CINCINNATI -- The Reds activated center fielder Nick Senzel from the injured list to be their 29th man for Monday’s doubleheader against the Pirates. To make room on the 40-man roster, reliever Tyler Thornburg was transferred to the 45-day IL.

Senzel has not played since Aug. 14 and missed the last 27 games. Cincinnati had a 12-15 record without him. He has spent the past couple of weeks working out at Prasco Park, the club’s alternate training site, to get at-bats. Manager David Bell wasn’t too worried about Senzel getting back up to speed.

“Nick is such a good athlete, takes excellent care of himself,” Bell said. “What is different this year is there are no true Minor League games, but we’ve had such a great advantage having Prasco and having the staff over there. Just the environment they’ve created, Nick is going to be as prepared as he possibly could at this point.”

Over 14 games this season, Senzel entered Tuesday's game with a slash line of .244/.327/.489 with two home runs and eight RBIs. The Reds used Shogo Akiyama and Brian Goodwin in center field while he was out.

In Game 1 of the doubleheader, Senzel batted sixth.

“My conversations with Nick along the way were just checking in to see how he was doing, how he was feeling,” Bell said. “He was gaining in strength and getting closer and closer. Last night when I talked to him, he couldn’t wait. He was very excited to get back and get into the lineup. That was the best conversation I had with him because he was going to be here [Monday]. We’re all anxious. He’s a big part of our team. We’re anxious to get him back. It seems like a long time ago that he was here.”

Lorenzen ready for spot start
Because of Monday’s doubleheader and the fact that Sonny Gray went on the 10-day IL with a right mid-back strain, Cincinnati’s rotation was shorthanded for Tuesday’s game vs. the Pirates. Bell tabbed reliever Michael Lorenzen to make the start, his first since he started three games in September 2018.

“Michael has shown that he can handle a lot, just different roles,” Bell said. “He’s closed for us. He’s pitched in short relief. He’s pitched in long relief, probably more this year. At least a couple times, he went longer than he did anytime last year, from what I can remember. He’s built up.”

Lorenzen, 28, is 1-1 with a 5.23 ERA in 15 appearances this season as he has battled to find consistency. But he’s done quite well in multi-innings appearances, including 3 1/3 scoreless innings vs. Pittsburgh on Aug. 13 and a season-high four scoreless innings on Aug. 31 vs. St. Louis.

Six of Lorenzen’s last eight appearances have been more than one inning.

“I have multiple pitches, so getting the feel for different pitches and getting into the groove of the game, getting into the flow of the game is definitely something that helps me physically and mentally,” Lorenzen said. “It’s something that I prefer, for sure.”

In the four-inning appearance, Lorenzen threw a season-high 57 pitches. He’s prepared to go as long as necessary.

“I feel like when we’re in win-now mode, you’ve got to just give whatever you can,” Lorenzen said. “I keep challenging them, and Freddie [Benavides] was the manager at the time when I threw those four innings. I kept telling him, ‘It’s not your job to protect me. It’s my job. I’m a professional. It’s my job to take care of myself physically and to prepare physically to be able to withstand whatever you want to throw at me.’ I take this seriously.”

The only thing Lorenzen won’t be able to do Tuesday is hit for himself, because of the designated hitter rule in effect this season for the National League. He was often used as a two-way player last season in the outfield and as a pinch-hitter.

“The game has been different,” said Lorenzen, a career .235 hitter with seven home runs. “The game has been a lot more boring, in a sense of just sitting in the ‘pen and knowing there is no real action that can happen until really late in the game -- maybe to pinch-run here and there or something like that. This game, I wasn’t sure if I would mind the DH and so far just from my style of things, it hasn’t been very fun. The DH is a little bit disappointing for tomorrow.”

Elbow surgery for Bowman
Bell revealed that reliever Matt Bowman will have Tommy John surgery this week to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. Bowman was initially optioned to the alternate training site ahead of Opening Day, but the move was rescinded and he was moved to the 45-day IL with an elbow sprain.