San Diego Padres at Cincinnati Reds, May 23, 2024 – Tough loss last night. The kind that makes you turn off the TV in the 5th inning. Nick Martinez is not it. At least not as a starter. The guy apparently does not have a starter mentality. Just tell yourself we can still win this series and breathe. For more info, check out our series preview here. Let’s see how the game matches up today.
Cincinnati Reds RHP Frankie Montas
Montas’ last two outings have not been great. Last time out against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Montas allowed 3 runs on 5 IP. Not absolutely terrible, but the time before against the San Fransisco Giants, he allowed 4 runs on 4 2/3 IP. When the offense is playing like the Reds offense is, that won’t win you games. As we have documented, his velocity is up recently by about 3 MPH on every pitch and he is getting more movement. He’s just throwing less strikes. Less strikes, and issuing more free passes. Montas will need to attack the strike zone and trust the stuff that got him through 6 IP with no runs on Opening Day.
Cincinnati Reds Lineup Card
| Batters | Average | |
| 1 | LF Jacob Hurtubise | .154 |
| 2 | SS Elly De La Cruz | .256 |
| 3 | 3B Jeimer Candelario | .223 |
| 4 | DH Mike Ford | .157 |
| 5 | 1B Spencer Steer | .224 |
| 6 | RF Nick Martini | .169 |
| 7 | 2B Jonathan India | .212 |
| 8 | C Luke Maile | .158 |
| 9 | CF Will Benson | .191 |
This lineup is the reason the season is going nowhere. Mike Ford batting cleanup. Luke Maile starting over Tyler Stephenson when Hunter Greene is not on the mound. Guys like Nick Martini starting because Jake Fraley and TJ Friedl are injured. Bad news. At least Jeimer Candelario is heating up. He hit a HR last night and went 2 for 4. Over his last 15 games, he is batting .281 with an OBP of .317. Very encouraging considering his abysmal start to the season. Not saying he was worth the money yet, but good enough to bat 3rd in this lineup.
I’m still trying to understand the choice to bat Hurtubise in the leadoff spot. Jonathan India has an OBP of .305 in the last 15 games – second best on the team. That is not world beating by any means, but he has always tended to do better in the leadoff spot. Here’s hoping Hurtubise can get the guys going.
San Diego Padres RHP Matt Waldron
The last couple of times out have been better for Waldron. He allowed 1 run on 5 2/3 IP against the Atlanta Braves last week. Waldron issues league average walks and get a league average amount of strikeouts. However, he rarely gets whiffs or chases. His Pitching Run Value is pretty below average – the 22nd percentile. Basically, there’s nothing special about his numbers except that fact that he rarely gets hit hard. Man I would love to see Elly smack a HR on this guy.
San Diego Padres Lineup Card
| Batters | Average | |
| 1 | 1B Luis Arraez | .330 |
| 2 | DH Fernando Tatis Jr. | .248 |
| 3 | LF Jurickson Profar | .339 |
| 4 | 2B Jake Cronenworth | .269 |
| 5 | 3B Manny Machado | .231 |
| 6 | RF David Peralta | .000 |
| 7 | CF Jackson Merrill | .283 |
| 8 | SS Ha-Seong Kim | .214 |
| 9 | C Kyle Higashioka | .150 |
Luis Campusano gets a day off. David Peralta will take his 3rd AB of the season as the Padres send him out again. Top-heavy lineup with a rookie phenom at the bottom. I would like to say it’s a good chance to win a series, but we all know why I won’t. Let’s just see what happens I guess.
