Media by Associated Press – Cincinnati Reds’ Jonathan India before a baseball game against the New York Yankees Tuesday, July 12, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Despite being in last place in the NL Central, the Cincinnati Reds (33-54) stunned the New York Yankees (61-26) on Tuesday with four runs in the top of the ninth.
The rally gave the Reds a five-game winning streak with a 4-3 win in the series opener. The teams meet again at 7:05 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium, airing locally in both markets.
The Yankees will start RHP Luis Severino (5-3, 3.11) against Reds LHP Mike Minor (1-6, 6.63). These teams last met in 2017, with the Yankees winning both games at home and splitting the two games in Cincinnati.
Before Tuesday, the Reds hadn’t beaten the Yankees in New York since 2012, and NY leads the all-time series 11-9.
Reds Playing Their Best Baseball
The Reds have won five in a row, including four straight against AL East teams, as they swept the Tampa Bay Rays at home over the weekend.
Three of those five wins have come by one run, two on walk-offs against Tampa Bay. They are 15-26 on the road this season, 25-37 against RHP, and 8-5 against American League opponents.
The Reds trailed 3-0 going into the ninth on Tuesday before scoring four runs off All-Star Clay Holmes, who had only allowed two runs all season.
Tyler Naquin had a RBI single, Kyle Farmer was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, and Jonathan India delivered a go-ahead two-run single. The Reds had seven hits in the game, two by India, and they struck out 11 times against starter Gerrit Cole.
Brandon Drury leads the Reds with a .276 batting average, 18 homers, and 50 RBI. Farmer is batting .264 with 17 doubles and 41 RBI. Tommy Pham is second on the team with 11 homers.
Minor has struggled all season in his first year with the Reds, allowing at least one home run in all seven starts. Overall he’s given up 12 homers in 38 innings, and righties are hitting .310 against him. Minor is 0-5 at home in five starts with a 6.08 ERA, and he lost at home to Pittsburgh on Thursday in his last start.
Minor last faced the Yankees in 2019 while with Texas, and he’s 2-1 against New York in his career with a 3.12 ERA. Giancarlo Stanton has crushed Minor in his career with four home runs in 23 at-bats, and Matt Carpenter is 7-for-12 with a home run. Joey Gallo also has a career homer off Minor, but Aaron Judge is 0-for-3, DJ LeMahieu is 2-for-17, and Josh Donaldson is 0-for-9.
Yankees With Rare Losing Streak
For just the second time all season, the Yankees have lost three games in a row. Two of those losses have been by one run, and they are 34-10 at home. New York is 19-8 against LHP and 4-2 against National League teams.
Judge got a scheduled day off on Tuesday before striking out as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning. Gleyber Torres had three hits in the loss, including two doubles, and he scored two of the Yankees’ three runs. Anthony Rizzo drove in two with a single, and Donaldson was 1-for-4 with a RBI.
Carpenter is batting .344 since joining the Yankees, while Judge is batting .282, and Torres is hitting .275. Judge leads the majors with 30 homers to go with 65 RBI, while Stanton and Rizzo both have 22 homers and 56 RBI.
Severino is 3-1 at home this season with a 2.62 ERA in eight starts while striking out 56 and walking 10 in 44 ⅔ innings. He beat the Pirates on the road on Wednesday, allowing four runs over six shutout innings while striking out three. The righty has gone at least five innings in nine straight starts and has lasted six innings or more nine times on the season.
Severino has one career start against the Reds, a win in 2017, as he struck out nine over seven innings. He’s only faced six batters on the Cincinnati roster, and both Drury and Naquin are hitless in two at-bats. Joey Votto is 2-for-2 against Severino, while Pham is 1-for-2 and Mike Moustakas is 2-for-6.
Betting Analysis
- Cincinnati Reds +1.5 (+130) Moneyline +260
- New York Yankees -1.5 (-140) Moneyline -315
- Total Runs 9. Over +100. Under -120
This is a nightmare matchup for the Reds and Minor, facing a Yankees lineup that leads the league in home runs with 146.
Minor is allowing a home run per 14.5 batters faced this season, and given the Yankees lineup and the hitter-friendly park, this one could get out of hand early. Severino has been fantastic at home, and the Yankees should be able to end their losing streak on Wednesday.
Betting Pick: Yankees -1.5 runs (-140)
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