Reds at Phillies Game One: Prevs, Preds, Prelps, Plorps, Plonks

Are you ready for some more Reds baseball? I have to admit, I kinda wish today was an off-day. Given the circumstances, I think we could all use it desperately. Also, it has been snowing here in Columbus all day and my three-month-old son is not sleeping and I can’t get this pebble out of my boot and the hatespawns of hell are screaming louder and louder and I just dropped my bagel wrong-side-down.

“Squints” Cody Reed will take the ball today, making his season debut. He was penciled in to start last Tuesday before the Opening Day rainout pushed everything back a day and then Brandon Finnegan was supposed to be ready to go but then he wasn’t so now here we are. I do not envy Cody Reed. Nor any Red at this moment, for that matter.

For the Phillies, Ben Lively is called upon to serve. You may remember Lively. He was a fourth-round pick of the Reds back in 2013 before he was traded in exchange for Marlon Byrd prior to the ‘15 season. It gives me no pleasure at all to point out that of Lively, Amir Garrett, Robert Stephenson, Sal Romano, Nick Travieso, Nick Howard, Jon Moscot, Tyler Mahle, and Michael Lorenzen (basically this entire generation of pitchers to be drafted by the Reds from 2010-14), Lively has had the most successful career thus far (as measured by bWAR). The only one to have been more successful than Lively up to now is Tony Cingrani, who is no longer with the team.

Cincinnati Reds Lineups

Philadelphia Phillies Lineups

Other Notes

• With Eugenio Suarez headed the disabled list with his broken thumb, the Reds have called up Alex Blandino.
• The Cardinals officially activated Greg Holland today. He signed with the team just before Opening Day to bolster an already-decent bullpen. So that’s fun.
• If you are of a mind, you might prefer to check out Hunter Greene’s season debut with the Dayton Dragons at 7pm against the Lake County Captains. He’s kinda good, from what I hear.