Postponement forces Reds to find Thursday starter

DENVER -- Saturday's water main break outside of Coors Field had ramifications for the Reds beyond a postponed game vs. the Rockies. Because of the Sunday doubleheader, Cincinnati will need to call up another starting pitcher in five days, when the Reds play the Braves on Thursday.

The starter has not been revealed as of yet.

"I've got a pretty good idea of what we'll do," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "We're probably not going to announce anything for a while. There's so much that goes into this, because we're pitching two guys in our rotation on the same day [Sunday], necessitating a Thursday starter, [and] what roster move that's going to necessitate to get him on the roster. This can get you sideways when you don't have the option to have your 26th player be a starter in Game 2."

Triple-A Louisville lefty starter David Holmberg, the team's No. 10-ranked prospect, was unavailable Sunday since he just pitched on Thursday. Holmberg could have otherwise been the allowed 26th man on the roster for Game 2, which would have let Price push the just called-up Dylan Axelrod back to face Atlanta this week.

"It's more than just inconvenient," Price said. "It creates some challenges with our roster management going into that Thursday game. But we will have a starter there."

Holmberg, who has gone 1-6 with a 4.64 ERA at Louisville, is currently slated to pitch on Monday for the Bats. Another potential option could be right-hander Josh Smith, who is 10-5 with a 4.48 ERA this season. Unlike Holmberg, however, Smith is not on the 40-man roster.