Thursday’s Quick Lineup and Pre-Gamer: Last Game of Road Trip

Save us, Matt Cain. Only one win on this road trip that is entering its tenth and final game. The topic of the day (besides *AMERICA*) is the rain in Cincinnati, and the Reds have made it very clear that they are going to try and get this game in, and with the Giants needing to travel home today, I’m sure they’re stoked to hear the news. The beat writers have said the Giants are prepared to stay in Cincy through the night.

From Reds COO Phil Castellini on getting in today’s game:

"“We recognize today’s forecast indicates the potential for rain throughout our region, but there also appears to be a chance we can get the game in,” said Reds Chief Operating Officer Phil Castellini. “We could see a rain delay but we are going to do everything we can to play ball, in part because of the absence of an equitable common day off between the two teams the rest of the regular season.”"

Word is that the league can step in to make a ruling since this is a team’s last day in a particular city. I’m pretty sure a team cannot play more than twenty-something games in a row without league approval, so that’s probably going to be avoided. We’ll see how this flies, but I’m hoping that if the rain is a burden all that, that this game gets postponed and we push it back for later when the

Giants are playing better

teams have a day they can both play again at Great American Ballpark. Here’s the lineup for the Giants, should they play today:

Day game after a night game, with no day off tomorrow, so no surprise Buster Posey is getting the day off — a real day off. The Reds will throw this out there, with Mike Leake on the bump:

Jun 17, 2013; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Mike Leake (44) pitches during the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports

Since the game is starting in less than twenty minutes, I’m going to cut straight to the other news:

A feature on 2012 1st round pick Chris Stratton from the people at MiLB.com.

An update on Fresno OF Gary Brown and Roger Kieschnick, whom are often topics of conversation regarding help to the outfield:

I have not heard suggestions from scouts saying either of the two are or are not ready, so for the moment I’m going to take their word for it.

Top prospect Kyle Crick had another great outing, and the first video really showcased his fastball and breaking ball pretty well. The way the Giants are playing though, Crick’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

The game is scheduled to start at 10:10AM PST, but we’ll see about that. Have a great and safe 4th of July, everybody!