Resurgent Mike Moustakas and the Reds look for revenge vs. Phillies in the City of Brotherly Love

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After taking two of three from the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Cincinnati Reds (48-71) head east to battle the Philadelphia Phillies (65-55). Cincinnati will be looking for revenge after the Phillies took two of three from the Redlegs while visiting the Queen City last week.

The Reds and Phillies are going in two different directions. Cincinnati is in the midst of a full-on rebuild, while Philadelphia is in contention for the playoffs. The Phillies maintain the final Wild Card spot at the moment with a slim lead over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Both the Reds and Phillies are 4-6 in that last 10 games. With both the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves battling it out for supremacy in the National League East, Philadelphia's only shot at make the postseason appears to be via the Wild Card.

The Reds and Phillies meet for 4 games at Citizens Bank Park.

A visit from the Reds would seem to be just what the doctor ordered for Rob Thomson and the Phillies. The Phils outscored the Reds 15-8 during the visit to Great American Ball Park last week and the injury bug has bitten Cincinnati once again.

Joey Votto is now out for the season and with so many starters on the IL, Cincinnati will be forced to send Luis Cessa to the mound for only his second start of the 2022 season. The right-hander was an opener early this year during the Reds visit to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Old friend Nick Casellanos will be in the Phillies lineup this week, but Bryce Harper is still on the IL. Last year's MVP has been nursing a thumb injury, and while a rehab assignment is within reach, the Reds will not have to tangle with Harper during their visit to Citizens Bank Park this week. Let's check out the upcoming pitching matchup between the Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies.

Previewing the pitching matchup: Reds vs. Phillies

Cincinnati Reds starter Luis Cessa vs. Philadelphia Phillies starter Noah Syndergaard

The Cincinnati Reds will send reliever Luis Cessa (3-1 5.50 ERA) to the mound tonight to battle former New York Mets starter Noah Syndergaard (7-8 3.95 ERA). Cessa will be making just his second start of the 2022 season after T.J. Zeuch was optioned to Triple-A last week.

Cessa has had a season to forget. After acquiring the right-hander from the New York Yankees at last year's trade deadline, Cessa was one of David Bell's best relievers in 2021. The success, however, did not carry over to 2022. Cessa has allowed 15 walks in 37.2 innings of work after issuing only two free passes in 26.1 innings of relief in 2021.

Noah Syndergaard was ducking his former teammates again after gaining an extra day of rest. It was the second time this season that Syndergaard has missed the opportunity to face the New York Mets. But the right-hander handled his business versus the Reds during his last start. Syndergaard went seven innings and allowed just three runs while striking out six.

Neither manager has set his rotation beyond Monday's series opener, but if the rotation holds, Reds fans will likely see Nick Lodolo take the mound on Tuesday, Graham Ashcraft head to the hill on Wednesday, and Justin Dunn get the ball on Thursday.

As for the Philadelphia Phillies, look for Ranger Suarez, Aaron Nola, and perhaps Zack Wheeler to toe the rubber over the next few days. Kyle Gibson, who struck out 11 Reds batters in the win last Tuesday at Great American Ball Park, just pitched on Sunday versus the Mets.

Reds 1B Mike Moustakas has the rest of the 2022 season to prove the doubters wrong.

With Joey Votto out for the remainder of the 2022 season, first base duties will fall to Mike Moustakas. The former All-Star returned from a brief stint on the IL on Friday and absolutely destroyed Pirates' pitching over the past three days.

Moustakas played long ball on Sunday, hitting his first home run since July 26th. According to Baseball Savant, the ball came off his bat at 106.5 mph and travelled 416 feet. It was the third-longest home run of the season for Moose. The 33-year-old went 5-for-14 (.357) against Pittsburgh over the weekend while posting three RBIs.

Saturday's 2-for-5 performance represented the first multi-hit game Moustakas has produced since June 24th. He followed that up by going 2-for-5 on Sunday which was the first time since May 4th that Moose has had back-to-back multi-hit games in 2022.

Mike Moustakas has been nothing short of a disappointment since signing a four-year/$64M contract with the Reds back in 2019. Moose is under contract through next season and has a $20M option for the 2024 season with a $4M buyout. Let's hope the Redlegs get some semblance of what they paid for over the last month-plus of the 2022 season.

Prediction: Reds and Phillies split 4-game set.

With Luis Cessa getting the ball tonight for the Cincinnati Reds, there's not much reason for optimism. But if Graham Ashcraft and Nick Lodolo have the same type of outings fans have seen of late, chances are good that Cincinnati will have a puncher's chance to walk away with two wins over the next four days.

The Redlegs will hit the road once again after the series wraps up on Thursday night as David Bell's group will head to our nation's capital for a three-game set with the Juan Soto-less Washington Nationals.

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