Reds at Mariners
With an eye toward the future, the Seattle Mariners hope to see another gem from young lefty Justus Sheffield when he faces the visiting Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday in the opener of a three-game series. Sheffield, acquired in the trade that sent James Paxton to the New York Yankees last offseason, struggled in his first three outings with the Mariners before a stellar five innings at Wrigley Field his last time out.
"Justus Sheffield was awesome," manager Scott Servais told reporters after his 23-year-old held the Cubs scoreless on five hits and struck out seven. "Really, really excited about what I saw out of him today. In this environment, first time pitching in this kind of setting, I thought he handled it great." Sheffield will be trying to help the Mariners end a six-game slide that includes Sunday's embarrassing 21-1 loss at Houston. The Reds avoided a sweep with a 4-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday to wrap up a 3-4 homestand. Seattle swept three games at Cincinnati in the last meeting in 2016 and it owns a lopsided 13-2 all-time advantage.
TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, FS Ohio (Cincinnati), ROOT Northwest (Seattle)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Reds RH Trevor Bauer (10-12, 4.60 ERA) vs. Mariners LH Justus Sheffield (0-1, 5.51)
Bauer has an unsightly 8.23 ERA in seven starts since joining the Reds at the trade deadline. He was fortunate to get a no-decision against Philadelphia on Wednesday after giving up four runs over five innings, snapping a string of four consecutive losses. The 28-year-old has a 2.27 ERA in six career starts in Seattle.
Prior to shutting down the Cubs, Sheffield had given up 10 runs over 11 1/3 innings over two starts and one relief appearance. Each of those outings came at home, the last of which saw him surrender five runs in 4 1/3 frames against the New York Yankees. The Tennessee native has given up 24 hits while walking 12 in his 19 career innings in the majors.
WALK-OFFS
1. Reds RHP/OF Michael Lorenzen has a two-run homer, an RBI double and a walk in his last six plate appearances.
2. Since hitting his 30th homer in the sixth inning Friday in Houston, Mariners 1B Daniel Vogelbach is 0-for-8 with five strikeouts.
3. Seattle is 8-1 all time against Cincinnati at home.