Shorthanded Reds try to take down Milwaukee Brewers this afternoon shorthandedly [UPDATED]

Here we go!

With TJ Friedl hurt enough to not play (but not to be on the injured list) and Elly De La Cruz stuck in pre-fabricated baseball purgatory, the Cincinnati Reds are rolling out a lineup today that features Kevin Newman leading off and both Stuart Fairchild and Will Benson in the starting outfield against right-handed Milwaukee starter Colin Rea.

I’d have a more extensive preview than this, but I’m just not sure I’ve got that in me today. The story is told in the first 52 characters of this article.

Look, Appalachian State once knocked off Michigan in the Big House. The 2004 Pistons beat Kobe and Shaq. In the game of baseball, anything can happen on any given day, and I get that. I still just find it really, really hard to fathom why a team continues to go so incredibly far out of its way to drag anchors around the sport when the bulk of their peers put their best shoes on every day and run free.

The Milwaukee Brewers, the team the Reds are both playing today and chasing in the division, are attainable – if only attaining their status was at all the goal of this franchise. That it once again is not is the pertinent information we need before Graham Ashcraft throws the first pitch at some point around 4:10 PM ET.

**UPDATE**

Approximately fourteen seconds after publishing this, the Reds did place TJ Friedl on the injured list, finally. MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon relayed the initial news, though we’re now waiting on the corresponding move. I’ll update the update with that when it breaks.

**UPDATED UPDATE**

It’s TJ Hopkins, with Nick Lodolo moving to the 60-day IL.

Reds Lineup

Brewers Lineup