Cincinnati Reds at San Francisco Giants – May 12, 2024 – The Reds come into this rubber match after beating the Reds last night. Yep. You read that right – the Reds beat the Reds. The baserunning gaffes last night were unforgivable and cost the Reds the game – or at least being within one run. Also, God bless John Sadak. The broadcasting crew last night was horrendous and I for one cannot wait to hear John’s sweet voice.
RHP Frankie Montas
Montas picked up a loss last time out, but it was not on him. Only giving up one earned run, Montas showed incredible stuff last week. His average velo was up 3+ mph on every pitch. He cruised through the Diamondbacks lineup twice, only allowing 5 baserunners.
Montas’ advanced statistics actually do not look great. He is only well above average on exit velo and hard hit %. Frankie is inducing some weak contact and that has worked well to his advantage. You can be a contact pitcher, but that has not been Montas’ game for most of his career. Look for him to get lots of whiffs if he can pitch like he did last week.
Reds Lineup Card
| Batters | Average | |
| 1 | CF TJ Friedl | .182 |
| 2 | SS Elly De La Cruz | .272 |
| 3 | LF Spencer Steer | .248 |
| 4 | 2B Jonathan India | .210 |
| 5 | RF Stuart Fairchild | .194 |
| 6 | 1B Jeimer Candelario | .212 |
| 7 | DH Mike Ford | .100 |
| 8 | 3B Santiago Espinal | .173 |
| 9 | C Luke Maile | .137 |
Not impressed. I am about done with Mike Ford, but he hits lefties better and the Reds do not have a reliable right-handed bat on their bench. Candelario at first and Espinal in the lineup makes me want to hurl, but I guess it’s what we have to do against LHP. Looking forward to Stu mashing.
LHP Kyle Harrison
Another young guy for San Francisco. Only 79 major league innings – 340 in total with the minors. He has fared fairly well so far in 2024, but the long ball has been his issue – conceding 5 so far. His run value is up, but his pitching advanced stats are nothing special. Not a big walk guy, but just below average as a strikeout pitcher. Another “let’s see what we have here” game for Cincinnati.
Giants Lineup Card
| Batters | Average | |
| 1 | CF Jung Hoo Lee | .262 |
| 2 | 1B Lamonte Wade Jr. | .341 |
| 3 | 3B Matt Chapman | .213 |
| 4 | DH Patrick Bailey | .280 |
| 5 | RF Mike Yastrzemski | .221 |
| 6 | LF Heliot Ramos | .250 |
| 7 | C Blake Sabol | .375 |
| 8 | 2B Brett Wisely | – |
| 9 | SS Casey Schmitt | .000 |
Lots of young guys in this lineup today. Brett Wisely makes his debut for 2024. Schmitt is still searching for his first hit of 2024. Not a terrifying lineup by any means but watch out for some of these guys that Montas has never faced. Young guys have been Reds killers this year.
