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The Cincinnati Reds have taken 5 of 7 thus far on their 1st half ending homestand, downing the likes of the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers in the process. Up next is yet another club with eyes on the postseason, as Cleveland is in town for a quick 2-game set to send us all into the All Star break.
The Reds will turn to Anthony DeSclafani for Saturday’s start, and the veteran righty is coming off a rather impressive month of June. Even with a 6 run clunker against the Brewers on June 23rd factored in, he pitched to a tidy 3.08 ERA for the previous month in 26.1 IP, and is fresh off 6 dominant, scoreless innings of work against the Cubs.
As for Cleveland, they’ll turn to Shane Bieber for the series opener. Bieber’s on a bit of a tear as well, having pitched to a 3.28 ERA in 35.2 IP for the month of June, and is fresh off both 8 innings of shutout, 11 K ball vs. the hapless Baltimore Orioles and a 4th of July celebration spent with Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis.
First pitch is set for 4:10 PM ET, and a win would pull the Reds to just 2 games under the .500 mark. Scooter Gennett is again out of the starting lineup with his tweaked twerker, but that gives Derek Dietrich the start against the club from his hometown, so perhaps he’ll set off a few more fireworks for this weekend. That’s what we all really need, anyway.
Cincinnati Lineup
Back-to-back throwbacks for the #OhioCup!#BornToBaseball pic.twitter.com/CZ6LLvOfuP
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) July 6, 2019
Cleveland Lineup
DailyRoto Lineup Alert: Indians
— DailyRoto News (@dailyrotonews) July 6, 2019
1. SS Francisco Lindor (S)
2. CF Oscar Mercado (R)
3. 1B Carlos Santana (S)
4. 2B Jason Kipnis (L)
5. 3B Jose Ramirez (S)
6. LF Jake Bauers (L)
7. C Roberto Perez (R)
8. RF Tyler Naquin (L)
9. SP Shane Bieber (R)https://t.co/MRx1sKcr7b