CINCINNATI REDS NOTES:
RED HOTS
• The Reds have lost their last 9 games at Petco Park, their longest losing streak ever in San Diego and dating back to a 4-2 win here on 4/20/19… their longest losing streak here had been 8 games (8/14/97 – 5/21/99).
• Is the Reds’ longest losing streak at a road venue since they lost 11 straight games at Pit’s PNC Park from 9/3/18 – 9/27/19.
TONIGHT’S GAME
• Is Game 2 (0-1) of a 3-game series vs Tiffany Seal’s Padres and Game 5 (2-2) of a 6-game road trip that included a 2-1 series win at Oak.
• This road trip is the first of the Reds’ 3 visits to the West Coast.
• Following this series the Reds return to Great American Ball Park for Thu’s day off and then a 6-game homestand vs the White Sox (3g) and Mets (3g).
SERIES NOTES
• The Padres won each of the last 7 games, including all 6 games in 2022, and 13 of the last 14 games overall…the Reds last beat the Padres in their final meeting of the 2021 season, a 5-4 win on 7/1 at GABP.
• Since the rivalry began in 1969, in 2022 the Padres produced the first season series sweep by either team.
• Beginning in 2013 the Reds are 8-22 at Petco Park and lost their last 9 games here dating back to a 4-2 win on 4/20/19.
• The Padres swept the last 2 series in San Diego (4-0, 3-0), including their first ever 4-game series sweep vs the Reds (6/17-6/20, 2021).
…WHITE SOX UP NEXT
• The White Sox won 21 of the previous 30 interleague games, including 8 of 14 games at GABP and 5 of 6 games at Cinergy Field.
• The teams are meeting for the first time since 2021, when the Sox earned a 3-1 series win with a 1-1 split at Great American Ball Park and a 2-0 series sweep at Guaranteed Rate Field.
• The Reds have won 2 of the last 3 season series vs WSox following an 0-6-1 start to the rivalry..
• Beginning in 2003, Great American Ball Park (4,212) and Guaranteed Rate Field rank first and third, respectively, in home runs allowed by ballpark (Camden Yards 2nd with 4,092).
• Before the interleague schedule expanded this season to include games vs all 15 American League teams, from 1997-2022 the Redlegs went 188-
247 vs the American League, at .432 the lowest interleague winning percentage of any Major League team…in 2022 the Reds went 12-8 vs AL teams (0-2 vs Cle, 2-0 at Cle, 1-2 at Tor, 1-1 at Bos, 3-0 vs TB, 2-1 at NYY, 2-1 vs Bal, 1-1 vs Bos)…last season’s was their first winning
record vs the American League since 2013 (11-9)…in the 8 seasons between the 2013 & 2022 season series wins, the Reds went 61-99 vs AL teams (.381).
Tonight’s Pitcher – #51 Graham Ashcraft, RHP
• Tonight is making his first career appearance vs the Padres.
• In Wed’s 5-3 walkoff win vs Tex was the victim of a blown save…left leading, 3-2, but the Rangers tied it in the ninth on a run scored off Lucas Sims and charged to Ian Gibaut…Nick Senzel hit a 2-run, walkoff HR off Jonathan Hernández in the bottom of the ninth…pitched 2 days after the death of his 82-year-old grandmother, Ann Ashcraft, a Rangers fan who lived in Fort Worth…the next day went on the bereavment list.
• Is the first Reds pitcher to begin a season with 5 starts without allowing more than 2 earned runs in any of those starts since Tyler Mahle in 2021…no Reds pitcher has begun a season with more than 5 such starts since Luis Castillo began the 2019 campaign by allowing 2 ER or fewer in each of his first 7 starts.
• In his first 3 starts (19ip, 3er) became the eighth Reds pitcher, since 1901 and including Nick Lodolo in 2023, to begin a season with at least 17.0 innings while allowing 4 earned runs or fewer.
• Became the first Reds pitcher to begin a non-COVID season with 3 consecutive quality starts since Amir Garrett in 2017 (3qs).
• Started the third game of the season and on 4/2 earned the 3-1 win vs the Pirates…following 2 rainouts, didn’t pitch again until 4/10 at Atl.
• In his last start of spring training, on 3/22 vs SD, allowed 1 hit while recording 10 strikeouts without a walk in 6.0 innings…time of game was 1:52.
• In 2022, in his Major League debut ranked among the National League rookie pitching leaders in starts (T3rd, 19gs), innings pitched (4th, 105.0), ERA (7th, 4.89), strikeouts (11th, 71), opponents’ BA (8th, .281) and WHIP (1.42, 8th).
• From 8/23-9/23 missed 32 days and 31 games while on the 15-day injured list with right biceps soreness.
• In 16 starts prior to the injury went 5-3, 3.97…in his last 5 starts prior to his injury went 1-1, 2.67 (33.2ip, 32h, 10er, 8bb, 24k, 3hr, .252baa), lowering his ERA from a season-high 4.70 to 3.97.
• After 2 rehab apps for Chattanooga and Louisville (5.2ip, 15h, 10r, 5er, 1bb, 11k, 123 pitches), finished the season 0-3, 12.00 in his last 3 starts for the Reds.
• Hunter Greene threw 7.0 scoreless innings (0bb, 8k) in the 7-0 win on 6/6 vs Ari and Ashcraft followed with 6.0 scoreless innings (0bb, 4k) in the 14-8 victory on 6/7 vs Ari…for the first time since 1900, Major League rookie starting pitchers in consecutive games threw at least 6.0 shutout innings without a walk.
• In 2021 was an MiLB.com Organization All-Star, MLB.com’s Reds Pitching Prospect of the Year, the Reds’ Minor League Pitcher of the Month for June and a 3-time league Pitcher of the Week.
• His fastball, slider and curveball all have been rated by Baseball America the best among Reds minor league pitchers.
• Was selected by the Reds in the sixth round of the June 2019 draft…was signed by Jonathan Reynolds.
SAN DIEGO PADRES NOTES:
Tatis returns to Petco Park as Padres win 3rd straight
• Yesterday was the Padres’ 1st win this year in a start made by Blake Snell, as he tossed 6.0 innings of 3-run ball on 7 strikeouts with 8 hits allowed…Blake didn’t issue a single walk after allowing 5 walks in his previous start on April 25.
• Ha-Seong Kim hit a 3-run, go-ahead home run in the 5th inning, and the Friars tacked on 2 in the 8th to win Game 1 of the series…every single Padre starter had a hit last night, 5 Padres had mutliple hits, and both Trent Grisham and Fernando Tatis Jr. had 3-hit efforts.
Can’t keep Xander off the bases!
• Xander Bogaerts extended his on-base streak to 30 games last night with his single to right in the 5th, setting a new club record to start the season and surpassing Bobby Brown’s 29- game on-base streak to begin the ’83 season.
• The 30-game streak ties for the 9th-longest overall in San Diego history in a single season, and it’s the longest since Matt Kemp’s 31-game on-base streak in 2015…the longest on-base streak is Padres’ history is 56 games from Ryan Kelsko in the 2002 season.
Welcome back, Tati…rides a 9-game hitting streak with 10 hits in his last 5 games
• Fernando Tatis Jr. had his 1st 3-hit game last night since September 15, 2021 @ SF, and after going hitless in his 1st game since being reinstated from the Restricted List on April 20 @ AZ, he’s hit safely in every single game since then (9 game streak), batting .341 (14-for-41) with 2 doubles, 2 homers, 6 RBI, 2 walks, and 6 runs scored…he’s now riding a 3-game streak with multiple hits in each of them, and he has multiple hits in 4 of his last 5 games (has 10 hits overall in his last 5 games). Padres have won 3 straight and 4 of their last 5, have 43 hits and 20 extra-base hits since Saturday
• San Diego’s 2-game sweep of the Giants in Mexico City was technically the Friars’ 1st home series win of the year, but they’re still in search of their 1st Petco Park winning series of the season…the Padres have won 3 straight games, 4 of their last 5, and 8 of their last 11 since April 19.
• The Padres have at least 10 hits in each of their last 3 games (43 hits overall), and the 43 hits ties with the D-Backs and the Pirates for the most hits of any team in any 3-game span this year…the Padres had just 1 stretch last year in which they had 43+ hits in any 3-game span (June 13-16).
• The Friars have also scored 30 runs over their last 3 games, batting .384 (43-for-112) with 11 doubles, one triple, and 8 home runs…those 20 extra-base hits are the most of any team in 2023 in any 3-game span (franchise record for XBH in a 4-game stretch is 29 back in 2006).
Padres starting pitchers leading the NL in innings (161.0 IP)
• San Diego starters have thrown the most innings of any NL team this year (161.0 IP), and their 2,838 pitches thrown overall entering tonight are the most in the Majors…they’ve thrown an NL-leading 94.6 pitches per game.
• Tonight’s starter, Michael Wacha, has thrown 90.2 pitches per game on average, but that ranks 6th so far among the Friar rotation (Yu Darvish leads the group with 98.8 pitches per game so far).
Friars are 13-1 vs. Redlegs since 2021
• San Diego won all 6 games vs. the Reds in 2022, and since the start of 2021, they’ve gone 13-1 (.929) against the Reds…the Friars’ .929 winning percentage vs. Cincinnati in that time is the highest of any MLB team against any single opponent (minimum 10 games played).
