Lodolo vs. Webb: Two Struggling Clubs Meet at Oracle Park

Two teams well below .500 collide at Oracle Park this afternoon, with Cincinnati (62-71) holding a meaningful edge in the standings over San Francisco (54-78). There's no model read to anchor this one, so the matchup itself has to do the talking.

Neither of these clubs is playing for much at this point in August, but that doesn't make the individual storylines any less compelling. Nick Lodolo is expected to take the mound for the Reds, while Logan Webb is set to start for the Giants — a pitching duel that, on paper, is the most interesting thing about this afternoon's 3:45 PM ET first pitch.

On the Cincinnati side, the player to watch is Sal Stewart, who has quietly put together a season worth paying attention to. A .263 average is modest, but 28 home runs and 99 RBI tell a different story — Stewart is one of the more productive bats in this lineup and is knocking on the door of a 100-RBI campaign. That kind of production from a Reds hitter deserves recognition even if the team's record doesn't. For San Francisco, the offensive picture is split between two contributors. Jung Hoo Lee is hitting .289 and providing the Giants with one of their more reliable contact bats, while Rafael Devers has matched Stewart's 28 home runs and added 74 RBI. Devers gives San Francisco a legitimate middle-of-the-order threat, and if Webb can keep the Reds off the board early, the Giants' lineup has enough to make things interesting at home.

Our model doesn't have a validated read on this game, so I won't pretend otherwise or manufacture a lean. What I will say is this: when two losing teams meet in late August, individual performances tend to stand out more sharply against the backdrop of a meaningless game. Watch Stewart, watch Devers, and watch whether Lodolo and Webb can give their respective bullpens a rest. That's the real subplot here.