Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona was a late scratch for Saturday’s home game against the New York Mets.
According to Cincinnati.com, Francona was battling an illness. Reds bench coach Freddie Benavides, who himself missed time earlier this week for the same reason, served as the acting manager for the second game of the weekend series.
Francona, who led the Boston Red Sox to two World Series titles (2004, 2007) and Cleveland to the 2016 American League pennant, came out of retirement in the offseason to manage the Reds. Earlier this season, the 66-year-old Francona became the 13th manager to win 2,000 games. His 2,020 wins trail only Bruce Bochy among active managers.
The Reds entered Saturday at 70-71, having lost eight of their last 10. They entered the day six games behind the Mets and the San Diego Padres, whom they travel to play on Monday, in the National League wild-card race.
