The Nati Report is back for week two! We had a thrilling series for the Reds ending in a 2-1 win. This week will mainly focus in on the Reds, as it was MLB Opening Weekend and most of the city sports were on the down low. Let’s dive into all the big action from the past week and find out what is on deck this week!
Past Week’s Recap
FC Cincinnati: No action this week
Bengals: Re-signed Joe Flacco, other than that, no other big news.
NKU, Cincinnati and Xavier: No updates last week from the portal, however, this week will be busier as the portal gets ready to open on 4/7!
Miami (OH): This week was significant, as Butler hired their new coach. Why is it significant? The hire was Ronald Nored, former Butler guard, and not Travis Steele, who was rumored to be in contention. As of this week, signs are pointing to Steele returning to Oxford this season!
Reds: The Reds had a great start to the year, winning their series over the Red Sox 2-1. The Red Sox are legitimate contenders, so this was huge. The Reds drew 109,621 fans in this series, the highest attendance figure for a season opening series in Cincy since at least 2002.
Game 1/162 | Red Sox win 3-0 | March 26th | Great American Ballpark
Andrew Abbott had an outstanding season opener: 6 innings with no runs. However, the bullpen fell apart and let in some late runs. Garret Crochet was outstanding, also throwing 6 scoreless innings. This one came down to bullpen performance, and the Red Sox ousted the Reds. Unfortunately for the Red Sox, this would be their only win of the series.
Game 2/162 | Reds win 6-5 in Extras | March 28th | Great American Ballpark
This game was a thriller, ending in the Reds snatching their first win of the season in walk-off fashion. The Reds got to Sonny Gray early, scoring 2 in the first inning. Sal Stewart opened it up with an RBI single, then a fielder’s choice brought in by Eugenio Suarez. They added another in the 2nd, thanks to an RBI double by Matt McLain. Fast forward to the 9th, the Red Sox tied it up in the 9th off of a solo shot by Wilyer Abreu. To extras we go, there was a scoreless 10th and the Red Sox didn’t score in the 11th. Shout-out to Connor Phillips, he pitched all of the extra innings, allowing no runs. Then, Dane Myers stepped up for his second AB of the season, with two men on, and whacked a single to bring in TJ Friedl and give the Reds their first win of the year. An interesting event from the game, in the 6th, Eugenio Suarez was called for a strikeout, but he used the ABS to challenge and got it overturned. The AB resumed, then there was another called strike, Suarez challenged again, and it worked. The crowd loved every minute of it.
Game 3/162 | Reds win 3-2 | March 29th | Great American Ballpark
This game was pretty uneventful. Wilyer Abreu got the scoring started in the 4th, with his second home run of the year, this one being a two-run shot. In the 6th Eugenio Suarez hit a three-run BOMB. It went 431 feet and was a perfect welcome back to Cincy. The Reds’ bullpen was great, pitching 4 scoreless innings.
Overall Thoughts: It was a perfect start to the year for the Reds, shout-out to Sal Stewart, the Rookie had 7 hits on 10 ABs; the kid is making a big ROTY campaign already. Also, the ABS and challenge system is awesome.
This Week’s Preview
Reds: Series #1 of the Week | Pirates @ Reds | March 30th-April 1st | Great American Ballpark
The starters for the Reds are Chase Burns, Brandon Williamson, and Andrew Abbott. Unfortunately for Reds hitters, since Abbott is starting, that means Paul Skenes will close the series for the Pirates. However, Skenes had an awful start to the year, and he didn’t even finish an inning against the Mets. His ERA is currently a 67.50, which is absurd. Skenes will likely be motivated by the poor start, and ready for a big game. The Reds are a better team all around here, and they should win this series. Look for Sal Stewart and Matt McLain, as their starts to the season have been excellent.
Series #2 of the Week | Reds @ Rangers | April 3rd-5th | Globe Life Field
The Rangers have also had a hot start to their year, winning their series against the Phillies 2-1. Texas is a relatively high-scoring squad, putting up 16 in their first 3 games. The Reds’ starting rotation is looking like Brady Singer, Rhett Lowder, and Chase Burns. This is a solid rotation and this series could go two ways. There could be some serious pitching duels, or there could be some offensive explosions. This series should be fun, and it will be another big test for a Reds team looking to prove that they are contenders.
FC Cincinnati: FCC has one game this week. They are playing @ the New York Red Bulls, who sit one spot above FCC in the standings. This is a pivotal early-season matchup for Pat Noonan and his squad. Cincy must slow down Julian Hall, as he has 4 goals in 5 games for the Red Bulls. They only have one other scorer through 5 games (Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting), so they must stop Hall. Both teams need this game in order to stay in the race for the top of the conference.
Bengals: The Bengals are focused in on NFL Draft scouting right now. Keep an eye on names like Sonny Styles of Ohio State.
Xavier/Cincinnati/NKU/Miami (OH): The transfer portal opens up after the National Championship; keep an eye out for any players announcing their intentions for next year.
That’s all for this week; it should be an exciting next couple of weeks for sports in the city of Cincinnati. Expect to see the Nati Report every Monday! We’ll have updates on our socials in real time, and will include Cincinnati area updates here each week!
