJ Friedl single but the Reds lose 8-2 and the series 3-1.

The Reds went 2-5 this week behind some phenomenal pitching. The Reds offense is currently nonexistent, they were almost shut out for a 4th consecutive game. The Reds have 2 players batting over .250 and the team is batting .210 with runners in scoring position.

What can they do? They have 2 players I believe are ready to be recalled back to the Major League roster. Will Benson and Noelvi Marte have been playing very well to start the season in AAA Louisville. My initial plan was to have them play the first month in Louisville and then come back up, but I think now may be the time. The Reds are currently 3-7 through the first 10 games and need a spark before 3-7 turns into 5-15. McLain needs to be a part of the lineup and healthy, as well as making a decision on Spencer Steer with his injury. Limiting Steer to a full time DH and not being able to hit is really hurting this lineup as well. Whatever happens, I think something needs to happen soon. This comes down to roster construction at the end of the day and the inability to spend in Free Agency rears its head again.

Follow me on 𝕏 for my live thoughts on the Reds and Reds MiLB. Follow my podcast; The Red Hot Reds podcast on all socialsand 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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