“Sometimes the road can be a good place to go to get away from everything,” manager Bryan Price said Monday, “but we played six games in seven days in San Francisco and San Diego, came home for three and then went back out for 10 days. It’s great to be back, and we’ve been playing pretty well at home.”
Roster move: The Reds optioned starting pitcher Cody Reed (0-7, 7.36 ERA) to Triple-A Louisville before the game and promoted outfielder Kyle Waldrop.
Price expects Reed to throw a couple of bullpen sessions before joining Louisville’s rotation. The Reds are concerned about his innings count in his rookie season. They also want Reed to work on his delivery.
“In Triple-A, you can take some chances,” Price said. “You can utilize a game as a vehicle to work on something. Here you play to win every single moment. Not that they aren’t in Triple-A or any of our affiliates, but you can at times make the priority the player and what they have to do and what they have to work on. Sometimes you don’t have immediate results, but you get better over the course of the process. That’s what he has to do. It’s a lot easier to do in the minor leagues.”
This is Waldrop’s third stint with the Reds this season. He’s hitting .250 (5-for-20) in 13 games.
Lineup change: Brandon Phillips was not in the lineup Monday for the first of four games against the Marlins. He left the game Sunday with a knee contusion. Price is optimistic he'll be able to start Tuesday.
Tony Renda earned his second start of the season at second base.
Hot bats: Joey Votto raised his average to a season-high .303 on Sunday. He leads baseball with a .429 on-base percentage. He's hitting .463 since the All-Star break. Since June 1, he has a .506 on-base percentage.
• Billy Hamilton is hitting .349 in August. He leads baseball with 51 stolen bases. He’s the first Red to record at least 50 stolen bases in three straight seasons since Joe Morgan did it in five straight seasons (1972-76).
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