CINCINNATI REDS NOTES:
TODAY’S GAME
- Is Game 3 (0-2) of a 3-game series vs Harvey Hodgerney’s Giants and Game 10 (4-5) of a 10-game road trip that included Wed’s day/night doubleheader sweep at LAA (3-0 at LAA, 1-3 at AZ, 0-2 at SF). This afternoon the Giants are looking for their first series sweep of the Reds since 5/17-5/20, 2021 (4g at Cin) and their first series sweep of the Reds at Oracle Park since 5/3-5/5, 2002 (3g). Is the Reds’ third trip of the season to the West Coast.
SERIES NOTES
- Beginning with the 2008 season the Reds are 55-44 vs SF, at .556 the best winning percentage of any Giants opponent since then (minimum 50g). Beginning 6/29/12 and including the 2012 season’s National League Division Series, the Redlegs have won 21 of the last 37 meetings at beautiful Oracle Park.
DOUBLE DIPPING
- Fri vs the Cubs the Reds will play their third day/night doubleheader of the season. On 8/13 at PNC Park the Reds and Pirates split a day/night DH. On 8/23 the Reds swept the Angels in Anaheim (9-4, 7-3 wins), their first sweep of a 9-inning doubleheader since 7/6/2014 vs Cubs (4-2, 6-5 wins) and their first sweep of a 9-inning doubleheader on the road since 6/5/1999 at KC (7-4, 9-4 wins).
ROOKIES ON THE ROSTER
- The Reds have 9 rookies on today’s roster: IF Elly De La Cruz, IF Christian Encarnacion-Strand, OF TJ Hopkins, IF Noelvi Marte, IF/OF Spencer Steer, LHP Andrew Abbott, RHP Fernando Cruz, RHP Daniel Duarte and LHP Brandon Williamson. As recently as Sunday, the Reds had 11 rookies on the roster. Monday, injured IF Matt McLain was replaced by OF Stuart Fairchild. Yesterday, OF Michael Siani was replaced by IF/OF Alejo Lopez. Had 12 rookies on the 27-player roster for the 8/23 doubleheader at LAA, the most of any team for any game in the Major Leagues this season. 14 Reds players have made Major League debuts this season, the most of any team in the Major Leagues: RHP Casey Legumina, RHP Levi Stoudt, IF Matt McLain, LHP Brandon Williamson, RHP Eduardo Salazar, OF TJ Hopkins, LHP Andrew Abbott, IF Elly De La Cruz, RHP Ricky Karcher, RHP Randy Wynne, RHP Jake Wong, IF Christian Encarnacion-Strand, RHP Lyon Richardson and IF Noelvi Marte. 21 rookies have played in at least 1 game for the Reds, the most of any team in the Major Leagues. The Reds have used 57 players overall…when he plays, IF/OF Alejo Lopez will become the 58th…RHP Michael Mariot was on the roster for 1 day (7/8) but did not appear in a game…in 2022, the Reds used a club record 66 players.
LET THE KIDS PLAY
- The Reds are the first team in Major League history with 3 rookies, in a single season, with at least 10 HR & 10 stolen bases each (Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, Spencer Steer). For the first time since 1890, when Cincinnati joined the National League, 3 Reds rookies have produced at least 10 HR. Reds rookies have combined for 49 HR (Spencer Steer 18, Matt McLain 16, Elly De La Cruz 11, Christian Encarnacion-Strand 4)…the franchise record for home runs in a season by rookies is 54 in 2008 (Joey Votto 24, Jay Bruce 21, Chris Dickerson 6, Ryan Hanigan 2, Paul Janish 1). On 8/22 at LAA, in his 64th career game, Elly De La Cruz recorded his 20th stolen base to become the fastest player since 1900 to accumulate at least 10 HR and at least 20 steals…Barry Bonds did it in his 65th career appearance, just ahead of Reds rookies Chris Sabo (66g) and Gary Redus (67g)…courtesy @EliasSports. Elly De La Cruz is the first Major League player since RBI became a statistic in 1920 to produce in his first 60 career apps at least 60 hits (64), 10 HR (10), 25 RBI (26) and 15 stolen bases (19). Elly De La Cruz and Spencer Steer on 7/4 at Wsh became the first set of rookie teammates in Major League history to finish in the same game 4-for-4 with at least 1 RBI (since RBI became an official statistic in 1920)…courtesy @EliasSports. IF Matt McLain (5/22-5/28) and IF Elly De La Cruz (6/19-6/25) each earned National League Player of the Week awards, McLain in the second week of his career and De La Cruz in his third week.
RED HOTS
- The Reds are the first team in Major League history to move into first place alone in 9 games or fewer after falling 5 or more games under .500 while facing a deficit of at least 5 games…on 6/9 were 29-35 and trailed the first-place Pirates by 5.0 games…beginning 6/10 won 9 straight games to move into first place alone on 6/19. The Reds’ 12-game winning streak from 6/10-6/23 tied their modern club record (5/16-5/27, 1939 & 4/30-5/12, 1957). The Reds went 18-9 in June, their highest victory total in any month since June 2014 (18-10). From 6/14-7/8 Reds batters established a new franchise record for consecutive games with at least 1 home run (22g, 45hr), a streak snapped in the 1-0 loss at Mil in the final game heading into the All-Star Game break.
RUNNING MEN
- The Reds lead the Major Leagues with 153 stolen bases (TB 2nd, 138), their highest total since 1999 (164sb)…in 2022, the Reds recorded 58 steals…are trying to lead the National League in stolen bases for the first time since 2015 (134sb). The Reds recorded 50 stolen bases in June, their highest steals total in a calendar month since September 1912 (53sb). 6 times this season recorded at least 5 stolen bases in a game (last, 8/16 vs Cle)…prior to this season, the Reds hadn’t recorded 5 stolen bases in a game since 4/10/17 at Pit.
Today’s Pitcher – #21 Hunter Greene, RHP
- Today is making his third start since a 62-day stint on the injured list (6/19-8/19, right hip pain)…will be his first career appearance vs the Giants. Missed a start on 6/6 vs LAD because of stiffness in his right hip…after he skipped that start went 1-0, 3.97 in 2 more apps before he went on the injured list on 6/19 (11.1ip, 11h, 6bb, 12k, 1hr, .256baa). In his last 5 starts before the injury went 2-1, 2.97 (30.1ip, 17h, 10er, 14bb, 41k, .163baa). From 8/1-8/15 made 4 rehabilitation starts for the ACL Reds (1gs, 2ip, 1h, 0r, 0bb, 3k) and Louisville (3gs, 12ip, 6h, 5r, 4er, 7bb, 12k, 2hr). Has been charged with a team-high 4 pitch timer violations, most recently on 5/10 vs NYM (Pete Alonso walked). In the third inning on 6/1 at Bos recorded his 250th career strikeout (Connor Wong)…became the fourth-fastest pitcher to reach that milestone by innings pitched (184.0; Spencer Strider 158.1, Corbin Burnes 176.0, Kerry Wood 183.0). In the bottom of the fourth inning of that 8-2 loss on 6/1 at Fenway Park, Rafael Devers led off with a double that snapped Greene’s hitless innings streak at 9.0 (18 strikeouts) covering 2 starts. Finished that start vs the Red Sox just 2 strikeouts shy of his third consecutive game with at least 10 strikeouts…no Reds pitcher, since the mound was moved to its current distance in 1893, ever has recorded at least 10 strikeouts in 3 consecutive apps…courtesy @EliasSports. In his first 36 career apps produced 6 starts of at least 6.0 innings with 2 hits or fewer, the most ever by a Reds pitcher in that few starts. In the 9-0 win on 5/26 at Wrigley Field, for the second time in his career threw at least 6.0 innings without allowing a hit (1-0 loss on 5/15/22 at Pit, 7.1ip). Produced a career-high 29.0-inning homerless streak between home runs by Oneil Cruz on 3/30 vs Pit and Elvis Andrus on 5/5 vs WSox.
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS NOTES:
BEY DAY: The Giants wrap their six-game homestand and this series with the Reds this afternoon with a chance to sweep. Five teams are within four games of one another in the NL Wild Card race…last night’s Giants win coupled with a D-Backs loss moved SF into the final Wild Card spot entering play today… the Cubs hold the second Wild Card, 1.0 game ahead of SF. Last night’s victory clinched the season-series over the Reds, which could play a role down the stretch. The win yesterday also clinched a series win, snapping a seven-series losing streak for SF…the Giants last series win prior to this one was July 31-Aug 3. vs. Arizona (won 3-of-4). With a win today, SF would secure its first three-game series sweep of the Reds here at home in over 20 years, last sweeping a three-game set vs. Cincy here May 3-5, 2002. Current Reds manager David Bell was a part of that Giants team that swept Cincinnati here in ’02…he went 2-for-11 in that series with two RBI. SF has won three straight entering play today…the last time SF won four straight games was July 8-18 as part of a seven-game winning streak vs. COL, at IT and at CIN. FORMATION:OF Mike Yastrzemski was activated off the 10-day Injured List prior to today’s game…OF Luis Matos was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento. Yastrzemski has been out since July 31, missing 26 games with a left hamstring strain…it was Yastrzemski’s third trip to the IL with the injury this season…he’s missed a total of 51 games with the injury in 2023. In Yaz’s 68 starts, the Giants as a team hit .247 with a .737 OPS while averaging 4.9 runs/game…in the 62 games he hasn’t started (due to injury or otherwise) the team has hit .230 with a .662 OPS while averaging 3.7 runs/game (SIS). SAY MY NAME: RHP Alex Cobb came within one out of a nohitter last night, the longest Cobb had ever taken a no-hit bid in his Major League career. Cobb now has two complete games for SF this year…the last Giant with two in the same season was RHP Anthony DeSclafani in 2021. Cobb, who turns 36 on October 7, is the oldest Giant to have multiple complete games in a single season since Mark Gardner had four complete games in 1998 as a 36-year-old. With one run allowed last night, Cobb lowered his home ERA to 2.09 in 11 starts…the 2.09 ERA is second-lowest in the Majors among qualified starters behind ARI’s Zac Gallen (1.79).
I AM…LOGAN WEBB: RHP Logan Webb seeks his first victory since August 2 this afternoon in this series finale. In four career games (three starts) vs. Cincinnati, Webb owns a 0.90 ERA (2er, 20.ip) with 18 strikeouts…in the three starts, SF as a team is 3-0. Webb’s 2.48 home ERA this year is fifth-best in the Majors among qualified starters. Since 2021 (Webb’s breakout year), he has a 2.50 ERA at Oracle Park in 43 games (42 starts), the fifth-best home ERA in MLB (min. 200 home IP) behind Shohei Ohtani (2.15), Max Scherzer (2.16), Alex Cobb (2.37) and Sandy Alcantara (2.48).
Overall……………….. 1,230-1,030-15
at Oracle Park…………………… 41-38
at Great American BP ………… 30-36
2023 vs. Cincinnati ……………….. 4-2
at Oracle Park …………………….. 2-0
at Great American BP…………… 2-2
2023 Head-to-Head vs. Reds
Date H/A W/L Score Rec.
7/17 at CIN W 4-2 (10) 1-0
7/18 at CIN W 11-10 2-0
7/19 at CIN L 2-3 2-1
7/20 at CIN L 1-5 2-2
Date H/A W/L Score Rec.
8/28 vs. CIN W 4-1 3-2
8/29 vs. CIN W 6-1 4-2
8/30 vs. CIN — — —
2023 Totals 4-2
RENAISSANCE: With RHP Alex Cobb recording his second complete game of the year last night, the Giants now have three complete games from their starters this season (today’s starter Logan Webb has the other in a shutout of Colorado on July 9). The last time a Giants team had three complete games in a single season was 2017 (Ty Blach, Madison Bumgarner and Jeff Samardzija)…the last Giants team to have more than three was the 2016 club, who had 10. SF’s three complete games this season are tied for most in the Majors with Kansas City, Miami and Texas. Oddly enough, SF’s traditional starters have thrown the fewest innings of any starting unit in the Majors this year (593.1 innings)…the next fewest is the A’s at 605.1 innings from their starting pitchers.
PARTY: With RHP Tristan Beck logging 4.1 innings on Sunday, LHP Kyle Harrison going 6.1 Monday and RHP Alex Cobb throwing 9.0 innings yesterday, it’s the first time since August 5-7 that the Giants have gotten at least 4.1 innings from three straight starters. Yesterday marked the third time that’s happened since July 1 with the other time being July 9 (Webb’s shutout before the break), July 15 at Pittsburgh out of the break (4.2 innings from RHP Ross Stripling) and July 16 at Pittsburgh (6.0 innings from Cobb).
CRAZY IN LOVE: C Patrick Bailey has driven in six runs over his last three games (all Giants wins). Since August 6, Bailey is slashing .295/.386/.443 with three doubles, two homers and 14 RBI…his 14 RBI in this stretch are tied for most on the team with IF Wilmer Flores. All 45 of Bailey’s RBI this year have come while playing catcher (none as a DH or a pinch-hitter)…the last rookie catcher to have more RBI while playing catcher in a single season was Miami’s J.T. Realmuto, who had 47 in 118 games in 2015.
MOVE: Following today’s game, the Giants embark on a seven-game road trip through San Diego and Chicago-NL. The four-game series in SD is the Giants only trip to San Diego this year…the two teams played a brief two-game set in México City in late April that counted as San Diego home games.
TODAY’S STARTER – LOGAN WEBB RHP #62
2023 RECORD: 9-10, 3.51 ERA
WITH THE GIANTS: Is in the midst of his fifth season with SF… signed a five-year, $90 million extension on April 14 that keeps him in a Giants uniform through 2028…the contract bought out his final two arbitration years and first three years of free agency.
LAST OUTING: Made his second consecutive start against the Braves and allowed a season-high five runs at home…the last time Webb allowed five-or-more runs at Oracle Park was August 18, 2022 vs. Arizona.
ON THE LEADERBOARDS: Webb enters today with 174.1 innings pitched, second-most in the Majors behind MIA’s Sandy Alcantara (176.2ip)…his 163 strikeouts are 12th-most in the NL while his 3.51 ERA is ninth-best…his 1.10 WHIP is tied for fourth-best among qualified NL pitchers.
QUALITY EATS: Webb is currently tied with CHC’s Justin Steele and MIL’s Corbin Burnes for most quality starts in the NL (18), and is tied for second in MLB behind NYY’s Gerrit Cole (19)…if he finishes the year leading the league in quality starts he’d be the first Giant to do so since Rick Reuschel had 28 in 1988 (Stats, LLC).
THE 415: Webb’s last start vs. Atlanta is a blip in an otherwise consistently strong career at Oracle Park…Webb has a 2.86 ERA in 53 career home games (50 starts)…his 2.86 home ERA is one of the best in the SF-era (since 1958) at home (min. 300.0ip) according to Stats, LLC…at home this year, Webb owns a 2.48 ERA but the Giants are 6-7 in his 12 home starts…his 2.48 home ERA is fourth-best in the National League among qualified starters behind ARI’s Zac Gallen (1.79), teammate Alex Cobb (2.09), and Chicago-NL’s Justin Steele (2.46).
Giants, Lowest Home ERA — Since 1958 (min. 300ip) (Stats, LLC)
Pitcher ERA
Stu Miller 2.57
Juan Marichal 2.67
Gaylord Perry 2.69
Pitcher ERA
Madison Bumgarner 2.72
Gary Lavelle 2.85
Logan Webb 2.86
VS. CINCINNATI: Webb is facing the Reds for a second time this year and a fifth time in his career (fourth time as a starter)…the righty owns a 0.90 ERA (2er, 20.0ip) in the prior four outings… his two earned runs both came in the start on July 17 at the Great American Ball Park when Webb allowed two solo homers over 7.0 innings with seven strikeouts…both players that took Webb deep in that contest, IF Jonathan India and IF Matt McLain, are currently on the injured list for Cincinnati.
GOTTA MAKE WEBB DAY A WIN DAY…: Over the last 2+ seasons the Giants as a team are 52-33 (.612) in 85 games that Webb has started since 2021… SF is 13-14 in his 27 starts this year…going back a bit further, SF is 18-18 in his last 36 starts dating to August 13, 2022…in those 36 starts, Webb has received two or fewer runs of support 22 times (SF is 6-16 in those games)…he has a 3.20 ERA in those 36 starts while posting an 8.45 K/9ip and a 5.41 K/BB ratio.
SUPPORT SYSTEM: As mentioned, SF has given Webb two or fewer runs of support in 22 of his last 36 starts (61.1%) dating to Aug. 13, 2022…this year, SF has given him two or fewer runs of support in 17 of his 27 starts (62.3%)…Webb’s 3.20 run support average in 2023 is lowest in MLB.
THE HOMERS: He’s allowed 19 homers this year in 174.1 innings, eight more than he allowed last season in 192.1 innings (11)…his 2.7 HR% would be the second-highest of his career behind his 2.9 HR% from his rookie year (2019).
GOTTA EARN IT: Entering today’s start Webb’s 3.9% walk rate would be the lowest of his career (his best season was a 6.0% walk rate in 2021)… Webb’s career walk rate is 6.0%… the 3.9% walk rate is second-lowest in the NL among qualified pitchers behind Miami’s Braxton Garrett (3.8%), and fourth-lowest in MLB, also behind SEAs George Kirby (2.3%) and TB’s Zach Eflin (3.5%)…he’s walked only 27 of the 691 batters he’s faced in 2023.
STAYING GROUNDED: Webb is forcing nearly seven times more ground balls than fly balls this month, which is one of the best ratios over the past 35 seasons according o Stats, LLC (min. 100 batters faced)…overall, his 60.6 ground ball percentage this season is up from last year’s 57.8% mark and above his career average of 57.6%…entering play today the 60.6 ground ball % is best in the Majors.
