Cincinnati @ Toronto preview
Rogers Centre
Last Meeting ( Aug 20, 2024 ) Cincinnati 3, Toronto 10
The Cincinnati Reds will be without a key player indefinitely as they go into the decisive game of their three-game series against the host Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday night.
Cincinnati placed infielder Jeimer Candelario on the injured list Tuesday due to a broken left big toe, then went out and lost 10-3 to Toronto. The Reds won the series opener 6-3 on Monday.
Candelario sustained the injury when he was hit by a pitch on Sunday against the Kansas City Royals. He played Monday and went 0-for-4 before the fracture was diagnosed.
The switch hitter is hitting .225 with 20 home runs and 56 RBIs in 112 games.
Amed Rosario, who was claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday, was added to the roster.
"It's really hard to not be in the lineup every single day," Candelario said, "but it's part of baseball. It's part of life. It could be worse. I want to put my mind in the right way to come back this season. I think we've got a really good shot."
Reds manager David Bell said that the team does not have a timeline for Candelario's possible return.
Rosario, who was traded by the Tampa Bay Rays to the Dodgers last month, said he was happy the Reds claimed him "because they have a lot of young guys with good talent."
"They're kind of the same as Tampa Bay," he added. "Guys play different positions, so I see opportunity here."
Playing different positions was taken to extremes on Tuesday when Reds catcher Luke Maile pitched the final two innings -- retiring all six batters he faced -- to save the bullpen in the blowout. It was his second pitching outing of the season and the ninth of his career, and he lowered his lifetime ERA to 7.84.
Toronto hit five home runs on Tuesday against Cincinnati starter Carson Spiers, two from George Springer and one apiece from Leo Jimenez, Alejandro Kirk and Spencer Horwitz.
The game also marked the first time in six career major league starts that Blue Jays second baseman Will Wagner batted fourth. He went 1-for-4 with a first-inning RBI single. Wagner came to Toronto as part of the trade that sent left-hander Yusei Kikuchi to the Houston Astros on July 29.
"A lot of people make a big deal about the four-hole, being a big power hitter and stuff like that," Wagner said. "But in today's game, it's kind of changed. So my reaction was just normal, as usual."
Toronto manager John Schneider has been impressed by Wagner's calmness.
"Understanding the flow of the game is something we talk about a lot with the young guys," Schneider said. "It's not just your at-bats or your defense or your pitches. It's game situations. When's a good time to swing on the first pitch? When's not? Where am I in the order? What's my starting pitcher doing? He has a good feel for all that kind of stuff."
The Reds are scheduled to start right-hander Nick Martinez (6-6, 3.25 ERA) in the series finale. He is 1-1 with a 4.91 ERA in four career games (three starts) against the Blue Jays. Springer has a .333 (5-for-15) career average against him with one home run.
Martinez has not walked a batter in 24 innings, the longest streak by a Cincinnati pitcher since Dan Straily had a 26 1/3-inning walk-free stretch in 2016.
Toronto is due to start right-hander Yariel Rodriguez (1-5, 3.93 ERA), who has never faced Cincinnati. Rodriguez is winless in his past six outings, compiling a 4.21 ERA in that span.
--Field Level Media