Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona (77) consoles pitcher Tony Santillan (64) after back-to-back home runs in the ninth inning of the MLB Interleague game against the Houston Astros at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Friday, May 8, 2026. The Reds lost the series opener, 10-0.
The boos from the home crowd rained down on the Cincinnati Reds after another lopsided loss Friday night, but manager Terry Francona remains resolute in supporting his struggling team.
Cincinnati heads into Saturday afternoon’s matchup against the Houston Astros on an eight-game losing streak. Houston opened the three-game series with a dominant 10-0 shutout victory on Friday.
Zach Cole, Zach Dezenzo, Yordan Alvarez, and Christian Vazquez all homered for the Astros, who recorded their third shutout of the season. The Reds managed only five hits and were blanked for the fourth time this year. Cincinnati has lost nine of its last 10 games, falling to last place in the National League Central, seven games behind the first-place Chicago Cubs.
On May 1, the Reds and Cubs were tied for first in the division. Since then, Chicago has rattled off 10 consecutive wins.
“It’s going to take everyone in this clubhouse to get out of this,” said Cincinnati third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes. “We’ve just got to keep working hard. We’ve just got to be better. If we don’t want to hear boos, we’ve got to be better. We’ve got to win games.”
The Reds have been outscored 60-23 during their losing streak, and the loudest jeers came during Houston’s five-run ninth inning on Friday. Francona pushed back against the notion that his team had lost its competitive edge.
“I don’t ever think our guys don’t compete,” Francona said. “I never feel that way. It’s not going the way we want to right now, that’s for sure. But this is when me and the coaches have to be there for them. We’re going to go through this with them.”
Saturday’s pitching matchup features two right-handers: Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti (4-0, 1.96 ERA) faces Cincinnati’s Chase Burns (3-1, 2.20 ERA).
Arrighetti allowed one run over five innings in a 6-3 road win over the Boston Red Sox last Saturday. He remains unbeaten in his first four starts, relying heavily on his sinker.
“That’s a pitch I haven’t really thrown a ton in the big leagues so far, and I was able to throw it really effectively today and I was really happy about that,” Arrighetti said after the game. “I didn’t really have the changeup; the curveball was spotty at best. I feel like I had to find other ways, and I was able to make it happen.”
Reds outfielder JJ Bleday is 6-for-10 with three doubles against Arrighetti, who will make his second career start vs. Cincinnati. In his first, on Sept. 4, 2024, Arrighetti recorded just two outs, allowed nine runs (three earned), and walked three in a 12-5 loss to the Reds.
Cincinnati counters with Burns, who struck out seven and allowed three hits over seven scoreless innings in a no-decision against the Pittsburgh Pirates last Sunday. The Reds lost 1-0.
Burns owns a 46-to-13 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his first seven starts covering 41 innings. He will face Houston for the first time in his career.
The Astros received a spark on Friday from Dezenzo, whose two-run shot in the second inning was his first homer of the season.
Vazquez is set to receive regular playing time at catcher after Yainer Diaz landed on the injured list with a left oblique strain on Tuesday.
“Vazquez is a veteran guy who’s having a really good year, so we’re very comfortable with him,” Astros general manager Dana Brown said. “We’ll see how it plays out.”
