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Outfielder Jake Fraley became the fourth Cincinnati Reds player to land on the injured list this week, continuing a spate of injuries that would test the fortitude of most rosters.

The Reds showcased their resilience on Saturday, though, slugging their way to a 13-9 road victory over the Houston Astros to set up a rubber match in this three-game interleague series on Sunday.

The Reds had dropped six of seven games before putting up 10 runs in the top of the first. While it marked a timely outburst, the Reds weren’t in the doldrums over their recent, rotten injury luck.

“We keep an eye on the barometer or the temperature pretty good,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “They’ve been good. We haven’t had as much success as we want, but they’ve been enthusiastic.

“We’re not winning as many games as we want lately. We’re trying to make that change.”

Houston won the opener 3-0 on Friday.

Rookie right-hander Chase Petty (0-1, 34.71 ERA), listed by MLB Pipeline as the No. 97 prospect in baseball, has the starting assignment for the Reds on Sunday. He made his major league debut on April 30 in the second game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals and allowed nine runs on seven hits and two walks with three strikeouts over 2 1/3 innings in a 9-1 home loss.

At 22 years and 26 days old, he became the youngest Reds pitcher to appear in a game since right-hander Homer Bailey did so against the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 30, 2007, at 21 years and 150 days old.

Petty has an 0-2, 3.52 ERA record at Triple-A Louisville, where he has 35 strikeouts over 29 innings.

Right-hander Ronel Blanco (2-3, 4.98 ERA) is the scheduled starter for the Astros. He absorbed a 5-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday after allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks with six strikeouts over six innings. Blanco has surrendered at least three runs in five of seven starts this season, with his outing against the Brewers just his second quality start of 2025.

Blanco has faced the Reds once in his career. He allowed five runs on seven hits and two walks with five strikeouts in 5? innings but did not factor into the decision of a 9-7 loss on June 18, 2023.

Looking ahead, with right-hander Hayden Wesneski (right elbow inflammation) placed on the 15-day injured list on Friday, right-hander Ryan Gusto appears to be a likely candidate to rejoin the starting rotation. Gusto (3-1, 2.93 ERA) rejoined the bullpen after Lance McCullers Jr. claimed a spot in the rotation on Saturday but previously made four starts last month, going 2-1 with a 3.79 ERA.

The Astros will host the Kansas City Royals for a three-game series starting Monday.

“Right now he is in the mix for that series against Kansas City,” Astros manager Joe Espada said of Gusto. “We’re still trying to figure out the order. We still need to narrow it down and figure out what our rotation is going to look like for the next couple of days.”

–Field Level Media