CLEVELAND – It’s no surprise Michael Lorenzen has been a major contributor to the Cincinnati Reds pitching staff.
He was often the team’s most reliable reliever throughout the past five years. He was supposed to begin the season in the starting rotation before a shoulder strain sidelined him for three months, and now he’s back in a familiar role.
When he’s been healthy this year, he’s been lights out. Lorenzen entered Monday with 6 2/3 innings pitched this season, permitting three hits and two walks while striking out six.
“He used his time really wisely while he was injured, while he was coming back,” Reds manager David Bell said. “Not only to make sure he was healthy and strong, but also he wanted to make sure he was in a great place from a pitching standpoint. I think it’s really paying off.”
Lorenzen has matched up against the top of the opposing lineups in his six relief appearances, a role Brad Brach previously held before he was slowed by fatigue. Lorenzen earned a five-out save last week versus the Minnesota Twins in a one-run win.
He was confident he didn’t need to ease into a role when he returned from his injuries. He waited too long to pitch in big games.
“It's just fun, honestly, competing, so it doesn't matter the inning, it doesn't matter the situation,” Lorenzen said. “The innings are different, it's eighth and ninth rather than seventh and eighth. That's really the only difference. I feel pretty comfortable.”
The Reds haven’t named a closer all season, preferring to keep options open to matchup against opposing lineups, but Lorenzen has the credentials for it.
“We’ve seen him have a lot of success over the years in a lot of different roles,” Bell said. “I think he has the ability to be a few different styles of pitcher and right now we’re seeing a mix of everything that makes him good. He has the velocity. He’s using his secondary pitches really well. He’s just pitching right now and making good pitches with everything he has."
TRAVEL SKED: The Reds typically fly to a city the night beforehand, but they waited until Monday morning to travel to Cleveland for their make-up game at Progressive Field.
“I don’t know that we’ve ever done this before,” Bell said. “I’ve done that with other teams. The reason we did it today was more because we didn’t want to have to settle in, get unpacked, pack back up again and spend just one night in a hotel. We could pack our bags one time, play this game and end up in Atlanta tonight.”
They will play games in three cities in a 36-hour span: Cincinnati on Sunday, Cleveland on Monday and Atlanta on Tuesday.
SOLID STARTERS: Reds starting pitchers are on a 10-game winning streak, the franchise’s longest winning streak from a starting rotation since May 11-28, 2013, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Sonny Gray was the last Reds pitcher to receive a losing decision when he gave up eight runs in a 10-6 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on July 25. In the last 13 games, Reds starters are 10-0 with a 2.86 ERA.
The 2013 starting rotation had a 10-game winning streak behind Mat Latos, Bronson Arroyo, Homer Bailey, Mike Leake and Johnny Cueto. Reds starters haven’t won more than 10 straight decisions since a 13-game winning streak from July 30-Aug. 18, 1975.
MILB HONOR: Low-A Daytona outfielder Allan Cerda earned player of the week honors from MiLB.com in the Low-A Southeast league.
Cerda, 21, had eight hits in 23 at-bats (.348 batting average) with two doubles, one triple, three homers and seven RBI in six games. He’s rated as the No. 24 prospect in the Reds’ farm system by Baseball America.
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