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Tough mudders: Reds improving approach when rain interferes at GABP
If you sense that rain has been a pervasive theme in the 2025 Cincinnati Reds' season, you're right. And in no game was that more evident than Wednesday's rain-shortened win.
More than three hours of combined weather delays at Great American Ball Park on Wednesday resulted in a Reds' 4-2 victory. The game was called around midnight with two outs and a runner on as right fielder Jake Fraley batted in the bottom of the sixth inning.
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With a 12:40 p.m. first pitch looming for the following afternoon, the game became the fifth weather-shortened game in Great American Ball Park history.
The rain starts to pour during the Reds vs. Diamondbacks game at Great American Ball Park on Friday June 6, 2025.
The Reds are used to weather interruptions. In fact, they planned for them in spring training to an extent.
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"In spring training, we talked about (rain delays). It happens to everybody, and I know it happens a lot here, but we gotta be the team that when it's time to play, you're ready to play," Reds manager Terry Francona said. "Not like, 'oh, we've got to play,' because that can creep in. (Wednesday), it's hard, especially for your starting pitcher, but everybody all of a sudden, it's like, 'OK, here we go.' And they've been sitting around for three hours. It's not easy but I think if you handle it better, you give yourself a better chance to win."
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The more than three hours of combined rain delays on Wednesday brought the Great American Ball Park's season-long total to nearly 10 hours worth of weather-related interruptions. Wednesday's contest was the 10th Reds game impacted by rain this season, home and away, with eight of those games being delayed.
A June 6 game against the Arizona Diamondbacks was suspended and completed the next day. An April 29 game against the St. Louis Cardinals was rained out and made up the next day as part of a day-night doubleheader.
Overall, the Reds have a losing record in games impacted by rain (4-6), but they've won their last two at home when rain interfered.
On Wednesday, after the initial 2:07 rain delay that forced the game to start at 9:15 p.m., there was a threat for more rain to arrive later in the night. There was a sense that the game might be a race to get ahead in time for the second round of precipitation in case it caused the end of the game before nine innings were played.
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Had the Reds played the game with weather in mind − Francona said they didn't − it almost went perfectly. Cincinnati took the lead in the bottom of the first inning, tacked on run, and didn't look back. On the defensive side, they played and pitched soundly.
"We didn't know it was going to be shortened," Francona said. "I'm always of the opinion that adding on is very good for us regardless of how many innings we're gonna play."
A storm delays the MLB game between Cincinnati Reds and Minnesota Twins at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on Wednesday, June 18, 2025.
Reds starting pitcher Nick Lodolo was credited with a complete game for his six innings of work. Lodolo's outing, plus Andrew Abbot's complete game, nine-inning outing against the Cleveland Guardians on June 10, made 2025 the Reds' first season with multiple complete games since 2020.
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"Obviously, you just want to keep going," Lodolo said. "You can't try to pitch to that (the rain) or anything. I had no idea what was going to happen. So, you go as long as you can until, basically like today, it happened to work out pretty good for us."
As for biding time during rain delays, Francona said his activities vary.
"Different stuff," he said. "Play cribbage with 'Nap' (bench coach Mike Napoli). Just try to pass the time... Only so much you can do."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Tough mudders: Reds improving approach when rain interferes at GABP
