Spencer Steer carried a 10-game hitting streak into the Cincinnati Reds’ game against the Houston Astros on Friday night, giving the opener at Great American Ball Park a clear focal point before the first pitch. The teams met at 6:10 p.m. ET with Nick Lodolo on the mound for Cincinnati and Mike Burrows starting for Houston.
The Reds entered the game at 20-18 and fifth in the NL Central, while the Astros came in at 15-23 and fifth in the AL West. Lodolo was listed at 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA, while Burrows had a 1-4 record and a 5.97 ERA, setting up a matchup between a home club trying to hold its place and a visitor trying to stop the slide.
Injuries shaped both lineups before the matchup even began. Cincinnati had Eugenio Suárez, Caleb Ferguson and Emilio Pagan on the injured list, along with Hunter Greene and Brandon Williamson on the 60-day injured list and Rhett Lowder day-to-day with a shoulder issue. Houston was also short-handed, with Joey Loperfido, Carlos Correa, Jake Meyers, Taylor Trammell, Jeremy Pena and Yainer Diaz all sidelined, plus Hunter Brown, Nate Pearson and Tatsuya Imai on the 15-day injured list and Hayden Wesneski, Ronel Blanco, Brandon Walter, Cristian Javier and Josh Hader on the 60-day injured list.
The game was part of a watch guide for May 8, with betting, ticketing and streaming links provided by partners of The Athletic. That made the night less about a single at-bat and more about whether the Reds could use home field and Steer’s run of contact to gain ground, while the Astros tried to patch together enough healthy arms and bats to stay afloat.
For Cincinnati, the question was whether Steer’s streak could keep carrying them through a crowded injury picture and a midpack start. For Houston, the concern was larger: a team already five games under.500 had to keep finding answers with a roster built around too many names on the injured list.
