C. Notes: Reds' week even worse than its 2-5 record would suggest

New York Times

12-05-2025

When Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona gathers those close to him around an aluminum pole on Dec. 23 to celebrate Festivus, he'll have several grievances from this week to air.
The Reds left Great American Ball Park last Sunday with an 18-17 record. A week on the road that produced twice as many players placed on the injury list (four) as wins (two) is unlikely to be looked back upon fondly when the season is over.
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It's been a trying week for the Reds, their medical staff, their manager, players and fans. It's been pretty much a disaster.
Here's a day-by-day look at what went wrong:
• Monday: Rookie outfielder Tyler Callihan ran straight into the left-field wall at Truist Park when trying to catch a ball off the bat of the Atlanta Braves' Matt Olson in the third inning for the final out. Not only did Callihan suffer a broken left forearm on the play, but he also wasn't awarded a catch because he didn't 'voluntarily and intentionally' release the ball from the glove arm and instead allowed it to roll out of the glove when he went to grab his fractured arm.
Olson kept running and was awarded a two-run, inside-the-park home run. The Reds lost 4-0.
• Tuesday: Andrew Abbott went toe-to-toe with fellow lefty Chris Sale, and the Reds had a chance to close it out in the ninth with Emilio Pagán on the mound, but the team didn't cleanly execute a relay that allowed the tying run — from former Red Stuart Fairchild, no less — to score. Right fielder Jake Fraley threw the ball to second on the double to right by Michael Harris II, and cutoff man Matt McLain was moving from his spot to take a throw from the outfield as the cutoff man toward home but had to move when the throw took him toward second. McLain paused, and his throw home wasn't in time to catch Fairchild. The Reds were walked off in the 10th.
Before the game, third baseman Noelvi Marte went on the IL with a left oblique strain.
• Wednesday: Even on a day when the Reds won, there was bad news. Right-hander Hunter Greene looked dominant in his first three innings of work but pulled himself after his second warmup pitch before the fourth inning. Greene was diagnosed with a groin sprain and was placed on the IL two days later.
• Thursday: Francona was ejected for the first time as Reds skipper in the middle of the 11th inning (although he didn't realize it until the bottom of the inning). With Monday's ruling against Callihan's catch in mind, Francona challenged the out call of Blake Dunn trying to steal second that ended the top of the 11th.
Dunn was clearly thrown out trying to steal, but Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies just as clearly lowered his knee to the ground and placed it in front of the bag, against the agreed-upon rules of the game. Instead of calling Dunn safe by the letter of the law, Porter's crew went by the spirit of the law — a courtesy the crew didn't extend to Callihan. Francona challenged the call, but blocking the bag isn't a reviewable call.
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• Friday: The Reds placed Greene on the IL before the game, then scratched Fraley from the starting lineup with left calf tenderness; he was placed on the IL Saturday. The Reds traded for Connor Joe from the San Diego Padres before the game, and he was activated the next day.
Then there was the game, in which no Reds base runner advanced to third and the team was shut out for the sixth time this season.
• Saturday: Starting the game with a 10-run first inning was good, but a game like that shouldn't have been as stressful as it was, as Brady Singer gave up seven runs in 2 1/3 innings. The Reds won 13-9, but it was closer than it should have been.
• Sunday: The team that scored 13 runs the day before was held to just two hits. The Reds lost 6-0 and were shut out for the seventh time this season, tying the Pittsburgh Pirates for the most of any team in baseball this season. Since the beginning of last season, the Reds have been shut out 23 times, second only to the Chicago White Sox (24) in that same period.
Rookie Chase Petty made his second start and had better numbers than his first, but he walked six and allowed four runs in three innings.
The Reds went just 2-5 this week and are one game below .500 at home (9-10) and on the road (11-12).
Monday, the Reds have their first scheduled off day since April 24 before welcoming the 12-29 White Sox to Great American Ball Park for three games, including Wednesday night's Pete Rose celebration. The White Sox are just 3-17 on the road. The Reds continue their homestand and American League Central run with three games against the Cleveland Guardians.
• RHP Rhett Lowder (right forearm strain) made two rehab starts this week, first in Arizona in the season opener for the Arizona Complex League and then Sunday for High-A Dayton. Lowder suffered the loss in both, losing his start in Arizona to Clayton Kershaw, who was on a rehab assignment for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Lowder allowed two runs on four hits over three innings with five strikeouts and no walks in Arizona. Sunday at Dayton, he allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits over three innings with a walk, a hit batter and five strikeouts.
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• LHP Wade Miley (Tommy John surgery) allowed three runs on three hits — including two homers — with six strikeouts and no walks in 2 2/3 innings for Dayton on Saturday.
• LHP Sam Moll (left shoulder impingement) made his eighth appearance in his rehab stint with Louisville and hasn't allowed a run in any of his last three outings. He has a 5.63 ERA in his rehab stint, with 10 hits, eight runs, 10 strikeouts and four walks over eight innings.
• RHP Ian Gibaut (right shoulder impingement) threw a scoreless inning with two strikeouts Sunday in his first rehab appearance for Louisville.
• Triple-A Louisville (19-19): Since his demotion, RHP Alexis Díaz has made four appearances with the Bats and hasn't allowed a run. Since going down, he has totaled four innings, allowed two hits, walked three and struck out five. All five strikeouts have come in the last two outings, and both hits came in the first two. On Sunday, he struck out the side and earned the win for the Bats.
• Double-A Chattanooga (16-16): OF Austin Hendrick doubled in both parts of the team's doubleheader Sunday, raising his slash line to .217/.325/.391. But the best part about Hendrick's start is that through the first 24 games (and 83 plate appearances), he has 22 strikeouts and 10 walks. Though a 26.5 percent strikeout rate isn't ideal, it's 10 percentage points better than his strikeout rate last season, which was his best-ever strikeout rate as a pro. His 12 percent walk rate is more than double what it was last year (5.3 percent) and higher than any other season other than his first.
• High-A Dayton (11-22): Dragons RHP Easton Sikorski has allowed only one earned run in 17 innings over nine appearances. The 25-year-old closer has three saves and a 0.53 ERA. He has 22 strikeouts, one unintentional walk and a hit batter.
• Class-A Daytona (15-18): C Alfredo Duno hit a two-out, walk-off home run Sunday in a 2-1 Tortugas victory. It was Duno's fourth of the year. Duno, 19, also doubled and is hitting .220/.339/.430 with more extra-base hits (12) than singles (10).
(Top photo of Hunter Greene: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)