The Cincinnati Reds entered their Cardinals vs Reds doubleheader in an awkward spot: the bullpen had already been pushed hard, and the schedule offered little relief. After a 7-1 loss yesterday, the Reds had used Nick Lodolo, Julian Garcia, Tejay Antone, Ron Marinaccio and Connor Phillips, while also dealing with a stretch that included 5 games in 4 days.
That is exactly the kind of run that can expose a pitching staff, especially when the bullpen is already thin. Lodolo covered 5 scoreless innings on 73 pitches, Garcia added 2 scoreless innings on 35 pitches, Antone threw 30 pitches in a 0-0 game in the top of the 8th inning, Marinaccio worked 43 pitches, and Phillips handled an inning. For a club heading into a doubleheader, that is a lot of recent volume to absorb.
Why the workload stood out
The Reds had also been leaning on several relievers before yesterday. Tejay Antone threw 9 pitches on Tuesday, then 16 on Thursday and 11 on Saturday. Luis Mey pitched on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Sam Moll threw on Wednesday and Saturday, while Tony Santillan threw an inning on Friday and again on Saturday. Ron Marinaccio also threw 21 pitches on Saturday before his 43-pitch outing yesterday.
Put together, the usage created a clear availability problem. The article’s framing was straightforward: two relievers should be out today, and a third would presumably be replaced. In practical terms, that left the Reds entering the doubleheader with less margin for error than most teams would want on any normal day, let alone one with two games on the schedule.
What happens next
Marinaccio was described as almost certainly getting DFA’d before tomorrow’s games, which adds another layer to the roster picture. That means the Reds were not only managing short-term fatigue, but also a likely roster move that could affect who is available to cover innings immediately.
For the Reds, the challenge was not just surviving the doubleheader. It was figuring out how to piece together enough outs after a week that had already asked a great deal from the pitching staff.
