Sputtering Reds offense seeks divine intervention in series vs. Friars

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.

Hitting woes have crippled the Reds to start the season.

As play began yesterday, the Cincinnati Reds offense ranked last in the senior circuit in OBP (.256), while placing second to last in both average (.185), and slugging (.294). Needless to say, little changed in Sunday's performance, as the Redlegs collected one run on four hits.

The horrendous offensive attack is hardly limited to a couple of players not producing. For players who have more than 20 at-bats, Jake Fraley, Mike Moustakas, and Joey Votto are all hitting .150 or worse. Amazingly, outfielders Aristides Aquino and Tommy Pham are both sporting an average under .100 as they've combined to go 3-for-46 with 19 strikeouts entering play on Sunday.

Whether their facing left or right-handed pitching, the numbers are nearly identical. Cincinnati is slashing .181/.257/.290 versus right-handers and .194./255/.301 against southpaws. Obviously, the Reds offense will improve, however, there's no guarantee it will be even a league-average unit by the end of the season.

For starters, third baseman Mike Moustakas has been underwhelming since donning the wishbone "C." In 350 at-bats as a Red, Moose is slashing a paltry .211/.291/.391 with just 14 homers.

At age 33 and a dozen years in the majors, there's little reason to believe he's going to rebound to his previous All-Star status. Additionally, with each passing day, his four-year/ $64M contract signed before the 2020 campaign, appears to be one of the worst deals in club history.

Next, the lack of production from the outfield is of grave concern. Tyler Naquin is the only outfielder on the squad to hit above. 260 last season. Aquino, Fraley, Pham, and Nick Senzel combined to hit .221 in 974 at-bats during the 2021 campaign. Unfortunately, All-Stars Nick Castellanos and Jesse Winker aren't walking through the door at GABP to rescue this club.

Prediction: Reds will sadly win just 1-of-3 vs. the Padres

Let's be honest, this past weekend had to shake the confidence of even the most optimistic fans in Reds Country. Granted, Cincinnati may not see another team as talented as the Dodgers all year, but there were moments when the Reds didn't even look like they should be sharing the same diamond with LA.

However, things will get better. They can't get any worse, right? But it will be small steps. Look for the Reds to drop two of three in San Diego before a much-needed off-day on Thursday as they prepare to welcome the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals to the Queen City for the weekend.