David Bell: Cincinnati Reds ‘feel very ready to go’ as season opener nears

Reds play two exhibition games this week before beginning season Friday

The sprint to 60 starts Friday for the Cincinnati Reds, the 60-game season beginning with a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers at Great American Ball Park.

First, though, the Reds and Tigers will play two practice games: Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. and Wednesday at 6:10 p.m. It will be the first time the Reds have seen an opponent since March.

“For the most part, we’re going to try to treat them like regular games,” manager David Bell said Monday, “because I thought it was perfect that we got to create our own schedule and control that but then have two games against outside competition to make it seem more realistic going into the season. We will have a daily schedule that mimics our in-season schedule and just make it as much as we can like it will be on Friday and Saturday.

“I’d like guys to go deep into the game, our starters to go deep at least one of the games — maybe get them out of the game a little bit earlier Wednesday. Then we’ll have a light workout Thursday. We feel ready. That’s the other thing. We didn’t know if we’d be ready at this point, but we feel very ready to go right now.”

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