The five biggest reasons that the Reds had a winning month of July

Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell has said the Reds have much higher aspirations than posting a winner record during a stretch of games. But after injuries, inconsistent pitching and bad breaks in big moments defined the first three months of the season, the Reds had their best month of the year in July.

The Reds went 14-12 in July, posting a winning record while most of the team’s best players had to navigate their status on the trading block.

“I think there were a lot of times we showed ourselves what we were capable of doing,” Bell said. “I think the Yankees series, I know it’s just one series and in baseball that doesn’t mean anything, but it was an example of what is possible. It was great for our team to be a part of that series and part of those games. I think there were other examples of us playing the way we set up to play. That’s our goal to play that way for the whole second half.”

The bittersweet reality for the Reds is that most of the players who fueled that run might not be playing for them after the trade deadline. Ace Luis Castillo has already been traded, and Tyler Mahle, Brandon Drury and Tommy Pham are popular trade targets.

Still, the Reds’ positive month of July showed some of what the Reds will need to be more consistent going forward. Here are the five reasons the Reds had their best month of the season in July.

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1. Jonathan India looks even better than he did in 2021

Pick a favorite moment from India’s July.

His homer on July 10 against the Pittsburgh Pirates that started a seven-run third inning. His go-ahead single in the top of the 10th inning in the series opener against the New York Yankees. His single that began a rally in the 8th in the series finale in New York. Both times in the last week that he finished a triple short of the cycle.

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Over the last month, India hit .290 with a .892 OPS. In nine of the Reds’ 14 wins in July, India delivered a clutch at-bat in a game-changing inning.

After missing nearly two months early in the season with a hamstring injury, India looks like himself again.

“He has played himself back into really where he was last season, which was obviously, we know he had a great year,” Bell said. “In some ways, he’s playing even better right now.”

2. Nick Lodolo’s breakout month

Over the last month, Lodolo has said he’s learned the lesson that he should locate his pitches right down the middle. They move enough to cut to the edges of the plate, and Lodolo has figured out how to get the best versions of his fastball and his breaking ball.

The Reds won four of Lodolo’s five starts in July, and his two most recent outings were the best ones of his career.

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“I’ve never seen a left-handed slider like that in my career,” Drury said. “I’m very high on Lodolo. He could be extremely special and I think he’s going to keep getting better too, as he learns whatever he needs to get better at, pitching at the top or whatever it is. I think stuff-wise, he’s incredible.”

3. Consistent starting pitching

Bell has said that if he was starting a team from scratch, the strength that he’d pick would be starting pitching. Over the last month, the Reds got their best stretches of the season from Lodolo, Mahle, Castillo and Hunter Greene, who had a 3.63 ERA in his final three starts of July.

Greene’s gem against the Tampa Bay Rays, allowing one run in six innings, set the Reds up for a walk-off win. Ashcraft battled in the season opener in New York and pitched five quality innings in a game where he didn’t have his best command or his best stuff.

The Reds’ biggest challenge for the rest of the season will be replacing Castillo and any other starting pitcher who departs via trade. Greene, Lodolo and Graham Ashcraft have bright futures, but they’ve never pitched this deep into a season before.

4. A bounce back month in the bullpen

The team leader in wins in July was relief pitcher Reiver Sanmartin, who posted a 0.79 ERA in 11 ⅓ innings. At the start of the month, Sanmartin had a 9.99 ERA, and Bell was looking for low-leverage situations that could help Sanmartin gain confidence. Now, Bell is targeting tough sequences of left-handed relievers in opposing lineups to get Sanmartin into the game.

Relievers Buck Farmer and Hunter Strickland both had stretches where they pitched with as much confidence as any Reds reliever.

5. Success against some of the best relievers in MLB

After three months without a walk-off win, the Reds had late-game heroics against some of the best relievers in MLB in July.

The Reds beat Atlanta Braves reliever A.J. Minter (1.59 ERA), Yankees reliever Clay Holmes (0.46 ERA), Baltimore Orioles reliever Félix Bautista (1.50 ERA) and a Rays bullpen that has the seventh-lowest ERA in MLB.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds record in July was a winning one