The Cincinnati Reds will look to clinch their fourth consecutive series victory Saturday night when they host the Detroit Tigers in the second contest of a three-game set.
The Reds are off to their best start (17-9) in the first 26 games of the season since beginning 18-8 in 2006. Fueled by a balanced lineup, manager Terry Francona’s upstart club has won eight of its past 10 outings.
Cincinnati refused to allow a nearly two-hour rain delay to hinder a five-run rally, fighting back to earn a 9-8 win over Detroit thanks to Nathaniel Lowe’s two-run, walk-off homer on Friday.
Offensively, the National League Central-leading Reds don’t have a player hitting .300. In fact, the Reds have an MLB-worst .210 average. So how are they doing it?
It’s been a group effort, according to Francona.
“I think that’s the team we need to be,” he said. “Sal (Stewart) kind of carried us for a while there, but if we start getting contributions all over the map, that will really help us.”
Stewart is hitting .284, and his eight home runs are tied with Elly De La Cruz for the team lead.
Brady Singer (1-1, 5.32 ERA) will get the ball for the Reds on Saturday, hoping to build off a pair of solid starts. Since allowing five earned runs on 10 hits across just 2 2/3 innings in a loss to the Miami Marlins on April 8, the 29-year-old right-hander has responded with back-to-back quality starts.
Last time out, Singer surrendered three runs across six frames in a no-decision Sunday against the Minnesota Twins. The Reds won 7-4 in 10 innings.
“He hung around for six innings, threw 100 pitches, gave up three (runs) where that could have easily been five or six,” Francona said of Singer’s outing. “He battled his rear-end off.”
A longtime American League Central rival of Detroit as a member of the Kansas City Royals, Singer is 7-1 with a 3.16 ERA in 14 career starts against the Tigers.
Detroit appeared on its way to an 11th win in 14 tries on Friday before squandering a 5-0 advantage. The Tigers hit four home runs in the series opener, including the third in as many games from first baseman Spencer Torkelson.
After a lackluster start to the year, Torkelson has seen his batting average (.210) slowly tick up.
“He just brings a different element to the lineup,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “We can slug. Obviously, we can be streaky, too. … This is a guy that’s moved down in the order, but he just lengthens our lineup and provides a huge threat.”
Veteran right-hander Jack Flaherty (0-1, 3.47 ERA) will make his sixth start of the season for Detroit still in search of his first victory.
Flaherty, 30, is averaging just 4 2/3 innings per start and lasted only 3 1/3 in a no-decision in an 8-6 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Monday. He allowed two unearned runs but walked six batters — his most since walking six against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 7, 2023.
In 11 career starts against the Reds, Flaherty is 3-3 with a 4.53 ERA.
–Field Level Media
