Reds at Braves, Game 3: Preview, Lineups, Pitching Matchups

The folly of the Cincinnati Reds offseason was put on full display last night, as the lack of proven starting pitching options put a rookie on the mound against a hungry, 0-1 Atlanta club.

Reiver Sanmartin has some good stuff, and is going to provide some good moments for the Reds this year and beyond. Still, his 3rd career start (and first non-Pirates start) on the road against Charlie Morton with 40,000+ fans in the stands did not look to be a place where he was set up to thrive, and he did not. That led to a touchdown deficit for the Reds early, and while they rallied hard and admirably late, it ended with the club’s first loss of the year.

Today, Vlad Gutierrez will bring some ‘experience’ back to the rotation, as he and his 114.0 career big league IP take the bump for his 2022 debut. He’ll be sharing said bump with Kyle Wright of Atlanta, a former 1st round pick who has yet to get firm footing at the big league level, perhaps giving the Reds and their righty-mashing options a chance to do some thumping on the day.

Tyler Stephenson get’s the start off after being behind the plate for each of the first two games of the year, giving Aramis Garcia his debut as a Red.

Details and notes and such below. Go Reds!

News

• Mike Minor, who in theory would’ve been the #3 starter on this club and pitching today, threw 35 pitches in simulated game yesterday, per MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon. That puts him on-track for another ‘rehab’ start, whether it’s on assignment somewhere or again in a sim game, but with a mid-April return still in the cards.

Roster Moves

• None today.

Game Info

7:20 PM EDT; Truist Park, Atlanta, GA

TV: Bally Sports Ohio, MLB Network

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Radio: 700 WLW

Lineups

Pitching Matchup

Vlad Gutierrez: 2021 stats - 9-6, 4.74 ERA (101 ERA+), 5.22 FIP, 22 G, 114.0 IP, 88/46 K/BB

Kyle Wright: 2021 stats - 0-1, 9.95 ERA (47 ERA+), 9.64 FIP, 2 G, 6.1 IP, 6/5 K/BB