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With the victory over the Diamondbacks (75-73) on Friday night, the Reds (69-79) officially have more wins than in any season since 2014 with 14 games left in the season. They need to play 8-6 baseball the rest of the season to secure their best record since 2013, when they won 90 games. A favorable pitching matchup tonight could get the Reds a step closer to that benchmark and a series win in Arizona.
Pitching Matchup
It’s been a fairly inconsistent, up-and-down season for Anthony DeSclafani — not uncommon for a No. 5 starter — but he’s currently in the midst of an up. In his last five starts and 31 innings, Disco has allowed only eight earned runs and 18 hits. He’s also done a better job limiting the home run over that stretch (1.16 HR/9). DeSclafani has mostly reverted to a fastball-slider combination of late, mixing in his curveball and changeup less than 20% of the time combined.
After being drafted in 2010 by the Rays, Merrill Kelly spent five years in their farm system before signing to play in Korea. In his three years for the KBO SK Wyverns, he posted a 3.86 ERA. This year, he signed with the Diamondbacks and made his major-league debut. Kelly has been a slightly below average starting pitcher, serving as an innings-eater more than anything else. He doesn’t do much that jumps off the page — he doesn’t throw hard or miss bats — but he does a nice job avoiding the middle of the plate. Kelly has thrown 43.9% of his pitches on the edges of the strike zone, above the league average of 42.2%.
Reds Lineup
The top six batters are the same as last night. Freddy Galvis slides over to shortstop as Jose Iglesias sits, and Jose Peraza gets the start at second base. Michael Lorenzen draws his second career start in center field.
Here are the splits for Reds hitters against right-handed pitchers:
Diamondbacks Lineup
[Graphics: Baseball Savant]
Big thanks to Mike Hart, who contributed graphics and research for this post.
