The Cincinnati Reds (40-61, 48-53 RL 52-46-3 O/U) battle the Miami Marlins (47-55, 45-57 RL, 48-50-3 O/U) in the second of a three-game NL series on Tuesday evening. The Reds will have rookie Graham Ashcraft on the hill. The Marlins will counter with Braxton Garrett targeting his third win. The season series is even at 2-2.
Graham Ashcraft will make his 13th start of the season in this one. Ashcraft had trouble in his previous start which occurred against this Marlins team, squandering four runs (three earned) on eight hits in 6.2 innings, resulting in a no-decision. The rookie right-hander is having an encouraging season but has been shaky in his last few outings and enters with a 4.64 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP accompanied by a 4-2 record in 66 innings of work. Ashcraft has yet to earn a win this month.
The Reds are in the early stages of a nine-game road trip. They won two of three against the Orioles this past weekend and are playing well, posting a 3-2 in their last five games overall. They limited a strong Baltimore offense to only 10 runs in the three meetings.
Jonathan India has been productive against the Marlins this s eason, going 5 for 16 with four RBIs. The 25-year-old has missed a good portion of the season due to injury and has 22 RBIs and a .739 OPS in 50 games played. India features a stellar .892 OPS this month. Tyler Stephenson remains on the IL.
Cincinnati is scoring an average of 4.39 runs per game, ranking them 15th overall. The pitching staff has filed a 5.12 team ERA, pegging them 29th in the big leagues.