Cincinnati Reds

A streaker who ran on the field during a rain delay between the Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals on Wednesday night tried to hide in the tarp roller before being removed by security.

Lorenzo Reyes of USA Today noted the male streaker, whose name wasn't released, entered through center field and was arrested after being caught by authorities at Nationals Park.

It's unknown if the man has been charged with any crimes.

Washington was leading 3-0 in the fourth inning when the rain delay was called. The Nats scored twice in the first inning and once in the third.

The game was ultimately suspended and will resume at 2:05 p.m. ET on Thursday afternoon. The clubs will then play a seven-inning game, tentatively scheduled for 7:05 p.m., to finish the three-game series.

Cincinnati won the first matchup on Tuesday by a 2-1 score.

Cincinnati Reds star Nick Castellanos had some unique motivation when he hit a two-run home run that tied Saturday's game against the Colorado Rockies.  

In a post-game interview with Bally Sports Ohio, a Reds fan said he told Castellanos to imagine commissioner Rob Manfred's face on the ball before the at-bat (h/t Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer). Perhaps with that in mind, Castellanos went yard. 

Castellanos may have been harboring anger toward the commissioner, as he was hit with a two-game suspension in April for "instigating a benches-clearing incident" after he taunted St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jake Woodford. 

No punches were thrown in the incident, per Nightengale. 

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Amir Garrett had his suspension, which was a result of the benches-clearing incident during a May 1 game against the Chicago Cubs, reduced from seven games to five games.

Per C. Trent Rosencrans of The Athletic, Garrett will begin serving his suspension Tuesday night when the Reds play the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

In the top of the eighth, Garrett struck out Anthony Rizzo for the second out of the inning. He took a few steps toward the Cubs first baseman and was screaming and pounding his chest in excitement. 

Several players in the Cubs dugout—including Javier Baez, who jumped the dugout railing to get onto the field—took exception to Garrett's actions, leading them to storm onto the field. Eventually both benches exchanged words before things calmed. No punches were thrown. 

"He's got a style. We all get that," Baez told reporters after the game. "But I'm just not going let him or anyone disrespect my teammates or my team. It was not a big situation, you know? I'm going to try to stay professional with this, but … it doesn't matter who does it in the game—if someone else does it again, we'll go out there again."

MLB initially announced a seven-game suspension for Garrett "for inciting a benches-clearing incident." He appealed the decision, which allowed him to keep playing until a final decision was announced. 

Garrett is in his fifth season with the Reds. The 29-year-old lefty has an 8.71 ERA in 12 appearances in 2021. He will be eligible to return Sunday against the Colorado Rockies.     

Wade Miley sported a temporary Incredible Hulk tattoo given to him by his son for his no-hitter Friday.

Teammate Nick Castellanos thinks he needs to make it permanent.

"Well now he's got to get it for real—you know. Obviously," Castellanos told reporters. "That's the easy answer is you got a fake one, you threw a no-no. Now you make it for real."

Miley struck out eight and walked just one on his way to earning his first career no-hitter against Cleveland. Speaking after the game, Miley said his four-year-old son, Jeb, gave him the Hulk tattoo on his forearm before the Reds made the trip to Cleveland.

While he said the tattoo was good luck, Miley admitted his fear of needles may keep him from making things permanent:

"I don't know. I'm so scared of needles right now, I don't even want to think about this tattoo. I'm gonna try to get my wife to order as many Hulk tattoos as she can. Maybe I'll just slap on them before every start—let (Jeb) do it. He actually put this on and everything. He had to have it right here. I put it on my shoulder so I could hide it. He had to have it on my forearm. And that's what we went with. He loves the Avengers and stuff like that so I'm rocking it. ... I've got no muscles at all. I'm shriveled up. But maybe this gave me some strength, I don't know. It was fun."

Miley is in the midst of a career-best season, posting a 4-2 record with a 2.00 ERA and 0.75 WHIP through his first six starts. 

Cincinnati Reds lefty Wade Miley has added to Major League Baseball's early-season onslaught of no-hitters. 

Miley held Cleveland to no hits with eight strikeouts and one walk in the Reds' 3-0 victory at Progressive Field on Friday night. 

Since the 2021 season began on 37 days ago, there have already been four no-hitters thrown. Cleveland has gone hitless twice in its first 31 games after being shut down by Carlos Rodon of the Chicago White Sox on April 14. 

Zach Plesac has started for Cleveland both times the team has been no-hit. He threw eight scoreless innings against the Reds. 

Cincinnati finally broke through in the top of the ninth against Emmanuel Clase. After the first two batters singled, Clase committed an error trying to turn a groundball into a double play. His throw went into center field, allowing Nick Senzel to score. 

Clase balked in a run and gave up an RBI single to Mike Moustakas before being removed. 

Miley is off to a fantastic start for the Reds in 2021. The former All-Star lowered his ERA to 2.00 over 36 innings in six starts.  

Joe Musgrove of the San Diego Padres (April 9 vs. Pittsburgh Pirates), Rodon and John Means of the Baltimore Orioles (May 5 vs. Reds) tossed the other no-hitters this season. 

That list doesn't include Madison Bumgarner's seven-inning no-hitter against the Atlanta Braves on April 25 in the second game of a doubleheader. MLB rules dictate that neither a team nor pitcher will officially be credited with a no-no in a seven-inning game of a doubleheader unless it goes into extra innings. 

It's no secret that offensive numbers have been down so far in 2021. ESPN.com noted that hitters posted a collective .232 batting average in the month of April, five points lower than the 1968 season that resulted in MLB lowering the pitcher's mound.   

The last season to feature four no-hitters was in 2019. MLB looks like it is going to blow past that number this year. 

Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto is expected to be out for a month after fracturing his left thumb, manager David Bell told reporters on Tuesday. 

Votto, 37, is hitting .229 to go along with five home runs and 17 RBI for the 13-15 Reds, who are third in the National League Central.

The 15-year veteran has been one of the game's best hitters since the late 2000s, batting .303 and earning a .933 lifetime OPS. The six-time All-Star has finished top seven in the MVP voting six times, winning in 2010.

Votto has experienced a regression in recent years, though, as his OPS dipped from 1.032 in 2017 to .768 overall two seasons later. Votto, who has led MLB in walks on four occasions, also struck out 123 times versus 76 bases on balls. In 2020, he hit a career-low .226.

Votto's regression isn't particularly surprising, given his age. But Votto is still a productive player and an A-plus teammate. Of note, ex-Reds outfielder Yasiel Puig said Votto is "the best guy [he's] ever met."

Without him in the lineup, the Reds can have a few options. The best one is likely moving Mike Moustakas from second base to first and inserting a to-be-determined player at second. Kyle Farmer is a top option there. The Reds can also opt to roll with Alex Blandino.

MLB has upheld its two-game suspension of Cincinnati Reds outfielder Nick Castellanos, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. 

Passan explained the circumstances of the initial suspension, which stemmed from an incident against the St. Louis Cardinals on April 3:

Even though Castellanos walked away from the situation once benches cleared, the league announced he would be suspended "for his aggressive actions and for instigating" the brawl.

"I am disappointed that Nick was suspended even though he did not initiate physical contact," Reds manager David Bell said when the suspension was announced. "I am hopeful that when baseball is played with emotion, the players will be protected from dangerous and unnecessary retaliation."

Cardinals pitcher Jake Woodford initially hit Castellanos with a pitch and escalated the situation after the run scored. Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina was also involved and grabbed the Reds player before benches cleared. However, neither Woodford nor Molina was suspended.

Castellanos is in the midst of a strong 2021 season to this point, hitting .295 with five home runs and 10 RBI in 15 games. His current .623 slugging percentage ranks 16th in the majors and would easily be the best of his career, although it's a small sample size.

His play has helped the Reds build a 9-6 record for first place in the NL Central.

Cincinnati will miss his production in the lineup over the next two games, but it can create an opening in the lineup for both Tyler Naquin and Jesse Winker at the corner outfield spots.

Amir Garrett sounded a bit like wrestling legend Ric Flair when he told reporters Tuesday he wants the Cincinnati Reds to be viewed as the "cockiest team ever."

"We're some bat-flippin', showboatin', son of a guns," the Reds reliever told reporters. "I want everybody to know that."

The Reds won their third straight game Monday night, with Mike Moustakas and Nick Castellanos both homering in a 5-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Earlier in the day, Castellanos received a two-game suspension stemming from the brawl between players from the Reds and St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday. Cardinals star Yadier Molina took exception to how the veteran outfielder celebrated after scoring in the fourth inning.

The Reds have made five playoff appearances since winning the 1990 World Series. Most of the roster was responsible for a two-game sweep at the hands of the Atlanta Braves in last year's wild-card round series.

Typically you want to win something before you start getting cocky, but sometimes self-confidence can breed positive results on the field.

Cincinnati Reds prospect Mac Wainwright was indicted on two counts of rape and gross sexual imposition in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, in November 2020, according to Bobby Nightengale and Quinlan Bentley of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

"Mac Wainwright, the Reds' fourth-round pick in the June 2020 first-year player draft, is on administrative leave and is not participating in minor league spring training camp at the team's player development complex in Goodyear," the Reds said in a statement. "We have no further comment."

Nightengale and Bentley reported Wainwright entered a plea of not guilty and posted a $10,000 bond on December 22.

The 18-year-old outfielder from the Cleveland area is ranked the 22nd-best prospect in the Reds' farm system by MLB Pipeline and wasn't expected to arrive in the major leagues before 2024.

Originally committed to play college ball at Ohio State, Wainwright instead signed with the Reds as the No. 113 overall pick in 2020 out of St. Edward High School.

Wainwright has yet to appear in a game at any level since being drafted.

Cincinnati Reds outfielder Nick Castellanos has been suspended two games by Major League Baseball after he was ejected following a bench-clearing brawl between the Reds and St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday.

Per Jon Heyman of MLB Network and WFAN Sports Radio, Castellanos is appealing the decision.

The 29-year-old was fined as well, per Jessica Kleinschmidt of NBC Sports Bay Area:

Players who also received undisclosed fines include Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, third baseman Nolan Arenado and relief pitcher Jordan Hicks, per Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. Reds infielder Eugenio Suarez and outfielder Jesse Winker were fined as well.

Castellanos flexed and yelled over Cardinals relief pitcher Jake Woodford after scoring on a wild pitch. Molina ran up from behind and pushed Castellanos, and the two benches and bullpens cleared.

Numerous events led to that moment, as Derrick S. Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch explained Saturday:

Joel Sherman of the New York Post and MLB Network provided his take:

The Reds-Cardinals series finished Sunday with no further incident in the rubber match, which Cincinnati won 12-1 to take two of three from the Redbirds.

After the game Saturday, reporters asked crew chief Jim Reynolds why Castellanos was ejected (per C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic).

"Because we felt that he was, after sliding into home, he re-engaged the pitcher in unnecessary fashion and that’s why he was ejected," Reynolds said.

Asked why Molina didn't get ejected, he responded: "Because sometimes contact happens between players and umpires that is not aggressive. That is why he was not ejected."

Castellanos is on fire to start 2021, hitting .545 with two home runs and five RBI.

With his suspension under appeal, he should be in the lineup for the Reds' home game Monday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.