UPDATE: The Reds and Dodgers are wearing 1944 throwbacks today. The Reds will be wearing modern-textiled, high-hat version of the road unis shown here.
Would you believe a sweep?
Travis Wood, as with any pitcher with a short MLB resume, benefits from some perspective. He's just now approaching a season's worth of starts in his MLB career. Today will be his 32nd - and he's pitched 183 innings in a Reds uniform. He's put up a 4.33 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 2.64 K/BB. Those cumulative stats might give us a decent picture of what kind of pitcher he is at Age 24, which will be a different pitcher than he will be in a few seasons. By comparison, Mike Leake - who played college ball rather than pitching roughly 5 seasons in the minors - is also at 32 starts (though over 200 IP due to relief appearances). Excluding the relief pitching, Leake's numbers are pretty comparable: 3.86 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 2.11 K/BB.
It's no surprise that Leake and Wood both encountered problems in the second halves of those 32 start spans. Leake is starting to adjust to the vicissitudes of the major leagues and the adjustment hitters have made by getting the book on him. Wood will do the same. One of them will have to exit the rotation when Homer Bailey returns. It's a pretty close race if you consider the full run of games started since 2010. But they may be at slightly different points in their career arcs. The Reds can still feel fortunate, despite injuries and regressions, that they've got surplus pitchers with bright futures ahead.
Lineup after the jump.
GETAWAY LINEUP:
Heisey CF
Renteria SS
Votto 1B
Phillips 2B
Rolen 3B
Gomes LF
Lewis RF
Hanigan C
Wood LHP