Cincinnati Reds Face Interesting Challenge from Washington Nationals Pitcher on Monday

Reds were mostly shut down a year ago today by Nationals' Monday probable starter

Jul 13, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Jake Irvin (27) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

The Cincinnati Reds face an interesting test on Monday night as Jake Irvin takes the hill for the Washington Nationals. On the surface, it may not look like it, but a year ago today Irvin figured something out against this Reds lineup.

Irvin’s year has been ho-hum. He leads the National League in home runs allowed and has seen an increase in traffic on the base paths, compared to last year, while also suffering a drop in strikeouts.

Still, his last outing against the Reds sticks in the back of my mind. He tossed seven innings of two-run ball with seven strikeouts. The two runs were home runs, but only solo home runs. He allowed no walks and scattered the three hits that weren’t homers.

The impressive (or worrisome, depending on your point of view) part about his start was that ALL SEVEN of his strikeouts were when he threw his four-seam fastball. It is a solid, if unspectacular pitch, and Irvin is right handed, which makes it all the more confusing why the Reds didn’t hit that pitch well. The key is how Irvin throws it.

Baseball Savant

He’s not good at much, but according to Baseball Savant, Irvin is one of the best pitchers at getting extension on his delivery. That means that any of the velocity numbers we see for his pitches play up to the hitter at the plate. It’s a measure of deception that a pitcher can have.

We will know right away if it is working for Irvin. He struck out the first two Reds to come to the plate in last year’s game (Jonathan India and Elly De La Cruz) before ending the first frame with a ground out.

Noelvi Marte was one of the Reds to homer off Irvin.

I am hopeful the Reds can continue the trend that Irvin has faced of subpar performances. I am worried he is due for a get-right game tonight. We will know early on which story will play out.

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