The Cincinnati Reds are getting creative in their effort to remain in the National League wild-card race.
Spencer Steer figures prominently in those plans for the Reds, who continue their three-game series against the visiting Chicago Cubs on Saturday.
Steer made his first career start in center field on Friday, when Cincinnati out-hit the Cubs 13-4 in a 4-0 victory. Hunter Greene struck out 12 batters over seven innings to help the Reds record their sixth shutout win of the season.
Seiya Suzuki had two hits for the Cubs, who struck out 16 times and were blanked for the ninth time this season.
Cincinnati placed Matt McLain on the 10-day injured list with a left calf strain prior to the game and turned to Steer, who had three hits in the win.
Steer played the first six innings in center field before moving to right field for the final three frames.
“I think it’s always been something I wanted to do. It’s just another tool to add to the tool belt,” Steer said of playing center field. “Another chance for me to get on the field. The more positions I can play — I think I’ve been pretty vocal — the better. It’s just cool that they trust me with this opportunity. We’re going to let it fly and see what happens.”
Reds third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes was activated from the injured list and went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
Cincinnati will send left-hander Nick Lodolo (3-2, 4.68 ERA) to the mound on Saturday. He allowed one run in six innings in a 3-2 home win over the Baltimore Orioles last Sunday.
Lodolo, 28, has given up one run on nine hits over his past three outings covering 15 innings. He threw first-pitch strikes to 19 of 26 batters against the Orioles.
“To get deeper in the games, we’ve got to be better at count control just as a whole,” Lodolo said. “That was a big emphasis for me going into the day. It sets you up a lot better to do things that you want to do.”
Ian Happ is 8-for-23 (.348) with a home run and Dansby Swanson has homered twice against Lodolo, who is 2-2 with a 4.63 ERA in nine career starts versus the Cubs.
Chicago will counter with right-hander Javier Assad (6-1, 4.15), who tossed 4 2/3 scoreless innings in a no-decision against the St. Louis Cardinals last Sunday.
“Other than when he kind of lost it a little bit in the second inning, he threw the ball really well and gave us exactly what we needed,” Chicago manager Craig Counsell said. “It was a really nice effort.”
Assad, 28, has gone 3-0 with a 2.78 ERA over his last seven appearances, including four starts.
Assad likely will benefit from the Cubs’ stellar defense, led by second baseman Nico Hoerner, Swanson at shortstop and center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong.
“The consistency of guys limiting the other team, limiting the damage, it’s a big part — with all the injuries we’ve had on the pitching side — of us being able to steady the ship a little bit,” Cubs outfielder Michael Conforto said.
Steer is 3-for-17 (.176) against Assad, who is 0-2 with a 3.19 ERA in nine career games (six starts) versus Cincinnati.
–Field Level Media
