The Cincinnati Reds are having a rough year. They’re sitting dead last in the NL Central, and Monday night they lost 5-3 to the Milwaukee Brewers. But one moment in that game might have summed up their whole season: center fielder Dane Myers sprinted into the gap, leaped, and crashed face-first into the outfield wall to make a catch in the fourth inning. It saved a 1-0 lead at the time. That lead didn’t hold, and neither will Myers.
The Reds announced four roster moves Tuesday ahead of their second game against Milwaukee. The big one: Emilio Pagán is back from the injured list, and Zach McCambley got sent back to Triple-A Louisville to make room. Pagán has been decent in the bullpen this year, collecting six saves despite a 6.43 ERA. But the other move is what hurts more for the lineup.
Myers is headed to the 10-day IL with a left shoulder contusion. The Reds called up Ivan Johnson from Louisville to take his spot. Myers has been hitting .256 with three home runs and 14 RBIs this season. That’s not eye-popping, but over the last month he’s been one of the team’s most consistent bats. In June alone, he’s slashing .278/.366 with two RBIs and two runs scored. He was starting to look like a guy who might stick in the lineup, even on a team that’s been awful offensively.
And that’s really the problem here. The Reds are 29th in the majors in batting average and 21st in runs scored. Their record is 39-44. They’re not just losing games, they’re losing players to freak accidents like a guy crashing into a wall to make a catch in a game they eventually dropped anyway. It’s a little on the nose.
The series with the Brewers continues Tuesday night. Cincinnati will roll out a lineup that just lost one of its few bright spots from the past month. Nobody’s saying the season is over in late June, but the math is getting ugly fast.
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