All it takes is one!
Twice this season the Cincinnati Reds have ripped off win streaks of five games.
The first one, though, featured a sweep of the Colorado Rockies, so I’m going to be forced to discount that just a bit. The second, however, included a sweep of the Cleveland Guardians at home in Great American Ball Park to open the 2025 edition of the Ohio Cup, and that one seems to carry much more weight in my opinion.
That leaves Cincinnati just one more victory away from claiming the Cup this year, and next on the schedule is their chance to make it happen. They’re in Cleveland today to begin a three-game set against their state rivals, the Guardians playing host this time around at their home in Progressive Field.
Cleveland sports an impressive 18-13 record in home games so far this season, so it won’t be the easiest spot in the world to claim an overall series victory. The Guardians have also stumbled to just a 9-13 record since May 14th – a stretch that includes the aforementioned sweep in Cincinnati – and have slipped to 7.5 games back of the Detroit Tigers in their division (and into 3rd in the AL Central overall).
They, like the Reds, have fallen out of a Wild Card spot, though they’re still just 0.5 games back of the Minnesota Twins for the final American League one. The Reds, meanwhile, are 4.5 games back of the Philadelphia Phillies for the final NL Wild Card position, though they’ve got two additional teams they’d need to jump to claim that spot right now, too.
In other words, it’s a series between a pair of decent clubs with larger ambitions that haven’t quite played as good this year as they think they should have. A rock fight may well ensue, with every last swing, every last run meaningful here in the long run as these two do battle on the margins.
Cincinnati is in the odd position of sending left-handed starters to the bump for each game of this series, with Wade Miley making his rotational return and Hunter Greene firmly on the IL with his groin issue. Perhaps that’s a boon for Cincinnati’s chances, as Cleveland owns just a .269 wOBA against LHP so far this year – that’s tied for the 5th lowest mark against southpaws of any MLB club.
Once again, this is Terry Francona’s time to shine against his former club, too. A full six-game sweep of the Ohio Cup in his first year as manager of the Cincinnati Reds would be a nice little julep cup on his desk, I’d say.
Pitching Matchups
Monday, June 9th (6:40 PM ET): LHP Wade Miley vs. RHP Luis Ortiz
Tuesday, June 10th (6:40 PM ET): LHP Andrew Abbott vs. RHP Slade Cecconi
Wednesday, June 11th (1:10 PM ET): LHP Nick Lodolo vs. LHP Logan Allen
How to Watch
Each of the three games of the series will be broadcast on FanDuel Sports Network. You can watch FDSN in-market through cable packages, though it’s also available to be streamed in-market with no blackout restrictions even without a cable subscription. You can check the link in the above sidebar (which I’ve re-linked right here) for more information on how you can do just that.
Per usual, you can view these final two games from outside the Reds TV market by catching the FDSN stream through MLB.tv.