The Cincinnati Reds are set to add to their youth movement on Monday night and will try to avoid getting swept when they host the Milwaukee Brewers in the finale of a four-game series.
Left-hander Andrew Abbott (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will make his major league debut after a chain reaction involving the starting rotation.
The Reds announced Sunday that ace right-hander Hunter Greene would miss his start Tuesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers due to stiffness in his right hip. Monday’s scheduled starter, Luke Weaver, was pushed back to take Greene’s spot, leaving a spot open in what will be a six-man rotation for the short term.
“It’s something that we think by giving him a few extra days, he can build up strength,” Reds manager David Bell said of Greene. “We just want to make sure that he’s fine for his next start and for the long haul for the whole season.”
Greene’s next start will be Sunday in St. Louis.
Abbott, selected to the major league roster on Sunday via the taxi squad, will become the fifth Cincinnati pitcher to debut in 2023. Shortstop Matt McLain and outfielder T.J. Hopkins have also played their first big-league games this year.
Abbott opened the season at Double-A Chattanooga before a promotion to Triple-A Louisville. He went a combined 4-0 with a 2.50 ERA in 10 starts. Abbott was selected by the Reds in the second round (53rd overall) of the 2021 draft.
“It’s every kid’s dream and not many dreams like this come true, so it’s a great feeling, just exciting,” Abbott said. “I think everybody works hard in different areas, but just from … the journey that I’ve been on from relieving to starting to being up here, and just never giving up on myself.
“There was the COVID year, going back to school to try to prove to teams that they should have drafted me a year before. Kind of just work, it worked out as we can see. Just gracious for everybody along the way, the Reds, the front office, the pitching people that I’ve worked with and everybody that’s helped me. Just forever grateful and will continue to work hard for them.”
The National League Central-leading Brewers will counter with right-hander Julio Teheran (1-1, 0.82), who is making his third start. On Wednesday at Toronto, Teheran posted a quality start and earned his first win of the season, allowing just one unearned run and four hits over six innings in Milwaukee’s 4-2 win.
Teheran is 3-4 with a 4.14 ERA in nine career starts against the Reds.
In taking the first three games of the series, Milwaukee pitching has held Cincinnati to just five hits in 34 chances with runners in scoring position.
The Brewers have had players collect their first big-league home runs in back-to-back games at Great American Ball Park. Blake Perkins’ grand slam was key in Milwaukee’s 10-8 win on Saturday, while Andruw Monasterio belted a three-run homer in the first inning Sunday.
“This is why, for the guys in the front office, every player matters, and you work so hard to gather good players,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “At one time, it seems like, ‘How is this guy going to get to the big leagues?’ And then things happen quickly, and they play a big role.”
Monasterio, the second baseman on Sunday, left the game following a collision with Cincinnati’s Will Benson in the third inning, as Benson scrambled to get back to the bag at second base on a pickoff attempt.
–Field Level Media
