At-Bat with Matt: How have the Reds performed against elite pitching?

Opening weekend did not go very well for the Reds as they were swept by the Washington Nationals. The Reds faced a very tall task as the Nat’s top three starters (Scherzer, Strasburg, Gonzalez) all finished in the top six of National League Cy Young Voting in 2017. The Reds offense, as you might expect when facing pitching of that caliber, was relatively non-existent.

Earlier that week, Joel Luckhaupt had an article in The Athletic in which he proposed that Joey Votto would not have as tough of a time against the strong pitching. Votto’s career OPS vs Cy Young winners was 1.019 heading into this season, good for second all-time (min. 250 PA) behind Ted Williams. It’s no secret that Votto can…