CINCINNATI — For the Cincinnati Reds’ first 40 games of the season, at least starting the lineup for each game was easy for manager Terry Francona.From Opening Day through May 9, Francona started 34 of the 40 games with TJ Friedl atop the lineup. Since then, Friedl has led off just once in 12 games and has been out of the starting lineup more (seven times) than in it (five times).“I don’t think we have one right now,” Francona said of his leadoff hitter Saturday.That day alone, he used two — JJ Bleday and Blake Dunn.Dunn, who started a game as the leadoff man for the first time in his big-league career in the Reds’ Game 2 extra-inning victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, was penciled into the same spot for Sunday’s game before it was postponed due to rain.Friedl, 30, was hitting .185/.267/.274 after the Reds’ 40th game of the season, a victory over the Houston Astros on May 9. He has one hit since and none since May 12. He is hitless in his last nine at-bats and hasn’t walked over the last 12 games.Francona shook up the lineup not just in the leadoff spot, but moved Elly De La Cruz from the third spot to second in the lineup. Five different players have hit ahead of De La Cruz since he was moved to the two-hole, but Friedl isn’t among them.Here are some truncated takeaways from a truncated series against the St. Louis Cardinals:Blake Dunn is making the most of his chanceFive different players have started in right field for the Reds, starting with Noelvi Marte on Opening Day. Marte is currently in Triple A after struggling to begin the season. The next player called up for a chance to take a spot as a regular was Rece Hinds, who is now with the Triple-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp after he was designated for assignment and traded to the Miami Marlins. Both Marte and Hinds started nine games in right, Will Benson has started 21 and Spencer Steer eight.What Marte, Hinds or Benson have failed to do is make Francona not have a choice but to put their name in the lineup. Bleday — called up after both Marte and Hinds — has done that in left field. Dunn is making the push in right.Dunn made the Reds’ roster out of spring training last year and struggled in his first extended taste of the big leagues. Dunn’s 13 hits in his 15 games this season equal the number of big-league hits he had in 49 games combined in 2024 and 2025.In his first leadoff start in the big leagues in game two on Saturday, Dunn had a pair of hits, a run-saving catch to end the 11th inning and then a walk-off fielder’s choice in the bottom of that same inning.“He’s a baseball player,” Francona said of Dunn, giving him the highest compliment available in a big-league clubhouse. “The good thing is he’s not trying to do too much. I think we saw a little bit of that last year early on. He’s letting the game come to him.”He’s done it at the expense of Friedl’s playing time, but when the winning run scored Saturday night, Friedl was one of the first people to celebrate with him.“He’s one of the best teammates we’ve ever seen,” Francona said. “That doesn’t mean that sometimes you’ve got to give guys news they don’t want to hear. But he’s a f—ing great teammate. He always has been, and he always will be. That’s a given.”Petty, Petty goodChase Petty’s 0-0 record and 5.91 ERA don’t really convey how well he’s pitched in his two spot starts at the major-league level this season.Petty, who had to make his season debut against a red-hot Chicago Cubs team at Wrigley Field earlier this month, made his second start in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader and made quick work of the Cardinals through five innings.It was a learning experience for Petty, who worked his way through the Cardinals’ order on just 53 pitches and allowed only one run in his first five innings. Instead of being able to relax when his team scored five in the bottom of the fifth inning to give him a 5-1 lead, he bore down even harder.Petty hit the first batter he faced in the inning, gave up a double to the second and a three-run homer to his third and final batter of the inning.“He (said), ‘I got the lead, and I knew I had to hold it,'” Francona said. To which he added: “What you were doing prior? That was just fine.”Francona said the message was simple: just keep attacking.“His stuff is good, and he’s maturing like young guys do,” Francona said. “(He has) a chance to be pretty good.”As the extra player allowed for doubleheaders, Petty is headed back to the Louisville Bats. But what he did — and what he did against the Cubs — is certainly being celebrated in the Reds clubhouse.Singer to get a breakBrady Singer was scheduled to start Sunday’s game for the Reds, but with an off day ahead on Thursday and a quick turnaround for a day game in New York’s Citi Field on Monday, Francona decided to keep the Reds’ rotation intact with Nick Lodolo starting Monday, followed by Chase Burns and Andrew Abbott against the Mets.The Reds won five of Singer’s six starts in March and April. He was 2-1 with a 4.97 ERA over that span. The Reds have lost all four of his starts in May, and he’s 0-3 with an 8.47 ERA this month.“I think it’s been a little bit of a grind for him,” Francona said. “He’s trying to make some adjustments, but it just seems like he has to work really hard, and when he makes a mistake, he’s paid for it. I do think guys get their level as long as they’re healthy. So hopefully that bodes well for the next while here as he gets to that level.”