CLEVELAND –– As it rained nearly the entire day in Cleveland, the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland didn’t attempt to play the final game of their scheduled three-game series.
Sunday’s game was postponed to Aug. 9 due to rain, and the Reds moved on to a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
“We had an idea that it was going to rain quite a bit today,” manager David Bell said. “We’re not totally surprised that this happened.”
The Reds were previously scheduled for an off day on Aug. 9 between a home series against Pittsburgh and a road series in Atlanta. There is no scheduled game time yet for the makeup game.
The Reds won the first game of the series in Cleveland 3-0 with a no-hitter from starting pitcher Wade Miley. On Saturday, the Reds lost 9-2.
Even with the extra off day, the Reds kept their starting rotation intact and pushed each starter back one day. Tyler Mahle will start the first game of the series against the Pirates, followed by Jeff Hoffman and Sonny Gray.
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“I was obviously prepared to go tomorrow but for me, getting an extra day allows me to kind of do whatever I feel like I need, whatever I feel like is necessary on that extra day,” Hoffman said.
Tyler Naquin continues his hot start
As the Reds took batting practice before the first game of their series on Friday in Cleveland, Cleveland’s video scoreboard showed one of the highlights of Reds outfielder Tyler Naquin’s career.
Naquin debuted with Cleveland, and in 2016 he hit a walk-off inside-the-park home run. On Friday, the Reds players stopped stretching when they saw the play on the scoreboard, pretended it was live and cheered on Naquin as he rounded the bases on the screen.
When they saw Naquin score the game-winning run, the entire team celebrated.
“That’ll always be a cool moment,” Naquin said. “That holds a special spot for sure and here in this city as well. I can’t thank them over there enough up in the video room for doing that for me.”
In 2016, Naquin had a .296 batting average in 321 at-bats and finished third in American League Rookie of the Year voting. He dealt with injuries and had a limited role in Cleveland over the next four seasons, leading him to sign a minor league deal with the Reds in February.
With Cincinnati, Naquin is having the best stretch of his career since 2016.
“The staff here and the players here made me feel welcome from day one,” Naquin said. “It’s a great environment here, I love being here. I can’t express that enough.”
In 2021, Naquin ranks fourth on the Reds with a .271 batting average, third on the team with a .905 OPS and is tied for the team lead with 20 RBI. He has started 22 of the Reds first 31 games and played all three outfield positions.
According to Statcast, when Naquin makes contact, he hits the ball harder on average than any other Reds player with more than five at-bats. In Saturday’s 9-2 loss to Cleveland, Naquin hit his seventh home run of the season.
“He provides a bat in the lineup that at any point, he can do damage,” Bell said. “He has had good at-bats. I think he continues to be really comfortable here. He’s a really good all-around player.”
When outfielder Shogo Akiyama returned from the injured list on Friday, Akiyama made his first start in left field with Naquin in center. Akiyama was a finalist for the Gold Glove Award last season, but Naquin has also proven he’s a standout defensive center fielder.
“I’ve been maybe just a tick surprised, just because I didn’t know how good of a center fielder (Naquin) was,” Bell said. “He’s played really well in center field. Covers ground and gets good jumps. Just good instincts, good athlete.”
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Reds take advantage of extra day off
Even though the Reds didn’t play on Sunday, the players did some indoor workouts in Cleveland before making the trip to Pittsburgh.
Hoffman said he planned to take advantage of the extra day between starts and play catch. According to Bell, the rest of the team will also make the most of the extra day off.
“You’re kind of geared up for a game, so we’ll actually try to make it somewhat productive with meetings and maybe even workouts — indoor workouts — while we’re here, before we head out for Pittsburgh,” Bell said. “I think we can make it a really productive day.”
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