Orioles and Reds Collide in a Battle of Mediocrity at Cincinnati

Two teams sitting below .500 meet at Great American Ball Park on Sunday afternoon, and neither can afford to keep dropping games if they want to stay relevant. This one kicks off at 1:05 PM ET on Peacock, and the pitching matchup alone makes it worth watching.

Baltimore comes in at 42-48, Cincinnati at 40-48 — so yes, both clubs are treading water in July, which makes every game feel a little more urgent than it probably should. Kyle Bradish is expected to start for the Orioles, while Nick Lodolo is set to take the mound for the Reds. Two left-side-of-the-rotation arms squaring off in a hitter-friendly ballpark is a setup that could go sideways fast, and the offenses on both sides have the firepower to make that happen.

For Baltimore, Pete Alonso is the name to watch. He's hitting .254 with 19 home runs and 60 RBI on the season — a legitimate middle-of-the-order presence who can change a game with one swing, especially in a park that plays generously to power hitters. If Lodolo leaves anything over the plate, Alonso has the track record to make him pay. On the Cincinnati side, Elly De La Cruz is batting .276 and represents the kind of dynamic threat that can disrupt a pitcher's rhythm in multiple ways. Meanwhile, Sal Stewart has quietly put together a productive season — 17 home runs and 60 RBI — making him one of the more underrated bats in this lineup. The Reds don't need to manufacture runs when Stewart is locked in.

Our model doesn't have a validated read on this game, so we're not going to pretend otherwise or dress up a guess as analysis. What we can say is that this matchup is genuinely competitive on paper — two flawed rosters with real offensive weapons and starting pitchers who could either anchor the game or unravel early. Watch how Bradish and Lodolo handle the opposing lineup's top threats in the first two turns through the order. That's likely where this one gets decided.