Playoff-hungry Reds look to sweep Detroit Tigers this afternoon

Another gritty performance by the Cincinnati Reds bullpen fueled them to a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday evening, a game that the Reds really had zero business winning.

Detroit outhit the Reds, 7-5. The Tigers walked 8 times on a night in which Cincinnati rookie Connor Phillips struggled with command. The Reds were forced to use 7 different members of their patchwork bullpen - and Tejay Antone, god love him, was forced to exit early with pain in his surgically-repaired elbow.

Somehow, though, the Reds powered right through it, and the end result was a victory that vaulted them back into possession of the final National League Wild Card spot.

They’ll look to hold on to that spot in matinee action against the Tigers today, with a win in the series finale wrapping up a sweep through Detroit. That patchwork bullpen will be tasked with getting the entirety of the work done, too, as Derek Law will start and hopefully grind through 2-3 IP before handing it over to the next man up.

Presumably, Ben Lively will be part of that cadre, as he was activated today off the COVID IL as the Reds continued to shuffle through their arms. Carson Spiers is back in the mix as well, as Connor Phillips was returned to AAA while Antone again landed on the IL.

Detroit will turn to rookie righty Reese Olson, a player they acquired in 2021 from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for former Reds farmhand Daniel Norris at the time. With a righty back on the mound for Detroit, finally, the Reds will turn back to the other side of their platooned offense to begin this one (which you can see in the lineup below).

First pitch is set for 1:10 PM ET. Go Reds.

Reds Lineup

Tigers Lineup