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It’s safe to say that Brandon Finnegan has a lot to show before Opening Day, and today marks his first chance to prove he’s fully back and healthy in Cactus League play. After injuries to both shoulders cost him almost all of the 2017 season, he’s back on the mound as the Cincinnati Reds host Cleveland in Goodyear, looking to play catch-up quickly enough to be ready as a member of the starting rotation come Opening Day. With only a pair of innings from an intersquad game under his belt while some of his peers have already made three Cactus League starts, let’s hope he’s sharp from pitch one.
Raisel Iglesias, Oliver Perez, Zack Weiss, and Kevin Shackelford are among the pitchers available to back Finnegan today.
First pitch is set for the usual 3:05 PM ET, and it will be televised on FS-Ohio.
Cincinnati Lineup
.@bfinny29 makes his spring debut as the Reds face the Tribe today on @FOXSportsOH. #RedsST ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/mTRMvbnPwT
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) March 6, 2018
Cleveland Lineup
Today's lineup!
— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) March 6, 2018
In case you haven't heard, Kip has five home runs in five games. And he's hitting .571. And he's back in the lineup hitting second.#TribeSpring pic.twitter.com/zguQtQiWiz
Other Notes
- The Reds have a ‘B’ game against the Texas Rangers in Surprise that is scheduled to start at 10:30 local time in Arizona, with Michael Lorenzen slated to pitch. Nick Senzel is in the lineup for that one batting 3rd, as Better Off Red’s Jamie Ramsey notes.
- A number of Reds spoke to MLB.com about Joey Votto’s leadership, and there’s video.
- Billy Hamilton is still 0 for spring. Let’s hope today finally, finally changes that.
- Spring stats matter not, of course. However, if you get the impression that what you’ve seen from the Reds so far in Cactus League play has been not-good, you’re not-wrong. They rank 29th among all MLB teams in batting average (.222) and OBP (.293), their team ERA ranks 26th (5.52), and the 14 errors they’ve committed ties them for the 6th most among all teams. That’s some across the board poor play so far. Good thing it doesn’t count, yet.