To put it plainly, the Reds' worst starter matches up today against one of the league's 2 or 3 best. But with how the Reds have been playing recently (4 straight) and since the Break (23-8, damn), this reality just doesn't have the urgency it might if the Reds flailing around in the Wild Card pack. Leake's struggles don't have to cause a freak-out.
This is the third time the Reds have faced Dickey (and the second this season). Last time the Reds saw him, on May 17 of this year, there was little data on how Reds' hitters handled the knuckleball. Only Ludwick and Valdez had faced him more than 5 times, while Cairo was the only other Reds hitter with more than 4 PAs against a knuckleballer. (He was .269/.345/.308 in 29 lifetime PAs against Tim Wakefield.)
We now have a little bit more of a book. Dickey vs. the Reds:
| PA | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott Rolen | 11 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | .556 | .545 | 1.000 |
| Ryan Ludwick | 9 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .375 | .444 | .750 |
| Wilson Valdez | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .250 | .333 | .250 |
| Brandon Phillips | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .250 | .250 | .500 |
| Drew Stubbs | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | .143 | .143 | .143 |
| Jay Bruce | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .167 | .167 | .333 |
| Todd Frazier | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .250 | .400 | .250 |
| Miguel Cairo | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 | .333 | .333 |
| Zack Cozart | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Ryan Hanigan | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .333 | .333 | .667 |
| Xavier Paul | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Total | 71 | 17 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 18 | .270 | .304 | .444 |
LINEUPS
REDS
Zack Cozart (R) SS
Drew Stubbs (R) CF
Brandon Phillips (R) 2B
Ryan Ludwick (R) LF
Jay Bruce (L) RF
Scott Rolen (R) 3B
Todd Frazier (R) 1B
Devin Mesoraco (R) C
Mike Leake (R) P
METS
Mike Baxter (L) RF
Ruben Tejada (R) SS
Daniel Murphy (L) 2B
David Wright (R) 3B
Ike Davis (L) 1B
Jordany Valdespin (L) LF
Andres Torres (S) CF
Josh Thole (L) C
R.A. Dickey (R) P
Bullpen notes:
- LeCure and Broxton were both suffering from shoulder soreness. I don't want to guess what the effective active roster number has been for the past few days, but everyone's OK now!
- Alfredo Simon last pitched on August 5 (3.0 IP, 46 pitches)
- Logan Ondrusek last pitched August 9