Unfortunately, this is not unfamiliar territory for Reds Country. For the third time in the last five seasons, the Cincinnati Reds (2-8) have dropped eight of their first 10 games and find themselves in the basement of the National League Central trailing the first-place St. Louis Cardinals by four games.
Following a positive start to the season that saw the Reds split a four-game set with the World Champion Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati has lost six in a row courtesy of the drubbings administered by the Cleveland Guardians and Los Angeles Dodgers.
If you believe in run differential as a measure to judge a team's true performance, you may want to shield your eyes. The Reds have been outscored 58-34 and have scored three runs or less six times to open the 2022 campaign.
The Reds have the worst record in baseball.
Thankfully, there's some good news. Cincinnati will only have to see the juggernaut known as the Dodgers one more time this season. However, there's some bad news as well. In the wake of the disaster this past weekend, the Reds travel south to battle perhaps the second-most talented team in the NL West, the San Diego Padres (6-5).
However, the series is a tale of two struggling squads. After winning five consecutive contests, the Friars have been on the losing end in four of their past six games. Similar to the Reds, denting the plate has been an issue for the Padres. San Diego has scored two runs or fewer five times over the past week.
Recent history is not on Cincinnati's side when it comes to visiting Petco Park. Over their last four trips to San Diego, the Padres own a 10-4 advantage against the Reds, including a four-game sweep last year. In addition, the Redlegs have taken the season series between the two clubs just once since the 2013 campaign.
Interestingly, this series will break a tie between the Reds and Padres. Since the Friars entered MLB in the 1969 season, the two franchises are knotted at 161 wins apiece when playing in San Diego.