Reds in search of offense, hope to put chill on Red Sox

Playing conditions are expected to be vastly different for the second game of the season as the visiting Boston Red Sox take on the Cincinnati Reds Saturday afternoon.

With a summer-like temperature of 81 degrees and a stiff 15-mph breeze blowing out to left, the Red Sox captured a 3-0 victory in Thursday's season opener between the teams at Cincinnati. On Saturday, the temperature is not expected to reach 50 as the teams continue the series after a day off.

Cincinnati sends right-hander Brady Singer (14-12, 4.03 in 2025) to the mound, entering the start with questions surrounding a lingering blister on his right index finger. He was hit for six hits, six runs (five earned) in just four innings Monday in a final spring exhibition in Milwaukee. The blister developed March 18, but he was cleared to pitch.

With Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo already on the injured list to start the season, Singer is considered one of Cincinnati's most durable pitchers, leading the Reds with 32 starts last season.

"No matter how I feel, I'm still going to go out there. I don't care how I feel," Singer said. "They pay me to go pitch, so I'm gonna go pitch no matter how I feel or what's going on. Just go do it."

Singer has made five career starts against Boston, posting a 2-2 record with a 4.88 ERA over 24 innings. His last appearance against the Red Sox, on July 1 at Boston, ended after just three innings when he allowed two earned runs on three hits.

The Red Sox counter with former Cincinnati right-hander Sonny Gray, who was 14-8 with a 4.28 in 2025). Gray, acquired in a November trade from the St. Louis Cardinals, was one of Boston's key rotation additions, along with Ranger Suarez, in the offseason.

"He's very specific about his work. Every day has a purpose," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Gray. "Two hundred strikeouts, that's something that we were looking for. The competitor. Every five days, this guy is going to give you everything."

In his five career appearances against the Reds, Gray is 1-3 with a 4.18 ERA.

"It's pretty much one of the only things that is continuing to push me, is to get to a World Series, to win a World Series, to pitch in big games," said Gray. "I love the moment, and I am chasing that moment."

Reds rookie Sal Stewart had three hits in the opener after he was drilled in the left wrist by a 110-mph line drive from Roman Anthony in the fifth inning. Stewart become the first Cincinnati rookie since 1958 to record three hits on Opening Day.

The 3-0 Boston win also highlighted how the new automated ball-strike (ABS) challenge system could impact games.

IBoston won two key challenges leading to Trevor Story and Jarren Duran adding insurance RBI singles with two outs in the ninth. Anthony challenged a third-strike call that would have ended the inning.

"That's going to be part of a strategy," Reds manager Terry Francona said. "Both teams had them left. I think our pitchers are going to have to get used to (not) thinking the inning's over, and it's not. It's almost like when a guy comes out and you say, ‘Hey, way to go. Can you get one more?' So, you're going to have to stay dialed in."

--Field Level Media