The Cincinnati Reds (48-74, 58-64 RL, 61-57-4 O/U) battle the Washington Nationals (42-83, 53-69, 57-60-5 O/U) in the first of a three-game NL series on Friday evening. The Reds will have veteran Mike Minor on the hill. The Nationals will respond with rookie Cade Cavalli. The Nats lead the season series 3-1.
The Reds will have Mike Minor on the hill in this one. Minor was clobbered yet again in his latest effort, squandering five runs in 5.2 innings against the Pirates, and was bailed out by the offense and earned the win. The southpaw continues to have trouble in most outings and enters with a 6.44 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP accompanied by a 2-10 record in 73 innings pitched. Minor allowed six runs in the lone meeting against the Nationals this season and is 3-4 with a 4.91 ERA in 62.1 career innings.
The Reds continue a 10-game road trip. They began by winning two of three in Pittsburgh by scoring a remarkable 23 runs in the three games but followed by losing three of four against the hot Phillies team. The Reds are 3-7 in their last ten games.
Kyler Farmer leads the R eds in several offensive categories after all the trades early in the month. The 32-year-old is having a productive season, bashing seven homers with 56 RBIs and a .709 OPS. He has collected seven RBIs and an .879 OPS against the Nationals this season.
The Reds are scoring an average of 4.27 runs, ranking them 19th overall. The pitching staff has posted a 5.04 team ERA, paging them 28th in the big leagues.