There’s a lot to like about this Cincinnati Reds lineup:
35-year old Joey Votto doesn’t have the best on base percentage in baseball, but his pitch recognition and control of the strike zone makes him a logical fit for the leadoff spot (he’s done it a bunch of times already this season). He doesn’t have much speed, of course (his 25.3 feet per second is below the average of 27 feet/sec — he’s been recorded as a tenth of a second faster than Nick Hundley and slower than Matt Kemp), but he averages about 4 pitches per plate appearance, a good skill for David Bell to deploy in a night that’s all about the rookies.