The Reds had one player sidelined earlier this season after a COVID-19 test that later turned out to be a false positive.
Matt Davidson tested positive during the opening series of the abbreviated, 60-game season and went on the injured list. Later tests cleared him. Three other Reds — Joey Votto, Mike Moustakas and Nick Senzel — missed games after feeling sick, but tested negative for the coronavirus and rejoined the team.
There have been several COVID-19 outbreaks across baseball since the season started in late July. The St. Louis Cardinals have been limited to five games. The Miami Marlins have played 13. A number of other teams had games postponed because of outbreaks on those two teams.
Most teams throughout baseball have played close to a third of the 60-game season. The Reds (9-11) are tied for second place in the National League Central Division with the Milwaukee Brewers (8-10). The Reds beat the Pirates 8-1 on Friday at Great American Ball Park, evening the four-game series at 1-1.
The first-place Chicago Cubs (13-4) have the best record in baseball and lead the division by 5½ games.
Major League Baseball announced its latest COVID-19 testing results Friday. In the past week, there were 12,031 tests done, and four of those tests (0.03 percent) were positive). Two players and two staff members tested positive. All four came from the same organization.
Since testing began, there have been 66,127 samples collected and tested, and 75 of those have been new positive tests. Of those 75, 51 have been players and 24 have been staff members. Nineteen different clubs have had an individual test positive.
The Reds and Pirates both have scheduled off days Monday, which could give them a chance to make up the games with a seven-inning doubleheader. They also play six times in September (Sept. 4-6 in Pittsburgh and Sept. 14-16 in Cincinnati). The Reds played MLB’s first seven-inning doubleheader vs. the Tigers on Aug. 2 because of a rainout the previous day.
After the series vs. the Pirates, the Reds are scheduled to start a two-game series on the road against the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday.
The Associated Press contributed.
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