Cincinnati Reds: Michael Lorenzen rakes, Homer Bailey rehab and more

It’s time for a Sunday edition of Blog Red Machine’s news and notes. This week we focus on Michael Lorenzen’s hitting, Homer Bailey’s rehab and a recent trade made by the Cincinnati Reds.

The Cincinnati Reds finished last week on a high note. After dropping 2 games to the Brewers, the Reds came back in grand fashion to take game 3 of the 4-game set against Milwaukee. The Reds went 4-3 last week and are 7-3 in their last 10 games. Cincinnati battles it out with Milwaukee today before an interleague matchup with the Chicago White Sox that begins on Monday.

Let’s take a look back at the week that was and preview the Reds upcoming schedule as we head into July.

Michael Lorenzen is on fire. Michael Lorenzen, smacked 3 home runs last week. Saturday night’s homer was of the pinch-hit variety and went over the wall in left field for a grand slam. In his last 4 plate appearances, Lorenzen has 3 hits, all long balls, and a walk.

Lorenzen’s season numbers are astounding. He’s slashing .600/.667/1.800. That’s right folks, his OPS is 2.467! Oh yeah, and he’s a pitcher!

With numbers like that, Lorenzen is sure to see more plate appearances similar to what we saw last night, where he pinch hit for the pitcher’s spot. Had he not hit the homer and helped the Reds balloon the lead up to 7 runs, he’d have likely stayed in to pitch the 8th inning. Lorenzen is a weapon off the Cincinnati bench that Reds fans will likely see a lot more of in the coming weeks.

Homer Bailey goes 7 in a rehab start. Homer Bailey is continuing his efforts to get back to the big leagues after having a quality start in Louisville earlier this week.

On Thursday night, Bailey went 7 innings, allowed 3 runs (all homers), 6 hits and stuck out 3. The Bats lost the game 3-2.

Going 7 innings is an improvement on Bailey’s previous outings, but the fact that he gave up 3 round-trippers has to be concerning for the Cincinnati Reds. With the Cincinnati starters pitching so well at the moment, there doesn’t appear to be a scenario to where Bailey can crack into the rotation unless a trade or injury occurs.

The Reds make a trade. Okay, this is nothing to get excited about, but we are in July and the non-waiver trade deadline is just 31 days away.

The Reds traded minor league catcher Joe Hudson to the Los Angeles Angels for cash considerations. Hudson was a 6th round draft pick of the Reds back in back in 2012.

Next: Mahle pitches lights out, but his performance will be forgotten

Next up for the Reds: The Reds close out a 4-game series with the Brewers on Sunday with Matt Harvey on the mound. They will then welcome the White Sox to Great American Ball Park for a 3-game interleague series, followed by a trip to Chicago after the Fourth of July holiday to take on the Cubs.