Game 4: Reds at Phillies (6:40 PM ET) – Abbott vs. Sanchez

Andrew Abbott makes his season debut.

Andrew Abbott’s rookie season in 2023 was a tale of two very distinct halves.

Through his first 10 starts, he was a borderline ace-in-the-making. He allowed just 13 ER in 61.2 IP (a 1.90 ERA), and did so while allowing opponents to post just a .581 OPS against him. That included his historic run of allowing nary a run in any of his first 3 starts (17.2 IP), and the lefty looked the part of rotation stalwart going forward without a blink.

Blink, though, he and the rest of the baseball world did. Over his next 11 starts to wrap the season, he was tagged for 34 ER in just 47.2 IP (a 6.42 ERA), with opponents roasting him to the tune of a .919 OPS. Joey Votto, for his career, owns a .920 OPS.

Was Abbott just tired? Did the league figure him out? Are there any sort of adjustments he can make to replicate what we saw from him to begin last year?

We’ll begin to get an idea when Abbott takes the mound on Monday evening in Philadelphia as the Cincinnati Reds take to the road for the first time in 2024. Abbott’s first start of the new year will come against the potent Phillies offense, though lefties Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper might have their work cut out for them against the young Cincinnati lefthander – Abbott yielded just a .495 OPS to LHH in 2023.

Philadelphia will counter with an emerging lefthander of their own, as Cristopher Sanchez will toe the rubber for them in the series opener. Sanchez emerged as a legitimate rotation option in 2023, tossing 99.1 IP across 19 G (18 GS) and owning an impressive 3.44 ERA (125 ERA+). As a result, Reds manager David Bell has turned to his platoon options where he can in the starting lineup.

First pitch is set for 6:40 PM ET.

Reds Lineup

Phillies Lineup