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New York Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Reds live Q&A with C. Trent Rosecrans at noon ET on Thursday, June 26
Chase Burns is up for the Cincinnati Reds, Elly De La Cruz is hot, Matt McLain is on track, Jeimer Candelario is a Red no more and the cavalry of Austin Hays, Noelvi Marte and Hunter Greene seems to be on their way back. After a 2-1 series against the New York Yankees, the Reds have another stiff test as the San Diego Padres come into town to close out the month of June. Advertisement July means All-Stars, the draft and the trade deadline. With all that on tap, there's no shortage of topics for this month's live Reds Q&A with The Athletic's C. Trent Rosecrans. So grab your lunch at at noon ET on Thursday, June 26 and sit at the picnic table (under the shade) and talk some baseball.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Look who's back on top in this week's Cincinnati Reds All-Star candidate power rankings
ST. LOUIS – On a staff with one of the hardest throwing pitchers in baseball in Hunter Greene and in an era when velocity rules the game, guys like Andrew Abbott can sometimes get overlooked. 'Not in here,' Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona said. Advertisement Abbott, the third-year left-hander in the Reds rotation, is on a season heater like few in the game through 13 starts, and he might be the team's first-half MVP at this point considering the team is 10-3 in his starts (he's 7-1) – and his ERA is 1.79 as the Reds hit the halfway mark Wednesday. Andrew Abbott has posted a 1.79 ERA in his 13 starts and the Reds are 10-3 in those games. 'He's a little old-fashioned,' manager Terry Francona said. 'He just adds and subtracts. But when you know how to do it – you've seen left-handers, they can pitch a long time and be really successful with touch and feel. And then he has a little bit of ride in the fastball. You see he gets some awkward swings., and he's not throwing 100.' Not that any of this is new to Abbott, who took the league by storm his first 10 starts as rookie in 2023, producing a 1.90 ERA as the Reds went 8-2 in those games. Advertisement Reds player moves Jeimer Candelario 'We notice': Message received by players after Cincinnati Reds' 'shocking' Candelario move Reds Yankees Nick Lodolo Elly De La Cruz Elly De La Cruz, Reds take series opener from Aaron Judge, New York Yankees In fact, after an especially impressive start in the oppressive heat of St. Louis to snap a three-game Reds skid Sunday, Abbott was 25-17 with a 3.32 ERA in 59 career starts. That's better than Greene (3.74) or Nick Lodolo (4.31), a harder throwing pair who are widely considered the front men of the homegrown pitching core. If Abbott has been overlooked until now, it might not be for long, especially if he keeps pitching like he did against the Cardinals, when he retired the final 18 he faced in a seven-inning start. Advertisement 'To be honest, I didn't even know I retired 18 in a row,' he said. 'I was just trying to put everything in the zone. That's a really veteran lineup over there. They know what they're doing. Really just trying to make them hit my pitches instead of hitting theirs. 'That's the best recipe for success as a pitcher.' It might even be a recipe for a first All-Star selection after flirting with a bid with a good first half last year. It's at least a recipe for making a few more people start taking notice. Until then, check out where he lands on our latest Reds All-Star candidate power rankings: 1. LHP Andrew Abbott (last week: 2) The left-hander's last two starts marked a tale of two weather extremes, battling wet conditions at home against the Twins to give up just one earned run in a tough start that included four unearned runs (in a Reds win), followed by a top-stopper performance in the humid 96 degrees of St. Louis to give the Reds bullpen a much-needed seven innings from a starter. Two more weeks of this, and if he's still overlooked, he'll be the biggest snub in either league. 2. SS Elly De La Cruz (3) The Reds' biggest star battled a 'cranky' hamstring in late May, then got the heart-crushing news of his sister's death May 31, and somehow continued to play – and perform at a level that has confounded teammates and staff. He still hasn't missed a game this season despite traveling home to the Dominican to be with family after his sister's death. And his June numbers (through Monday) defy explanation: .333 with seven home runs, 11 walks, a .422 on-base percentage and .750 slugging percentage. He's even 4-for-5 on steal attempts after fighting through the hamstring – and hit his second triple in three games Monday. Center fielder TJ Friedl couldn't quite keep the ball in his glove on this play, a pop-up by the Yankees' Cody Bellinger that ended p being a double in the eighth inning. 3. CF TJ Friedl (1) Maybe the most consistent hitter on the team all season, the Reds' leadoff man is also the team's top defender. A .290 hitter with five bunt hits and eight home runs, Friedl's biggest hurdle to earning his first selection might be the competition in a robust field of star-caliber National League outfielders this season: Kyle Tucker, Juan Soto, Corbin Carroll, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Teoscar Hernandez, Fernando Tatis Jr. – you get the idea. 4. RHP Emilio Pagán (4) Even after a hard-luck blown save on Saturday's bullpen-day loss in extra innings, Pagán came back with perfect ninth for a save Sunday, retiring seven of eight he faced in the the two days (with the exception of that Nolan Arenado tying homer Saturday). The veteran setup man, who only ascended to the closer role when Alexis Díaz pitched his way out of Cincinnati, is 18-for-21 in save chances with a 3.27 ERA. With his next two saves he'll match his career high (2019 with Rays). 5. LHP Nick Lodolo (NR) Lodolo (5-5, 3.63 through 16 starts after Monday's start vs. Yankees) hasn't missed a start this year and is fast approaching last year's career high of 21, which alone makes him one of the Reds' most valuable starters in the first half. And then his bounce-back start last week against the Twins following his worst start of the year earned him a first career complete game – albeit, a six-inning CG, thanks to the rain that shortened the game to said six innings. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Check out who's No. 5 on our Cincinnati Reds All-Star Power Rankings
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Andrew Abbott shows win-now value of Cincinnati Reds promotion of Chase Burns in another win
ST. LOUIS – That upper-90s fastball, sure. That nasty slider, no doubt. And that extra competitive gear, fuhgeddaboudit. But here's another big reason the Cincinnati Reds pulled the trigger this week on one of their top two or three most anticipated big-league debuts in decades: Advertisement Andrew Abbott. After allowing a run-scoring single in the second inning Sunday, June 22, Andrew Abbott retired the final 18 batters in a seven-inning start and 4-1 Reds win. Abbott improved to 7-1 with a 1.79 ERA in 13 starts. Because Abbott keeps doing things like he did Sunday, when he retired the last 18 batters he faced to beat the Cardinals 4-1 with seven powerful innings on an oppressively hot afternoon in St. Louis. Because Abbott keeps pitching like an ace. And the Reds keep avoiding long losing streaks. And because the brass says it believes they have a playoff caliber team that top prospect Chase Burns can help get over a tough midseason hump. Reds pitching moves Chase Burns Cincinnati Reds to call up top prospect Chase Burns to debut Tuesday vs. New York Yankees Reds injuries Candelario, Hays Cincinnati Reds Austin Hays, Jeimer Candelario near returns from IL Advertisement 'He can help us win,' veteran starter Nick Martinez said. 'He's got that dog in him.' With Hunter Greene sidelined until maybe the All-Star break or beyond with an aggravated groin strain, can the powerful, poised right-hander make a sudden impact the way guys like Elly De La Cruz did when he debuted in 2023 or Rhett Lowder last year? And what does that mean for a rotation that already has one of the hottest left-handers going in the game right now in Abbott – who improved to 7-1 with a 1.79 ERA through 13 starts Sunday, just ahead of a gauntlet homestand featuring the Yankees and Padres? Matt McLain, batting in the second spot in the order, gave the Reds an early lead with his ninth home run in the top of the first inning. McLain extended his hitting streak to 10 games and is batting .305 in 18 June games. 'It's going to be a boost while we're missing Hunter and we're trying to figure things out with bullpen guys being overused maybe,' said Abbott, who got more efficient as Sunday's start progressed to give that pen a much-needed breather. Advertisement 'We know who he is as a pitcher, why he got drafted so high,' Abbott added. 'What he did in college was outstanding.' Never mind what he did in his first professional season so far this year after getting drafted second overall out of Wake Forest less than a year ago: 7-3 with a 1.77 ERA and a truckload of strikeouts across three minor-league levels. 'If he's remotely close or somewhat similar to what that was, then he's going to be a boost to us,' Abbott said. 'He's going to pick us up in ways that we might have been missing in some games. 'I think he's ready. It's going to be a little bit of an adjustment for him,' Abbott said, 'but he's got the stuff and he's got the grit to come up and do well right from the get-go.' Advertisement Burns, whose debut comes on the heels of the elbow injury that landed Wade Miley back on the injured list, gets his first-big league taste Tuesday against the Yankees. 'We want to be in the playoffs. We want a shot at this thing,' said second baseman Matt Mclain, whose resurgence at the plate the last two weeks included a first-inning home run Sunday. 'So adding him obviously is going to help those chances.' Burns is Baseball America's No. 8 overall prospect and MLB Pipeline's No. 11 prospect. His debut ranks alongside De La Cruz's and Lowder's among the three most anticipated Reds debuts in more than a decade. The Reds opened the week with 10 wins in their last 15 games to push their record to 40-38 and get to within three games of a playoff position. Advertisement Thanks to Abbott's effort Sunday, they remain the only team in the majors that hasn't been swept in a series this season. 'We all believe we have a good team here,' first baseman Spencer Steer said. 'The record is what it is, but we have a good team. We have a team that can make the playoffs. 'So however we get there, whatever the moving pieces are – obviously I don't have any say in that – but hearing the front office say (the Burns move is about winning now), that gives us an extra little confidence, like we have what it takes.' And if Burns performs? And Abbott keeps pitching like this? And Greene gets healthy for a second-half run? Advertisement "It just adds weapons," Abbott said. For now it's about riding Abbott's win into the Yankees series. And Tuesday's big day for Burns. But even ahead of the homestead, the news resonated in the Reds clubhouse before they headed home. 'I think it's something (the front office is) telling us they believe in us,' catcher Jose Trevino said. 'They believe in our team, and it's just going to help us.' This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Andrew Abbott shows win-now value of Reds call to promote Chase Burns
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cincinnati Reds rout MLB-best Detroit Tigers, even series
DETROIT – These are the kinds of days the Cincinnati Reds envisioned when they talked about being a playoff team after hiring manager Terry Francona and adding a bunch of veteran pieces around the edges of the roster. Not exactly the part about missing their best pitcher (Hunter Greene) for the foreseeable future because of a groin injury, or their best hitter when he's played this season (Austin Hays) to a third injury to the same left leg already this season. Advertisement But the home runs in the same game by middle-infield step-bros Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain? The grand slam by Tyler Stephenson? The 98-mph relay throw by De La Cruz to cut down Javy Baez at the plate and overall clean, errorless game all day long against the top team in the majors? Tyler Stephenson celebrates his fifth-inning grand slam Saturday in Detroit. Stephenson's slam was part of the Reds' six-run fifth inning that gave them a 7-1 lead. That's the idea. The crazy idea that the Reds would be contenders in the buzz-saw National League this year. Reds pitching injuries Hunter Greene 'Longer this time': Cincinnati Reds ace Hunter Greene heads to Arizona for lengthy rehab Reds Sean Casey Savannah Bananas Sean Casey tore hamstring during Savannah Bananas game at GABP, needs surgery, per report Advertisement Reds MLB All-Star voting TJ Friedl Cincinnati Reds All-Star Candidate Power Rankings: See how high red-hot TJ Friedl jumps On Saturday, it looked like a 11-1 win against the buzz-saw of the American League, the Detroit Tigers. And with no guarantees of what awaits with 91 games to go – or even Sunday's series finale with Wade Miley on the mound – Saturday's rout of the runaway leaders of the American League Central offered a one-day glimpse of the promise of what has been a wildly inconsistent lineup. "All of us know what we're capable of and how we can play, and I feel like we've been doing that the last week or so," said Stephenson, who's 10-for-23 (.435) with three doubles, a walk and the home run in his last five games. "So we've just got to maintain it, trust ourselves and keep doing what we're doing and play the baseball that we know how to play." Tigers shortstop Javier Báez is tagged out a home plate by Reds catcher Jose Trevino in the third inning Saturday June 14. Baez was thrown out by Elly De La Cruz, who took the cutoff thrown from right fielder Jake Fraley, who fielded the ball on a bounce off the wall. Of course, if there's one thing you can count on from an inconsistent lineup it's that it probably won't stay down (or up) long. Advertisement On this day, the Reds knocked around veteran starter Jack Flaherty and a bullpen that eventually included catcher Jake Rogers for six walks and 12 hits, including four home runs (also Spencer Steer). "They had a really good pitcher going today," Francona said. "I mean he is a really good pitcher. But we made him work. Got his pitch count up." Stephenson's grand slam came on the first pitch after De La Cruz walked on five pitches. 'You've probably heard me say it from the first day of spring training: If they don't pitch to Elly you want them to pay for it,' Francona said. 'That's the idea. We try to put whoever's hot behind him the best we can. And without Hays it's a little more challenging.' Brady Singer got the win in the Reds' 11-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers Saturday, June 14, allowing one run in six innings. He allowed four hits and two walks while striking out four. Ten of the 11 Reds who batted had hits in this one, and the one who didn't, Will Benson, reached on a walk. Advertisement Leadoff man TJ Friedl reached three times, as did catcher Jose Trevino. Stephenson added a double to his slam. Christian Encarnacion-Strand got his first hit since the night Francona kissed his bat Monday in Cleveland. You get the idea. The big idea. The crazy idea. Steer, whose fifth-inning homer knocked Flaherty out of the game, left the game a few innings later after he took a ball off his hand on a check swing (that turned into a 2-3 out in the seventh). Subsequent X-rays were negative, Francona said. "It kind of scared us at first just the way it hit him, and it was discolored and swollen right away,' Francona said. 'It's already looking a little better. So I think we dodged a bullet there.' Advertisement Reds starter Brady Singer, who made a career out of beating the Tigers while pitching in Kansas City, improved to 7-1 against Detroit with a 3.16 ERA in 14 career starts. Singer (7-4) gave up just four hits in six innings on this day, allowing a fourth-inning run after a pair of walks and two-out hit by Wenceel Perez. The win also meant the Reds extended their streak to 23 series this year without being swept, their longest streak to open a season since 1989, when they went 30 before getting swept by the Phillies. Besides the Reds, only the Yankees and Mets have not been swept this season. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds rout MLB-best Detroit Tigers, even series
Associated Press
6 days ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Reds set to call up top pitching prospect Chase Burns from minors to start against Yanks
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Cincinnati Reds are preparing to call up top pitching prospect Chase Burns to start during their series against the New York Yankees this week. Burns, a 22-year-old right-hander, has rapidly moved through the minor leagues after Cincinnati drafted him with the No. 2 pick last year from Wake Forest. Burns is 7-3 with a 1.77 ERA in 13 starts at three minor-league levels this year, including two with Triple-A Louisville. 'It's kind of hard to come up with a reason why we shouldn't,' Reds manager Terry Francona said Sunday. 'They tried to throw a lot at him. He just kind of handled everything. The Reds' rotation is short-handed after starters Hunter Greene and Wade Miley went on the injured list earlier this month. Nick Lodolo is scheduled to start Monday's series opener against New York, and the 6-foot-3 Burns is in line to make his debut Tuesday. 'It's another game, but it is a major league team, He's going to have a lot of firsts, but he's handled everything so far,' said Francona, whose team entered Sunday with a 39-38 record and in fourth place in the NL Central. 'And I think there's an excitement, and, you know, I think the front office, they're trying to help us win, and I think we appreciate that.' Cincinnati also made a series of roster moves before Sunday's game at St. Louis, recalling right-hander Yosver Zulueta from Triple-A Louisville and bringing back third baseman Jeimer Candelario (lumbar spine strain) from a three-week rehab assignment. Right-hander Chase Petty was optioned to Louisville, and second baseman Garrett Hampson was designated for assignment. The Cardinals recalled right-hander Gordon Graceffo from Triple-A Memphis and optioned right-hander Andre Granillo to Memphis. ___ AP baseball:
