Reds' Santiago Espinal: Checks back into starting nine

Espinal will start at third base and bat fifth in Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Espinal saw a streak of six consecutive starts come to an end in Tuesday's 6-2 loss to Arizona, and before that, he enjoyed a stretch of 11 consecutive starts. He looks as though he could fall into regular playing time once again, as the Reds placed Christian Encarnacion-Strand (wrist) on the 10-day injured list Wednesday. Jeimer Candelario will move over from his usual spot at third base to cover Encarnacion-Strand's post at first base, opening up the hot corner for Espinal. Despite seeing plenty of usage in his utility role this season, Espinal has provided the Reds with underwhelming numbers (.169 average, one home run, four stolen bases, 12 RBI and five runs) across 90 plate appearances.