The Cincinnati Reds are in Oakland tonight in what will begin an interesting two-series stint in the Bay Area. First up: the Athletics, who just welcomed back star 1B Matt Olson from the IL after he’d busted up the hamate bone in his wrist earlier this season. Timing! The Reds will send Tyler Mahle to the hill, while Oakland will counter with starter Mike Fiers. First pitch is set for 10:07 PM ET, so chug a Red Bull or something. Go Reds. They’re my favorite last place team! Reds Lineup 6⃣ straight in the Bay Area starts tonight!#BornToBaseball pic.twitter.com/HjcrWbXeoo — Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) May 7, 2019 A’s Lineup<doc-sep>The nicest part of being a baseball fan is that there is no time to wallow in one’s own misery, because there are always more games to be played. Even when things are bad, every win could very well be the beginning of a new winning streak, and outlooks can change from bleak to boundless in the blink of an eye. Thus far in 2019, the A’s have been outright awful while playing on the road, the team with a sad and bad record of 5-13 outside of the Coliseum (5-15 if one includes the opening series in Japan as well, although those counted as home games). A bullpen that is half beat up and half washed up doesn’t help much either. Things could very well be on the up and up for Oakland, however, as Khris Davis looks to be set to return in his comfortable slot at DH and Matt Olson, after breaking his hamate bone in the Japan series, should reclaim his rightful spot at first base in this next series. The dependable power bats that provided major thump in the middle of the A’s lineup last season will have their work cut out for them in this series, as they take on a pitching staff that has given up, far and away, the fewest home runs in the bigs this year. The Reds entered 2019 as one of the more intriguing teams in the whole league. After making a flurry of tweaks to the roster during the offseason, while still clearly rebuilding, the Reds appeared poised to make some noise, or at least act as spoiler later in the year. The starting rotation, starved of quality pitching for half a decade, was reinforced by the likes of Sonny Gray, Alex Wood, and Tanner Roark. The offense, middling beyond Joey Votto and Scooter Gennett, added Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp, and had a top MLB prospect in Nick Senzel poised to take over once service time shenanigans were done. Maybe Cincinnati wasn’t ready to take on Milwaukee and Chicago yet, but this wasn’t going to be a team that would roll over and die like in some recent years. With a record that is a half game better than the A’s, one would be hard pressed to say that the Reds have played good baseball, but they certainly haven’t been boring. Their offense has hit the third most home runs in the National League, with 54 total, and the team OPS, currently at .697, has been steadily rising after an abysmal first couple weeks. The pitching staff, the team’s Achilles’ Heel over the last several years, has a National League best 3.49 ERA. While ERA doesn’t do well to predict future performance, it does well enough to tell an observer what has happened up to this point, and what has happened is that the Reds have done a better job of limiting hard contact than any other National League team. The newcomers into the starting rotation play a small role in that success. Sonny Gray, due to pitch in game two of the series on Wednesday, is winless on the year, but only from a lack of run support. The former Athletic has pitched thirty five innings in seven starts, sporting a 1.02 WHIP and 3.89 ERA. He has allowed just one home run all season long. The biggest star of the Reds’ rotation is Luis Castillo, who has been in their rotation for a couple of years now, but finally appears to really be coming into his own. In eight starts this year, Castillo has pitched fifty innings and has fifty nine strikeouts. His ERA is a svelte 1.97, and his opponent’s batting average is .176. On offense, the great Joey Votto looks to be on the decline, as he is striking out more than ever, actually popping out on the infield, and hitting for less power than ever. In full time action, Votto has hit just three home runs and just six RsBI total. On the flip side, Senzel, in just four games of action, has already knocked three dingers himself, unfortunately all of them solo shots. Derek Dietrich, the man with the body of an Adonis and an offseason target of some on AN, has been an absolute monster this season, possessing a current OPS of 1.047 with nine home runs and driving in twenty two runs while playing second base this year. The Reds may not be contenders this year, but this is a team that will give even the best teams fits, and no win should come easy. If they strike against the A’s, at the very least, the team will get to try, try again tomorrow. Potential Lineup Nick Senzel - CF Joey Votto - 1B Eugenio Suarez - 3B Yasiel Puig - RF Derek Dietrich - DH Kyle Farmer - 2B Jose Iglesias - SS Curt Casali - C Jose Peraza - LF Pitching Matchups Mike Fiers vs Taylor Mahle Brett Anderson vs Sonny Gray Chris Bassitt vs Tanner Roark Game Information Game #37: Tuesday, May 7th at 7:07 Game #38: Wednesday, May 8th at 7:07 Game #39: Thursday, May 9th at 12:37 Games 37 and 38 will be on NBCSCA. Game 38 will also be on MLB Network for those out of market. Game 39 will exclusively be a Reds broadcast and on MLB Network.<doc-sep>The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game Jose Peraza singled twice, **WALKED TWICE**, scored a run, and had a ribbie, marking what is pretty easily his best offensive game for the Cincinnati Reds in quite sometime. Alas, that wasn’t enough to lead the Reds to a win over the Oakland Athletics at 2 AM ET, as the Reds blew yet another lead due to stagnant offense. Honorable Mentions are due to: Nick Senzel, who singled twice and drove in a run; Kyle Farmer, who doubled in a run and scored; Michael Lorenzen, who fanned 4 in a pair of scoreless innings of relief; Raisel Iglesias, who fanned 2 in a much-needed perfect inning o relief; Eugenio Suarez, who singled and walked twice; and Jared Hughes, who chugged through 3 IP without allowing a run. Key Plays If you blinked during the early innings, well, you sure as hell missed a lot. The A’s plated a pair in the Bottom of the 1st against former Oakland ace Sonny Gray , as Marcus Semien led off with a walk and Jurickson Profar followed with a mammoth dinger that put the Reds down, 2-0. , as led off with a walk and followed with a mammoth dinger that put the Reds down, 2-0. The Reds, though, eschewed their no-hit performance from last night quickly against Oakland starter Brett Anderson , plating 4 in the Top of the 2nd - with zero dingers involved. Yasiel Puig walked, Jose Iglesias walked behind him, and Puig later scored on Farmer ’s RBI double. A productive RBI groundout from Curt Casali then followed, as did RBI singles from both Peraza and Senzel, and the Reds were up 4-2. , plating 4 in the Top of the 2nd - with zero dingers involved. walked, Jose walked behind him, and later scored on ’s RBI double. A productive RBI groundout from then followed, as did RBI singles from both and Senzel, and the Reds were up 4-2. Gray ran into another dilemma in the Bottom of the 5th, eventually exiting with the bases loaded and 1-out in favor of reliever Amir Garrett with lefty Matt Olson at the plate. Garrett managed to get Olson to strikeout, but Stephen Piscotty then hit a nubber to 2B that Farmer had a bit of trouble getting out of his glove, and his throw eventually went wide of Joey Votto at 1B to allow 2 runs to score. Game tied, 4-4. with lefty at the plate. managed to get to strikeout, but then hit a nubber to 2B that had a bit of trouble getting out of his glove, and his throw eventually went wide of at 1B to allow 2 runs to score. Game tied, 4-4. A billion hours later, Piscotty took Robert Stephenson deep in the Bottom of the 13th to win the game. Reds lost, again, 5-4. Tony Graphanino Other Notes<doc-sep>
With Matt Olson recovered from his fractured hamate, the A's lineup is at full strength as they welcome Cincinnati to town. Reds vs. A's lineups: Matt Olson batting fifth, Khris Davis scratched originally appeared on nbcsportsbayarea.com OAKLAND - For the first time since March 21, Matt Olson is back in the A's lineup. Oakland reinstated Olson from the injured list Tuesday after the first baseman missed 34 games with a broken hamate bone in his right hand. Olson will bat fifth as the A's open a three-game interleague series with the Cincinnati Reds. Meanwhile, A's designated hitter Khris Davis was initially listed in the cleanup spot after leaving Sunday's game in Pittsburgh with a left hip contusion. However, Davis was a late scratch from the lineup due to that hip injury and was replaced by Kendrys Morales. The A's got more good news on the injury front Tuesday when manager Bob Melvin announced that closer Blake Treinen would be available to pitch. Treinen had felt some discomfort in his right elbow, but it turned out to just be tendinitis. Bob Melvin confirms Treinen is available to pitch tonight https://t.co/4mBE36T3Yr — Ben Ross (@BenRossSports) May 7, 2019 Mike Fiers takes the hill for Oakland, hoping to even his record at 3-3 and improve his 6.81 ERA. Cincinnati counters with right-hander Tyler Mahle, who is still looking for his first win of the year. Here are the full lineups for the Reds-A's game, which will be broadcast on NBC Sports California and the MyTeams app. Coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. PT, with first pitch at 7:07. Cincinnati Reds (15-20) Joey Votto, 1B Eugenio Suarez, 3B Jesse Winkler, LF Yasiel Puig, RF Derek Dietrich, DH Nick Senzel, CF Jose Iglesias, SS Tucker Harnhart, C Kyle Farmer, 2B Tyler Mahgle, RHP (0-4, 4.09 ERA) Oakland A's (15-21) Marcus Semien, SS Robbie Grossman, LF Matt Chapman, 3B Kendrys Morales, DH Matt Olson, 1B Stephen Piscotty, RF Jurickson Profar, 2B Ramón Laureano, CF Josh Phegley, C Mike Fiers, RHP (2-3, 6.81 ERA)