The Cincinnati Reds are in a bad situation. They have not only lost eight consecutive games, but they are also losing players.
The Reds added Jonathan India, the National League Rookie of the Year in 2021, and Mike Moustakas to their already long list of injured players before Tuesday night’s 6-2 loss in San Diego.
After a first-inning collision at home with the Padres’ Luke Voit, catcher and cleanup hitter Tyler Stephenson departed the field on his own.
“We’re going through a difficult time,” Reds manager David Bell remarked. “We need to find a way to put more runs on the board.” When a slump like this occurs in the beginning of a season, it appears to be even worse. This happens to all teams at some point.”
The Reds will send right-hander Vladimir Gutierrez (0-2, 5.40 ERA) to the mound against Padres rookie justify-hander MacKenzie Gore in an attempt to prevent a 0-7 road trip (0-0, 3.38).
The Padres will want for their fourth straight win on Wednesday to garner some momentum heading into their first day off of the season on Thursday, which will be followed by a three-game weekend series against the division rival Dodgers at home.
Padres manager Bob Melvin said Tuesday, “I don’t know how many teams have started the season with 14 straight games.” “I want the players to take advantage of the days off on Thursday and Monday next week.” I’m giving (the starting pitchers) a day off, which I’m sure they’ll appreciate.
“The starters are taking care of business for us.” We knew going into the season that our starters would be our best players. They’re also making it easy on the bullpen by going deeper into games.”
The Padres’ starting pitchers have gone at least five innings in seven straight games despite not being extended due to a short spring training.
Gore will make his second major-league start on Wednesday, following a 5 1/3-inning debut last Friday in which he allowed two runs on three hits and two walks.
The truth is that Gore, who began the season in Triple-A before being called up when Blake Snell went down with an abductor strain, could be returning to El Paso. On Tuesday, Mike Clevinger made his second rehab start for El Paso.
Melvin noted late in spring training before sending Gore out as one of the final cuts, “Gore’s stuff will play in the major leagues.” “He’s experienced a few setbacks in the last few years.
For a young pitcher, that’s not unusual. It’s all about how you deal with hardship. And this spring, Gore handled it admirably.”
Meanwhile, Gutierrez can’t be blamed for his 0-2 starts. The Reds scored one run in each game, resulting in 2-1 and 3-1 losses for Gutierrez.
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Gutierrez had a 9-6 record with a 4.74 ERA in 22 starts as a rookie in 2021. However, he lost both of his games against the Padres, allowing 11 runs on 14 hits (four home runs) and seven walks in 9 1/3 innings for a 10.61 ERA.
