Cincinnati Reds: Three takeaways from poor showing in Ohio Cup

2. The Reds bats need to wake up, and quickly.

One game is a coincidence, two games is cause for concern, but given where the Reds offense is sitting right now, it’s almost time to hit the panic button. Cincinnati was scoreless against Cleveland during the past two games at Progressive Field, and even Nick Castellanos showed that he was human. The big free agent acquisition went just 1-for-7 the past two games.

But in no way are we going to demean Castellanos’ performance. Outside of he, Joey Votto and Nick Senzel, no one on this Reds club is hitting the ball. It’s especially troubling to see the struggles of Eugenio Suárez and Jesse Winker. Suárez is 4-for-44 (.091) and Winker is 6-for-32 (.188). However, both have shown some life recently and hopefully find their groove in the next series.

For those critical of David Bell’s managerial skills, the second-year skipper has kept the lineup virtually the same for the past several games. Any armchair managers want to give Bell more advice on how to get his bats to heat up, because keeping hitters at a consistent spot in the lineup hasn’t worked.

Castellanos is hitting .333 on the season with a ridiculous 1.212 OPS. That pace is unsustainable, but for now, that’s about the Reds have. Joey Votto is seeing the ball as he .383 on-base percentage suggests. But Cincinnati needs Shogo Akiyama to get on base and the likes of Suárez and Winker to drive runners in. Mike Moustakas’ absence has not helped either.