Why You Shouldn't Panic Over Reds Offensive Woes on Opening Day

Opening Day was a day to forget for the Reds' offense, but there is a reason why. Red Sox Opening Day starter Garrett Crochet is one of the best pitchers in all of Major League Baseball. He was second in the league for the American CY Young Award in 2025.

The Reds mustered up just four hits all day long. In the sixth inning, the Reds had the bases loaded with one out, with Eugenio Suarez and Spencer Steer due up. Crochet struck them both out to strand the bases loaded.

This is What Crochet Does

Mar 26, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet (35) pitches against the Cincinnati Reds in the third inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

The Reds aren't the only team that struggles against Crochet. Essentially, the entire league does. In 2025, the left-hander gave up two runs or fewer in 25 of his 32 starts. In fact, he gave up one run or less in 17 of his 32 starts.

In 32 starts last season, the 26-year-old struck out 255 batters in 205 1/3 innings and had an ERA of just 2.59.

“He’s the ace,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told MLB.com's Ian Browne. “He did an amazing job using all his pitches. That last inning started with a walk, and then he just found it back and finished strong and gave us a chance for the offense to cash in.”

If the Reds make the postseason, they're going to have to find a way to drive in runs against good pitchers, but it's certainly not time to panic about Cincinnati's offense.

Eugenio Suarez - Feast or Famine

Mar 20, 2026; Mesa, Arizona, USA; Cincinnati Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez (28) leads off against the Chicago Cubs in the third inning at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

Reds fans were ecstatic when they came to an agreement with Eugenio Suarez on a one-year deal in the offseason. Suarez is the power bat that the team greatly missed a season ago.

However, we’re also going to see what we saw on Thursday quite a bit. Suarez struck out twice with runners in scoring position.

“It’s the first day,” Suarez told Charlie Goldsmith of Charlie's Chalkboard after the game. “They pitched well. We did the same. Tomorrow is another day. We’ve got to keep putting pressure on them and see what happens.”

Suárez hits plenty of home runs, but he also strikes out a lot. In 2025, he struck out 196 times. The four years before that were 176, 214, 195, and 171.

At this age in his career, the veteran isn't going to be a player who hits for a high average or that gets on base at a high clip.

If he hits 35 or more home runs, the strikeouts will be worth it.