CINCINNATI REDS NOTES:
REDS HOTS
• Reds manager David Bell is expected to return to the bench today following a minor medical procedure that prevented him from attending yesterday’s game.
• In 2022, the Reds didn’t earn their third win until the 16th game (4/24) and didn’t win their fourth until the 26th game (5/7)…began last season 3-22 to become only the third team in in modern Major League history to begin a season with as few as 3 wins over the first 25 games (1988 Orioles 2-23, 2003 Tigers 3-22).
TODAY’S GAME
• Is Game 2 (0-1) of 3-game series vs Elyssa Kaplan’s Phillies and Game 2 (0-1) of the Reds’ first road trip of the season, a 7-day, 6-game jaunt that concludes with a 3-game set at Atl.
• The Reds are coming off a season-opening 3-2 homestand vs the Pirates (2-1) and Cubs (1-1, 1ppd).
SERIES NOTES
• With a minimum of 50 games played, the Reds’ .323 winning percentage at Phi’s Citizens Bank Park (20-42) is their lowest at any road ballpark.
• The Reds went 3-13-2 in their 18 previous series vs the Phillies at CBP, their only series wins here in August 2006, May 2017 & August 2021.
• Since May 2014, the Reds have lost 18 of their last 25 games at CBP.
BRAVES UP NEXT
• The Reds are 25-23 vs Atl in the last 48 regular season games, including 3-4 in 2022, and went 4-2-1 in the previous 7 season series.
• The Reds went 2-1-2 in their previous 5 regular season series at SunTrust/Truist Park, including a 5-3 win on 8/18/17 in their inaugural
game at the new ballpark.
• The Reds also suffered a 2-game series sweep loss at Truist in the 2020 Wild Card Series. • The 7-6 loss in the second game of the 2022 season, at Truist Park, was the Reds’ 1,000th loss to the Braves since 1900.
• From 1997-2016 the Reds went 27-42 at Turner Field and didn’t win a series at that ballpark after 9/4-9/6, 2009 (0-3-4 in 7 series, 8-14 in 22 games).
REHABBING
• 1B Joey Votto (8/19/22 surgeries to repair the left biceps and torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder) is with Louisville on a rehabilitation assignment (5g, 5gs at 1B, 3-20, .150, solo HR, 3bb, 12k)…began his rehab Sat at Nashville and hit a solo HR off Caleb Boushley on the first pitch he was thrown.
• IF/OF Nick Senzel (11/14/22 surgery to repair a sesamoid fracture in his left great toe) is with Louisville on a rehabilitation assignment (3g, 1gs in CF, 1gs at 3B, 1gs at DH, 2-10, .200, 1 2b, 1rbi, 3bb, 2k, 1hbp).
• RHP Tony Santillan (low back Pars stress fracture)…is rehabbing with Louisville (2g, 2ip, 1bb, 3k)…threw a perfect seventh inning in last night’s 5-3 loss vs Indianapolis (1ip, 1k, 11 pitches).
• RHP Luke Weaver (right elbow flexor strain) is working out with Louisville.
• RHP Lucas Sims (low back spasms) this weekend could begin working out in Cincinnati.
2022: A SEASON OF RECORDS
• 66 players appeared in at least 1 game for Reds, a new club record for number of players in a season…the previous franchise record was held by the 2003 Reds (57 players).
• 38 players pitched in at least 1 game for the Reds, a new club record for number of pitchers in a season and including position players Matt Reynolds (2g), Max Schrock (1g) and Alejo Lopez (3g).
• 17 pitchers started at least 1 game for the Reds, tying the 2003 club record for number of starters in a season.
• Reds pitchers hit 110 batters, a new Major League single-season record (2021 Cubs pitchers, 98hbp)…the previous club record for batters hit by Reds pitchers in a season was 80 in 2005.
• 10 Reds pitchers recorded at least 1 save (Ross Detwiler, Alexis Díaz, Buck Farmer, Ian Gibaut, Joel Kuhnel, Dauri Moreta, Tony Santillan, Lucas Sims, Hunter Strickland, Art Warren), tying the 2021 single-season franchise record.
• Reds pitchers made 574 relief apps, just 5 shy of the 2021 single-season franchise record.
2022 YOUNG GUNS
• In 62 combined starts, Reds rookie starting pitchers RHP Hunter Greene, LHP Nick Lodolo and RHP Graham Ashcraft went 14-26, 4.34 (334ip, 161er)…all 3 made their Major League debuts in 2022.
• 6 times in 2022 the Reds started rookie pitchers in 3 straight games (last, 7/31-8/2, Lodolo, Greene, Ashcraft).
• In LHP Reiver Sanmartin (Game 2), Greene (Game 4) and Lodolo (Game 6), in 2022 the Reds used as many as 3 rookie starting pitchers in the first 6 games of a season for only the second time in their history…the 1902 Reds staff used 3 rookie starting pitchers in their first 5 games, and 4 of their first 6 games that season were started by rookie pitchers (Bob Ewing 2 starts, Len Swormstedt, Martin Glendon).
2022 MISCELLANEOUS
• SS Kyle Farmer last year was the Reds’ Most Valuable Player and Good Guy Award winner…RHP Alexis Díaz was the club’s 2022 Most Outstanding Pitcher.
• SS Kyle Farmer and RHP Hunter Strickland were the only players to spend the entire season on the roster without a stint on an injured list
This Afternoon’s Pitcher – #40 Nick Lodolo, LHP
• This afternoon is making his second start of the season…will be his third career apppearance and start vs the Phillies, his second at Citizens Bank Park.
• Started the second game of the season and earned the 6-2 win vs the Pirates.
• In his 2022 Major League debut season received 2 third-place votes in the BBWAA’s Jackie Robinson Award voting for National League Rookie of the Year.
• In 2022 ranked among the National League rookie pitching leaders in ERA (4th, 3.66), wins (T5th, 4), strikeouts (3rd, 131), starts (T3rd, 19), innings pitched (5th, 103.1), opponents’ BA (4th, .235) and WHIP (3rd, 1.25).
• Led all Major League pitchers in hit batters (19), 4 shy of Jake Weimer’s 1907 single-season franchise record.
• Went 1-2, 5.52 in his first 3 career starts, but then from 4/28-7/4 missed 69 days and 61 games while on the injured list with a lower right back strain…was transferred from the 15- to the 60-day injured list on 6/21, when IF Donovan Solano came off the 60-day IL.
• Following 4 rehabilitation starts from 6/13-6/29 at ACL Reds (1gs) and Louisville (3gs), came off the injured list on 7/5 and finished the season 3-5, 3.35 over 16 starts.
• In his last 9 starts of the season beginning 8/17 went 1-3, 2.75 (55.2ip, 35h, 17er, 15bb, 67k, 6hr, .182baa, 0.90whip)…the Reds went 3-6 in those 9 starts.
• Beginning 8/17, finished the season ranked among the National League leaders in that span in starts (T3rd), innings pitched (T5th), ERA (8th), strikeouts (7th), opponents’ BA (4th) and WHIP (5th).
• On 9/9 at Mil (8ip, 0bb, 11k) and 9/14 vs Pit (6.1ip, 0bb, 11k) became only the second rookie since 1893, the year the pitching mound was moved to its current distance, to record in consecutive apps 0 walks and at least 11 strikeouts, joining Dwight Gooden (9/12 & 9/17, 1984, 16k vs Pit, 16k at Phi).
• Is only the third Reds rookie since 1900 to record in consecutive apps at least 11 strikeouts, joining Gary Nolan (6/1 & 6/7, 1967, 12k vs Cubs, 15k vs SF) and Bruce Berenyi (8/24 & 8/29, 1981, 12k vs NYM, 11k at NYM).
• Was selected by the Reds in the first round (7th overall) of the June 2019 first-year player draft…was signed by Paul Scott…was Texas Christian University’s highest-ever baseball draft pick.
PHILADELPHIA PHIILIES NOTES:
GAME #7 RECAP: Pregame, Rhys Hoskins and Bryce Harper raised the 2022 National League pennant as the Phils opened their home slate of the 2023 season at CBP with a 5-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds … Starter Zack Wheeler (ND) went 5.1 innings and allowed 2 runs on 5 hits with 3 walks and 5 strikeouts … Trea Turner had 2 hits and scored twice, J.T. Realmuto and Edmundo Sosa both homered and Andrew Bellatti, Gregory Soto, Jose Alvarado and Craig Kimbrel made scoreless appearance in relief of Wheeler.
BEDLAM AT THE BANK: Yesterday marked the 20th home opener in the history of Citizens Bank Park (since 2004) … During the 2022 postseason, the Phillies went 6-2 in eight games (.750 win %) at CBP, outscoring the opposition 44-23 (+21 run differential) … The Phillies posted an .839 OPS in 284 combined plate appearances at home during the postseason and slugged 18 home runs (2.25 per game, .508 SLG) … Philadelphia’s 18 home runs at their home park rank T-1st in MLB history during the postseason with the 2017 Astros (2020 Rays hit 23 HR but games were held at neutral sites due to the COVID-19 pandemic) … Overall, there have been 138 teams in MLB history to play at least five postseason games in a single postseason at home – the 2022 Phillies rank 2nd out of those 138 clubs with an average of 2.25 home runs per game (HOU in 2020, neutral site, 2.40 HR/G) … Last year, the Phillies became only the eighth team in MLB history to win each of their first six postseason games at home … All-time in the postseason at CBP, the Phillies are 22-11 (.667 win %) with a +63 run differential (178-115) … Since Oct. 3, 2007, the day CBP hosted its first postseason game, Philadelphia’s .667 winning percentage during the postseason at home is best in MLB (min. 25 G) – the Astros at Minute Maid Park rank 2nd (.625), Red Sox at Fenway 3rd (.649), Giants at Oracle 4th (.643) and Dodgers at Dodger Stadium 5th (.623).
CITIZENS BANK SPARK: Since July 27, 2022, the Phillies have played 40 games at Citizens Bank Park (regular and postseason combined) – they have won 29 of them (.725 winning %) … Among all MLB clubs since July 27, 2022, Philadelphia’s .725 winning percentage at home (regular and postseason combined) ranks 2nd in MLB to only Atlanta (24-6, .800 win %).
SLAMMING ED SOSA: Since joining the Phillies at last year’s trade deadline, INF Edmundo Sosa has played in 30 regular season games and is slashing .323/.348/.615 with a .963 OPS in 70 plate appearances with 12 extra-base hits (8 2B, 3B, 3 HR) … Sosa, who hit his first career pinch-hit home run yesterday off Reiver Sanmartin, has made 16 career regular season starts for the Phillies – they are 11-5 in those games and he is slashing .346/.364/.654 with a 1.017 OPS as a starter for the Phils.
STRIKE ONE, STRIKE TWO, GOOD LUCK: Phillies LHP Jose Alvarado extended his career-best scoreless streak to 16.2 innings yesterday (17 G, since 8/26/22) … Over that stretch, he has struck out 31 of the 56 batters he has faced (55.4 %) while walking only three (5.4%) and holding them to a .077/.127/.077 slash line … This season, Alvardo has struck out eight of the first 10 batters he has faced – he is the first Phillies pitcher in the expansion era (since 1961) to strike out eight of their first 10 batters faced (Chris Short in 1964 and Rod Reed in 1983 struck out 7 of 10) … Prior to Alvarado, the last MLB pitcher to strike out eight of the first 10 batters faced in a season was Aroldis Chapman in 2021.
THE QUEST FOR 400: In yesterday’s 5-2 Phils win, RHP Craig Kimbrel recorded the 395th save of his career … With five more saves, Kimbrel would become only the sixth pitcher in the history of the sport to reach the 400 save milestone, joining Hall-of-Famers Mariano Rivera (652), Trevor Hoffman (601) & Lee Smith (478) and Francisco Rodriguez (437), John Franco (424) & Billy Wagner (422).
TOOLS OF BRILLIANCE: Since the second half of the 2022 season, J.T. Realmuto is slashing .307/.364/.581 with a .945 OPS, 15 HR and 48 RBI in 66 games (264 PA) … This year, he has caught three of eight would-be base stealers (37.5%) and has four of the top 10 fastest pop times to second base among MLB catchers, including the fastest (1.76 seconds on 4/2 at TEX) … Last season, Realmuto was named AllMLB First Team last season, took home his third Silver Slugger Award and second Gold Glove Award and finished 7th in NL MVP voting … Additionally, he finished with 6.5 fWAR, 3rd in MLB history for a catcher aged 31 or older and led MLB with 1281.2 innings at catcher (regular and postseason combined) which was 240.0 innings more than HOU’s Martin Maldonado who ranked 2nd at 1041.2 … Finally, he became only the second catcher in MLB history with 20 HR and 20 SB, joining Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez (1999).
FLAGS FLY FOREVER: The Phillies were National League champions in 2022 for the eighth time in franchise history (1915, 1950, 1980, 1983, 1993, 2008, 2009, 2022) … The road to the pennant began with a twogame sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card Series at Busch Stadium, followed by a three-gamesto-one Division Series win over the Atlanta Braves and a victory over the San Diego Padres in the NLCS, four games to one, clinching the series with three straight wins at Citizens Bank Park … In the Fall Classic, the Phillies fell to the Houston Astros in six games; it was only the second postseason meeting between the two clubs, the first being the 1980 NLCS …On May 31, the Phillies were eight games under .500 at 21-29 with a .420 winning percentage that ranked 11th in the National League and 22nd in MLB … Starting June 1, the Phillies went 66-46, 20 games over .500 with a .589 winning percentage that ranked 4th in the NL and 7th in baseball … The Phillies clinched their first postseason berth since 2011 with a 3-0 win against the Astros on Oct. 3 … The Phillies became only the fifth team in MLB history to start 21-29 or worse through their first 50 games and then make the World Series, joining the 2019 Washington Nationals (19-31 start), 2005 Houston Astros (18-32 start), 2003 Florida Marlins (21-29) and 1914 Boston Braves (20-30).
NEW TONIGHT, AT (THE) 6: On 12/8/22, the Phillies signed SS Trea Turner to an 11-year contract, taking him through the 2033 season … Last year with LAD, Turner was selected as an All-Star for the second time in his career, was named All-MLB First Team and won his first career Louisville Silver Slugger Award after slashing .298/.343/.466 with a 121 OPS+ and 27 steals in 30 attempts … Per Statcast, his average sprint speed of 30.3 feet per second ranked 5th out of 582 qualified players … In 2021, Turner led the majors in AVG (.328) and hits (195), led the NL in stolen bases (32) and total bases (319) and posted a career-best 6.8 fWAR (FanGraphs) which ranked 3rd among all ML position players.
TODAY’S STARTER – BAILEY FALTER LHP #70
LAST START: 4/2 at TEX: L, 5.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 HR, HR … Falter vs Perez … The Phillies fell to the Texas Rangers, 2-1 … Trea Turner, Edmundo Sosa and Bryson Stott all had two hits but the Phillies went just 1-for- 8 with RISP … Andrew Bellatti, Connor Brogdon and Gregory Soto all made scoreless appearances in relief.
TONIGHT’S START:
Walk It Out: Falter did not walk a batter in his season debut, marking the 7th time in his last 9 starts he has not issued a walk (since 8/26/22) … In that span, he has walked only 4 of the 177 batters he has faced (2.3% walk rate) … There have been only 9 other unique Phillies pitchers since at least 1901 to walk 4 or fewer in a span of 9 starts: Cliff Lee (14x), Jon Lieber (5x), Terry Mulholland, Rick Wise (4x), Jim Bunning (2x), Robin Roberts (3x), Snipe Hansen (2x), Bill Hubbell (3x) and Bill Duggleby (2x) … That 2.3% walk rate is the lowest among all NL pitchers with at least 175 batters faced since 8/26/22, and among the 71 ML pitchers with at least 175 batters faced, trails only Shane Bieber’s 2.0% … The next closest ML pitcher in that span is Ross Stripling (3.3% walk rate) … Dating back to 6/17/22, Falter has issued 2 or fewer walks in 15 straight starts, including 1 or 0 in 10 of those
Mark of Consistency: Since 7/29/22, Falter has gone 6-2 with a 3.04 ERA (19 ER, 56.1 IP), 1.08 WHIP (7 BB, 54 H) and an OPP slash line of .252/.283/.407 … He has the lowest ERA among any of the 6 starters to pitch at least 30.0 IP for the club since 7/29/22 (next: Ranger Suarez, 3.39) … Removing his 6 ER in 3.2 IP on 9/24 vs ATL, he had a 2.22 ERA (13 ER, 52.2 IP) and 0.97 WHIP in that span
Day to Remember: Falter made his first appearance against CIN in his 5th ML appearance on 6/28/21 in CIN … He pitched 4.0 IP, struck out 6 and allowed 1 run on 2 hits … His 4.0 IP remained his career high until the following May in a start at SEA on 5/11/22 (4.2 IP) and his 6 SO that day are still tied for his 2ndmost ever in a game, surpassed only by his 8 in a start on 7/29/22 at PIT
Left Lost: Falter has allowed 7 hits to the last 49 LHH he has faced (dating to the middle of 7/7/22 vs WSH), a .143 OPP AVG
vs NL Central: 1-1, 5.17 ERA (18 ER, 31.1 IP) in 10 games (4 starts)
HOME:
2022: 3-3, 5.49 ERA (24 ER, 39.1 IP) in 10 games (7 starts)
Career: 3-4, 5.14 ERA (28 ER, 49.0 IP) in 20 games (7 starts)
2023 SEASON:
Made his second career and consecutive Opening Day roster
2022 SEASON:
Made his first career Opening Day roster
Had eight stints with the Phillies: Opening Day-4/25, 5/11, 5/27, 6/17, 6/30-7/7, 7/24-8/3, 8/20 and 8/26-end of season
Began the season as a reliever (4 apps) and was transitioned to a starting role during his first stint in Lehigh Valley (AAA)
Made 16 starts for Philadelphia, posting a 3.76 ERA (32 ER, 76.2 IP), and the Phillies won 11 of them Posted a 3.00 ERA (17 ER, 51.0 IP) and 1.06 WHIP (7 BB, 47 H) over his final 10 starts beginning on 7/29
In seven starts from 7/29-9/18, his 2.45 ERA (11 ER, 40.1 IP) was the lowest among qualifying Phillies starters and T-10th among NL starters
Finished his season with a streak of 14 straight starts with two or fewer walks and walked one or none in 10 of those
Had the 3rd-lowest BB % (4.3, 7 BB, 282 BF) in the NL behind Max Scherzer (3.5) and Aaron Nola (3.9) and 9th in MLB (min. 250 BF) from 6/17-end of season
His 5.42 SO/BB (65 SO, 12 BB) from 6/17-end of season was 9th in the NL among pitchers with at least 250 batters faced
Made Philadelphia’s NLWCS, NLDS and NLCS rosters, appearing in one postseason game (started Game 4 of the NLCS vs SD)
CAREER
Selected by PHI in the 5th round of the June 2015 draft
