Reds Can Take One From Fish Against Their Ace

Reds vs. Marlins, 1:10 ET

When I was younger, probably like eight or nine years old, and I was first really getting into following sports, I didn't understand the concept of series in baseball. You're telling me they play three or four games in a row? Why doesn't the NBA or NHL or even NFL do that? As I got older, it became more evident, but I love the series concept, even here as we get Game 3 of the matchup between the Reds and the Marlins.

The Reds, as a franchise, are a team that has one extremely marketable superstar, and I'm not sure what else going for them outside of Hunter Greene. I may be a little short sighted on this, but I just don't see what the team is trying to build. You have some young talent, but it doesn't seem like they are embracing that enough and truly looking for anything of substance here to build the team. Again, perhaps I'm being too harsh on Cincinnati, but I don't like seeing talent wasted and I'm more worried that if they don't start making some progress, they will lose out on their best players long term. I'm sounding the alarm too much here, especially for a random April series. One person they did add to the team starts today, Brady Singer. Singer has been good since coming over from the Royals, he is 3-0 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. He hasn't gone overly deep in three of the four games, at five innings or less. He has also allowed three earned runs in each of the past three outings. There are only two Marlins hitters who have ever faced Singer, and they are a combined 1-for-6.

This year has been a major struggle for Sandy Alcantara. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images)

The Marlins, as a franchise, are terrible. They do the opposite of what you should be doing. They don't try and retain top talent, they don't go after free agents, and they make really odd trades at times. In any case, the team has actually seen success, but every time they even get to the playoffs it seems like they tear the team down. I just don't get it and probably never will. For this season, the Marlins have actually been pretty respectable. They are hovering around .500 and a good series could put them over. A bad series, of course, could bury them a little bit as well. To try and steal this final game of the series is Sandy Alcantara. Alcantara won the Cy Young a couple of years ago and missed all of last season. In his return, he has struggled. He has allowed multiple runs in each of the games he has started. For the season he has allowed 14 earned runs in 17.1 innings. Reds hitters have been fairly successful against Alcantara with nine hits in 29 at-bats.

Fading Alcantara a few years ago would've been wild, but he is still trying to find himself. Singer has been great so far for the Reds, and I think the Reds offense is better. I'm going to take the Reds here through five innings. I don't really trust the bullpen of either team, but I do trust Singer at the moment more than Alcantara. 

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