Here’s something you may not have realized before tonight. Dairon Blanco, who got his first start of the road trip in left field thanks to the left-handed Nick Lodolo starting for the Reds, wears the number 44. This is significant because that’s the same number the Reds’ superstar shortstop, Elly De La Cruz wears. And, for tonight, at least. Blanco looked like a right-handed, outfield playing De La Cruz. But we’ll come back to that in a moment.
The Royals made it clear early that Lodolo was not going to be able to do much to stop them.