APPROVED DEAL: The Cincinnati Reds have officially announced the signing of New York Yankees second baseman on a four-year, $80 million contract. However…

Opening Day-esque lineup backs Andrew Abbott as Reds host A’s

Remember how Andrew Abbott has those stretches where he’s absolutely, positively untouchable? He burst onto the scene with the Cincinnati Reds last year, and across his first 6 starts (37.1 IP) he allowed just 5 ER, culminating with a 7.2 IP outing against the potent San Diego Padres in which he allowed just a lone ER while fanning 12.

It’s a habit of his, really. He set the team record for most scoreless innings to start his big league career, and that became newsworthy enough that googling ‘Andrew Abbott scoreless innings streak’ to try to recall how long the multiple ones he had in the minors prior to that gets buried in the search results.

(He threw a trio of consecutive shutouts over 17.2 IP in May of 2022, for the record, while also finishing that season with a trio of consecutive shutouts across 16.0 IP, too. He’s made quite the habit of this.)

Anyway, it’s Abbott’s day in Cactus League action today for the Reds as they play host to the Oakland A’s in Goodyear. There’s once again no televised feed for this game, which is a shame given that the Reds are rolling out what

appears to be their best, healthiest lineup today from top to bottom. TJ Friedl and Will Benson, I should add, will be playing on consecutive days already.

First pitch is set for 3:05 PM ET, and you can plug it into your ears via 700 WLW or the MLB At-Bat app if you choose.