Reds at Giants, Game 3 - Preview and Lineups

A day game? In this economy?

Today marks the birth of a Reds legend, so I’m going to go out of my way to mention what this man has done for the Reds franchise and the city. It’s hard to imagine a former Red who’s had the longevity that this man has, and that has permeated Cincinnati baseball culture like almost no one else. A true Cincinnatian in every sense of the word, and the undisputed Hit King around these parts. But more on that in a moment.

The Reds take on the Giants today to try and avoid their second straight series defeat on this road trip. Given the pitching matchup, this should be a fun one to watch.

For the Reds, Tyler Mahle gets the call. Mahle has been excellent in both of his starts so far on the young season, but has struggled with pitch efficiency and going deep into ballgames. After David Bell had to empty the bullpen last night, the Reds really could use some innings out of Tyler Mahle today.

On the other side today is former Red Johnny Cueto. I’ll go ahead and speak for the rest of the RR staff at least, and say that it’s always a treat to watch Johnny Cueto pitch, even if it’s in another team’s colors. Hopefully the Reds offense will tee off and make his outing short lived, but Cueto was lights out in his last start, taking a shutout into the 9th before leaving the game with one out to go.

No Nick Senzel in the lineup today, as Tyler Naquin gets a deserved start in CF. There’s an All-Tyler battery, too.

Happy birthday to the most important Hit King I can think of, Chris Welsh!

Go Reds!