The Reds Bullpen Has a 5.13 ERA Right Now, and Nobody in Baseball Is Ready For This Collapse

Holy smokes, what in the world is happening out in Cincinnati? The Reds were flying high, nine games over .500 at the end of April, looking like they were going to shake things up. Now, they've absolutely cratered, stumbling into a series against the equally struggling Arizona Diamondbacks. They've dropped six of their last seven games, including a gut-punch 5-4 loss to the Padres on Wednesday, and are now three games under .500. This is a nosedive, plain and simple, and it's making a lot of us around the league scratch our heads.

From Elite to Embarrassing: Cincinnati's Bullpen Meltdown

You know it's bad when the manager, Terry Francona, is out there saying, "The results are not what we want. There's no getting around that." He's right, results don't lie. But the real story of this Reds collapse? It's their bullpen. These guys went from being studs to duds in a blink. At the end of April, Cincinnati's relievers boasted the majors' fifth-best ERA at a stellar 3.44. Fifth best! That's lockdown stuff. Fast forward to now, and that ERA has ballooned to an alarming 5.13, ranking them 29th in all of baseball. TWENTY-NINTH! How does that even happen? Reds reliever Caleb Ferguson knows the deal, saying, "You're allowed to have skids in this game and they're going to happen. You just got to get out of them." He's trying to stay positive, claiming they're "really, really close" to turning it around. But man, that 5.13 ERA isn't "close" to anything good. They gotta figure out how to make those pitches and find their April magic again, or this skid is gonna sink their season before it even gets hot.

Arizona's Struggles Add to the Mess

And get this, the Reds aren't even crashing alone. They're about to face an Arizona Diamondbacks team that's also in a world of hurt. The D-backs got shut out by the Miami Marlins on both Wednesday and Thursday, which is just brutal. They've dropped five of their last six games, falling back to .500 for the first time since May 18. Think about that: a month of fighting to stay above water, and now they're right back where they started. They haven't won a series since sweeping the San Francisco Giants way back on May 25-27, a run that improved them to 31-24. That feels like ages ago! The D-backs are rolling with Eduardo Rodriguez (5-2, 2.52 ERA) to try and stop the bleeding in the series opener on Friday. This dude still ranks fifth in the National League in ERA, which is wild considering he gave up four runs and six hits over 6 1/3 innings in a 6-1 loss to the Nationals last Saturday. His manager, Torey Lovullo, even wondered if he "could have clipped him an at-bat earlier." Ouch. For the Reds, they're sending Nick Lodolo (2-1, 5.51 ERA) to the mound. He didn't get a decision in his last outing, giving up four runs and 10 hits in five-plus innings against the Cardinals last Saturday. So, here we go. Two teams in a full-blown freefall are about to clash. The three-game series kicks off Friday. For both squads, it's about trying to find *anything* to build on. Someone's gotta win, right? Let's see who can finally get out of their own way.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.