Cincinnati Reds vs. Philadelphia Phillies Series Preview, Pitching Matchups, Analysis

The Cincinnati Reds (38-38) will start the week off with a makeup game against the Philadelphia Phillies (36-39) on Monday. This game was originally scheduled for June 2, but rain ultimately postponed it. The Reds will host this one at Great American Ballpark, with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 pm ET.

Philadelphia comes into this one, having split a four-game series with the New York Mets over the weekend. On Sunday, they were able to salvage the split with a 4-2 win. In the win, Zack Wheeler went seven innings, allowing no runs and striking out eight.

The Reds also split their series with the Atlanta Braves, but they were not as lucky on Sunday. They were blanked by the Atlanta Braves 4-0 at home. In fact, the Reds were only able to muster two hits on the day, although they did draw four walks.

Pitching Matchup

The Phillies will send righty Spencer Howard (0-2, 5.59 ERA) to the mound on Monday. Howard has pitched in eight games with starts in four of them. In 19.1 innings, he has allowed 14 hits, 13 runs and has struck out 26.

The Reds will counter with lefty Wade Miley (6-4, 2.85 ERA). In Miley’s last start, a 10-7 win over the Minnesota Twins, he went seven innings, allowing five hits, two runs, and struck out six.

By The Number

Offensively, the Reds have had a lot of success this year. They currently rank sixth in the majors averaging 4.96 runs per game (5.83 at home). The Phillies rank 17th averaging 4.26 runs per game (3.90 on the road).

On the defensive side, it is the Phillies that hold the edge. They rank 16th in scoring defense, allowing opponents an average of 4.45 runs per game. The Reds fall to 25th, allowing an average of 5.04 runs per game (5.54 at home).

Phillies Have To Improve On The Road

In a division where no team is running away with it, the Phillies sit in fourth, five games behind the New York Mets. One major issue for Philadelphia has been playing on the road. While they are 21-14 at home, they are just 15-25 on the road.

Leading the way on the offensive side for Philadelphia has been first baseman Rhys Hoskins. He leads the team in home runs (16), runs batted in (43), and runs scored (40). He is doing this despite hitting just .228/.305/.453.

Several players have seen Wade Miley in their career, but no one has really had outstanding success. Bryce Harper is two for three, and Ronald Torreyes is three for nine, but no Phillies’ player has homered off of the lefty, and only J.T. Realmuto has a single run batted in off of him.

Reds Want To Move Over .500

Unfortunately, the Reds have been synonymous with .500 thus far. They are 38-38 overall, 18-18 at home, and 20-20 on the road. Currently third in the NL. Central, 5.5 games behind the Brewers, they really need to start adding wins if they want to compete in the division.

Leading the way offensively for Cincinnati is Jesse Winker and Nick Castellanos. Thus far, Winker is hitting .325/.401/.590 with a team-leading 18 home runs, 52 runs scored and 46 runs batted in. Not to be outdone, Castellanos is hitting .343/.395/.590 with 14 home runs, 43 runs batted in, and 50 runs scored.

Even though his batting line doesn’t look good (.173/.256/.375), Eugenio Suarez is finally starting to produce as he has 16 home runs, 44 runs batted in, and 37 runs scored.

This will be the first time that anyone on the Reds has seen Spencer Howard in their careers.

Reds Look To Miley To Get Week Started Off Right

This could be a very important week for the Reds. With the midway point of the season approaching, they have a tough week as they host the Phillies, Padres, and Cubs.

Hoping to get the week started off right, the Reds will turn to arguably their best pitcher this season, Wade Miley.

The Reds are certainly still in the division race at this point, but they are going to have to improve if they want to stay in it during the second half. In what could be a litmus test for where the Reds go from here, a strong outing from Miley in the one-game set against the Phillies could be big.