Rockies at Reds, Game 3 - Preview

The Reds and Rockies face off today in the rubber match of the series.

For the Rox, right hander Pete Lambert will take the mound. I... had no idea who this person was, so I had to visit his Baseball Reference page. He’s pitched 41.0 innings this season over eight starts, good for a 5.93 ERA (5.61 FIP) and 1.463 WHIP. One thing he does really well is limit walks, as he’s only walked eight batters all season (1.8 BB/9).

As with any Rockies pitcher, the story comes down to the home and away splits. Lambert has only made three starts away from Coors Field this season, but has pitched only six innings less in those three starts than his five home starts. His road ERA is 3.63 and has allowed only two home runs. His K/9 jumps way up on the road, too, having struck out 9.3 batters per nine away from Denver. He still carries an .801 OPS against on the road, so it’s not like he transforms into an unhittable monster, but the splits are incredible.

For Reds fans, that’s not the story of the game. The story of the game, of course, is Alex Wood making his first career start as a Red, and his 2019 debut. Wood pitched for approximately five seconds back in February during Spring Training before tweaking something in his back and after several fits and false starts, he’s finally made it to the point where he’s able to pitch in a Major League game.

It wasn’t really a stretch to believe that Wood was the biggest get of the Reds offseason, the season of “Get the Pitching.” The fact that the Reds rotation has been not just okay, but good, in his absence is nothing short of a miracle.

Go Reds.

CIN Lineup

ROX Lineup