Who is Brett Kennedy and why is he pitching for the Reds on Fourth of July?

The name Kennedy has a familiar ring throughout Washington, DC, but it's unlikely that many folks have ever heard of Brett Kennedy.

Well, that's who the Cincinnati Reds will turn to on the Fourth of July during their second game against the Washington Nationals. With so many starters on the IL, Kennedy was added to the taxi squad on Monday and will take the mound on Tuesday morning.

If you're expecting fireworks, you may be a bit disappointed. While Kennedy has pitched well during his minor league stint this season at Triple-A, he hasn't thrown a pitch in the majors since 2018.

Who is Brett Kennedy and why is he pitching for the Reds on Fourth of July?

With Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, and Ben Lively all on the injured list, Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell has been rolling with a four-man starting rotation for the better part of a week.

Graham Ashcraft, Brandon Williamson, Luke Weaver, and Andrew Abbott have been holding down the fort, but without an off day until the All-Star break, the Reds need a spot starter for Game 2 of the team's four-game series against the Nationals.

While it's unclear if Brett Kennedy will start or follow an opener, expect the right-hander to get extensive work on Tuesday morning at Nationals Park. Kennedy has made eight starts for Triple-A Louisville this season and has gone at least five innings seven times.

The Cincinnati Reds were running out of options. Levi Stoudt, who recently had a spot start of his won, is building back up after a brief stint on the IL. Connor Phillips is an up-and-coming pitcher, but has just one start since jumping to Triple-A. That outing didn't go too well.

Don't look for Brett Kennedy to register a lot of strikeouts, as he has just 37 in 43.2 innings of work. But Kennedy doesn't walk a lot of batters either. If the right-hander can give the Reds at least four innings on Tuesday, that will greatly help keep this exhausted bullpen for being overworked.