Cincinnati Reds: 3 takeaways from the 30 inning scoreless streak

2. The pitching has been good enough to win

I think the biggest takeaway from this entire 1-7 start to the season is that the biggest concern for the Cincinnati Reds entering the season may now be their biggest strength. Though the Reds were scoreless in 30 consecutive innings, they were in every game until the last at-bat because the pitching has been phenomenal.

Yesterday, the Reds fell to the Pirates 6-5 in the 10th inning. The two nights previous, the Pirates won by a score of 2-0, and the Milwaukee Brewers escaped Cincinnati with a 1-0 victory of Wednesday night. That’s a grand total of 6 runs. Of the 30 teams that played yesterday, 12 of them scored at least 6 runs in just one game.

My point is, the Reds pitching staff, specifically the starting pitching, did their jobs and kept the Reds in every single game during the team’s scoreless streak. Luis Castillo, Tyler Mahle, and Sonny Gray were sensational. Though Tanner Roark was not as good during his start yesterday, he was in line for the win until the bullpen gave up the lead.

The Cincinnati Reds have allowed only 27 runs in the first 8 games of the season. That’s less than four runs per game. There’s only one team in the National League who’s allowed fewer runs to begin the season and that’s Pittsburgh. That shouldn’t be a shock as they’ve played five games against the Reds.

If the Cincinnati Reds can keep their offensive momentum going, the pitching won’t just keep them in ballgames, but it will actually win them ballgames. Outside of Roark, who hasn’t been awful in his own right, the starters have been dominant.

It’s not just been against Pittsburgh either. The Reds kept the red hot Milwaukee Brewers in check as well. Milwaukee only averaged three runs per game during their visit to Great American Ball Park earlier this week.