Fans can’t jump off the bandwagon at Great American Ball Park because they can’t get in the gates, but they’re turning off their TVs at home or just venting on social media.
Reds reliever Amir Garrett surely saw some of those complains when he wrote Tuesday on Twitter: “Reds country, hang with us. Baseball is weird.”
The weird game features some strange stat lines earlier this season for the Reds. Here are four reasons for the last four losses:
1. Designated issues: The Reds expected to get a boost by the designated hitter coming to the National League for the 2020 season. However, through Tuesday, the Reds ranked 26th out of 30 teams with 0.71 batting average by their designated hitters. The DH had one hit in 14 at-bats.
Jesse Winker has started three times at DH. Matt Davidson and Christian Colon have one start each.
2. Slow start: Eugenio Suarez doubled in the eighth inning Tuesday to break an 0-for-16 slump to start the season. He’s hitting .059.
Suarez went 1-for-12 in the first three games last season and ended up hitting .271 with 49 home runs.
As a team, the Reds hit .202 in the first five games, ranking 25th in baseball, though they scored 25 runs, which ranked ninth.
3. Missed chances: Joey Votto leads the Reds with a .333 average and five RBIs. He’s also tied with Curt Casali and Freddy Galvis with two home runs.
Votto also failed in two of the most important situations this season. With the bases loaded and one out and the Reds trailing 3-2 in the ninth inning Sunday against the Detroit Tigers, Votto grounded into an inning-ending double play.
The next day with the bases loaded and one out and the Reds trailing the Cubs 8-7, Phillip Ervin struck out and Votto lined out to center to end the game.
4. Bullpen woes: Michael Lorenzen has a 16.88 ERA in three appearances. Raisel Iglesias and Cody Reed each have allowed two earned runs in one inning in their only relief outings.
Pedro Strop and Lucas Sims are the only Reds relievers who have made multiple appearances without giving up a run.
Of his teammates’ struggles, Strop said, “It’s baseball. The only thing I can tell my boys back in the bullpen is we don’t have time to be thinking about yesterday. You’ve got to come back and be aggressive and get outs. They’re going to be able to do it.”
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