Reds visit the Rockies grasping for thin air

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The numbers aren't pretty, Reds Country. After snapping an 11-game slide on Sunday, the Cincinnati Reds (3-16) find themselves mired in another losing streak following a three-game sweep at home courtesy of the San Diego Padres. Unfortunately, yesterday's defeat concluded a dismal 1-5 homestand.

Now the bad news. Cincinnati has dropped 14 of their last 15 contests and is winless against the National League West in 10 attempts. Nevertheless, the Redlegs take another crack at solving the NL West puzzle as they open a three-game series in Denver versus the Colorado Rockies.

Currently, the Reds are firmly entrenched in the NL Central basement trailing the fourth-place Pittsburgh Pirates by five games. It's almost unfathomable, but Cincinnati is 9.5 games out of first place just three weeks into the 2022 season.

The Reds visit the Rockies having lost 14 of their last 15 games.

Despite losing four consecutive games, the Colorado Rockies (10-9) are off to a solid start. To quote Morrissey, "stop me if you've heard this one before" but the Rockies are crushing the baseball.

Entering play yesterday, the Colorado offense leads the senior circuit with a .425 slugging rate and is second with a .263 batting average. Additionally, they place third in the league with 25 round-trippers.

First baseman C.J. Cron is having a phenomenal start to the 2022 campaign. The right-handed hitting slugger has already gone deep seven times and knocked in 18 runs. In addition, he's abused Reds' pitching throughout his career slashing .351/.442/.838 with five homers and 11 RBIs in 37 at-bats.

This does not bode well for a Cincinnati pitching staff that ranks last in ERA and WHIP while issuing the second most free passes as play began on Thursday. Nineteen games into the season and the Redlegs have yet to receive a quality start (six innings pitched allowing three runs or less) from their starters this season. Ouch.

Since entering the league in 1993, Coors Field has been a house of horrors for the Reds. Colorado owns a 65-44 advantage in Denver and has not lost a series at home to Cincinnati since the 2016 campaign.

Previewing the pitching matchups: Reds vs. Rockies

Tonight's opener finds Hunter Greene (1-2 5.47 ERA) pitching in the thin Colorado air as he opposes Antonio Senzatela (1-1 4.73 ERA) of the Rockies. Reds Country will be watching Greene's start with bated breath.

After pumping in a record 39 pitches over 100 MPH in his second start of the season, Greene failed to cross the threshold in 3.1 innings in his last outing. The Cincinnati brass states there's no cause for concern, but anytime your fastball velocity drops 5 mph from one start to the next, there's cause for concern.

Rockies' right-hander Antonio Senzatela is coming off a tough start in which he allowed five runs on 10 hits in five frames against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. One Reds player looking forward to seeing Senzatela on the bump is Tommy Pham. The outfielder is 4-for-10 lifetime against the Venezuelan.

Due to Nick Lodolo going on the injured list with a lower back strain, manager David Bell has not yet announced a starter for Saturday night's contest. Don't be surprised if the Reds' skipper deploys an "opener" and utilizes his bullpen throughout the game.

Right-hander Chad Kuhl (2-0 1.10 ERA) gets the call for manager Bud Black's squad. The former Pirate is off to a sensational start allowing just one run on six hits in a dozen frames this year. However, he hasn't fooled Joey Votto throughout his career. Cincinnati's first baseman is 7-for-15 with three doubles and a homer in their head-to-head-matchups.

Sunday's matinee series finale will feature Reiver Sanmartin (0-3 10.91 ERA) while the Rockies will counter with Kyle Freeland (0-3 6.16 ERA). This has to be Sanmartin's final opportunity to retain his roster spot.

Tossing 15.2 innings this year, the Colombian has been rocked for 22 hits and a league-leading 19 runs. The left-hander has surrendered at least five runs in each of his three 2022 starts.

Despite being winless, fellow left-hander Kyle Freeland has been much better in his last two outings. Hurling 10 frames, the University of Evansville alum has allowed just three earned runs while recording 10 strikeouts. However, the Reds have crushed Freeland the last two times they have met. Cincinnati has dented the plate 14 times in only eight innings versus the Colorado southpaw.

The Reds hitting is getting better...a little bit better, anyway.

Granted, it's a small sample size, but the Cincinnati Reds offense is showing signs of life. The Redlegs scored at least five runs in every game of their series with the Padres led by shortstop Kyle Farmer.

Tying an MLB record with four doubles in Wednesday night's game, the Farm Dawg collected six hits total versus the Friars. Through the first month of the season, Farmer is slashing .279/.338/.382 with nine runs knocked in.

Third baseman Mike Moustakas returned from the IL yesterday and immediately contributed a couple of base hits while also drawing a base on balls. For the Reds to climb out of the hole they have dug from themselves, they must receive production from Moose.

Finally, over his last seven games, Tommy Pham is reaching base at a .345 clip and has scored five runs. Additionally, with reigning Rookie of the Year, Jonathan India back in the lineup, the Reds have a solid top of the order to set the table for the middle of the lineup. Now it's up to Joey Votto to break out of his season-long slump and jumpstart the offense.

Prediction: Reds vs. Rockies

When Cincinnati stared 3-18 to begin the 2018 campaign, Reds Country hoped we would never have to relive that horror to open a season, yet here we are. As a result, it would be foolish to believe the league's worst pitching staff is going to stop one of the best hitting club's in the league.

Look for the Rockies to take two of three this weekend from the Reds. Unfortunately, the road doesn't get any easier for the Reds as they travel to Milwaukee to open a three-game set on Tuesday.

dark. Next. Jesse Winker takes a shot at his former team

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