Zach Buchanan

zbuchanan@enquirer.com

Some who clamor for the designated hitter to be adopted in the National League like to point out that it's usually an automatic out when a pitcher bats. Like kickers and extra points in football, there's no drama.

Well, DH evangelists, watch more Reds games. Because right now, the Reds are having some problems retiring opposing pitchers. They entered Thursday's series finale against the Chicago Cubs allowing pitchers to hit .313 with a .764 OPS, better numbers than the combined averages of the other eight spots in the lineup. Those numbers only went up after Cubs starter Jason Hammel doubled off Raisel Iglesias on Thursday.

The Reds have now given up an NL-worst six hits to pitchers, including a pair of doubles. Opposing pitchers have also earned two walks. Only one of those sluggin' pitchers, Jeremy Hellickson, has ever shown any relative aptitude at the plate.

Like most trends this early in the year, this will even out in the end. But if you're curious, the team record for hits allowed to pitcher is 117 in 1936, which of course was a far different era of baseball. The record for the last 40 years is 58, reached three times, most recently in 2008. The Reds are on pace for 108.

Show-Me Series?

It's not very shocking that the Cubs swept the Reds given the relative circumstances under which each team entered the season. It may have been a bit surprising to see the Reds sweep the Philadelphia Phillies to start the year, but the fabric of space-time remained intact. The Phillies are supposed to be terrible, anyway.

The only series so far to truly raise an eyebrow was Cincinnati's 2-1 series win over the Pittsburgh Pirates last week. With the Reds making their first trip to the Show Me State beginning Friday, it could be the best gauge yet at what this team is really made of.

The Cardinals haven't been tested much. They dropped their opening series to the Pirates 3-0, but then claimed five of six from expected cellar-dwellers Atlanta and Milwaukee. St. Louis has also suffered some key injuries to Jhonny Peralta and Marco Gonzales. This may be as vulnerable as they'll get.

Then again, the last time the Reds won the season series against the Cardinals was 2011.

Minor-league roundup

Triple-A: RHP Robert Stephenson pitched a strong game in his first outing back in the minors, but the Louisville Bats fell 2-0 to the Toledo Mud Hens on Thursday. Stephenson gave up just one earned run over six innings, and struck out seven against one walk. LF Jesse Winker went 2 for 4. [Box]

Double-A: The Pensacola Blue Wahoos beat the Jacksonville Suns 4-1 on Thursday, but starting pitching prospect Sal Romano left the game after five innings due to an apparent groin injury. He gave up just one run and three hits in five innings, striking out seven. 1B Donald Lutz went 1 for 2 with two walks. [Box]

High-A: The Daytona Tortugas took a tough 1-0 loss to the Palm Beach Cardinals on Thursday, giving up the winning run in the first and then nothing thereafter. Starting pitching prospect Keury Mella scattered eight hits over 5 2/3 innings. RF Aristides Aquino doubles and had another outfield assist. [Box]

Low-A: The Dayton Dragons got blown out 9-1 by the West Michigan Whitecaps on Thursday. RHP Jose Lopez gave up six runs in 3 1/3 innings. C Tyler Stephenson, last year's first-rounder, went hitless and is batting .105 so far. [Box]

And because you made it this far...

» There seems to be no pretty way for the Pablo Sandoval situation to be resolved.

» Here's a quiz on the bird's-eye view of baseball stadiums. I got 13 of 18.

» This is sad news about one of the Cincinnati Zoo's preemie cheetah cubs.

» Today in Zach Watches Too Many Movies and TV Shows: Saw the new version of The Jungle Book last night. I liked it a lot, and the young actor who plays Mowgli is very impressive considering his screen partners are all CGI creations. I would have liked it a lot better if the sound mix hadn't drowned out the dialogue in the beginning, and then blown out the speakers altogether later on. They had to stop the movie for a good 30 minutes to figure out how to fix it.

» I crave your follows (@ZachENQ) and Reds app downloads.