This article may look a bit familiar! I was on MacKenzie Gore in his last start vs the Reds, and I will be going back to him again tonight.
Gore, one of MLB’s top pitching prospects, takes the mound for his 3rd start of his career. The Padres were smart enough to line up 2 of his first 3 starts vs this Reds lineup. Last start he mowed down 7 Reds batters in 5 innings. My favorite part is he was stretched out to 88 pitches. While I am sure the Padres will be conservative with his arm as the season goes on, he should have no trouble tossing 85-95 pitches tonight.
As for the Reds, there are few teams better to target. They have racked up 158 strikeouts in 533 at bats this season. It gets even worse for them when they face a lefty where they have 60 K in 198 at bats (30.8%). They have a team average of .197 and a .551 OPS, so beyond striking out a ton, they simply don’t hit southpaws well which should bode well for Gore tonight. Give me the rook to get to 6 K again.
