Reds Win Final Two Games Against The Mets To Stay Alive

 

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Dateline: 1,209 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico

The Reds had a disappointing loss to start the series but took the last two games capped by a 3-2 win over the New York Mets, the team they are chasing for the final playoff spot.

The Reds are 72-71, four games behind the Mets with 19 games left. The Reds were 4-2 against the Mets this season, taking two of three in both the road and home series. That is important should they tie at the end of the season, the Reds own the tie breaker.

Hunter Greene struck out seven of the first nine Mets' batters but Brett Baty hit his 16th home run to give them the lead in the third inning.

Brandon Sproat made his first Major League appearance as the Mets' starting pitcher. He walked the first batter he faced but Baty turned a hot smash into a double play.

Sproat walked Noelvi Marte to start the Reds' fourth inning. Marte stole second base with Elly De La Cruz batting. De La Cruz grounded out to first base sending Marte to third. Austin Hays hit a sacrifice fly to center field and the Reds tied the score without a hit.

Marte singled off Sproat one out into the sixth inning. De La Cruz doubled to the right center gap to score Marte. De La Cruz took third on the throw home. Austin Hays singled to put the Reds ahead, 3-1.

"There wasn't a lot of offense but there were some good things," Terry Francona said. "Give Elly a lot of credit. He got Marte to third let Hays' fly ball to be meaningful."

Greene pitched seven innings, allowing one run on just one hit and two walks. He tied his season-high with 12 strikeouts.

"I had a good mix," Greene said. "That's a good hitting team. We believe in ourselves. I just wanted to be the man of the people and get the strikeouts for the pizza. I didn't do anything extra, I did what is expected."

Nick Martinez made short work of the Mets in the ninth inning.

Despite some ninth inning drama, Tony Santillan earned his fifth save of the season. 

Santillan retired the hot hitting Francisco Lindor on a routine fly to center field. Juan Soto hit his 38th home run of the season to bring the tying run to the plate. Pete Alonso hit a high chop to De La Cruz at shortstop. The throw to first was in the dirt and Alonso reached on the error. Luisangel Acuna ran for Alonso. Brandon Nimmo singled to left. De La Cruz redeemed himself starting a game ending double play on Starling Marte's ground ball up the middle.

"That's exactly what you would hope to happen (to hit the ball to De La Cruz after the error). It doesn't always work out that way. That's a great bunch of guys. It is because they care. They're not asking someone to feel sorry for us. We're still alive. Until they make you go home, you keep playing," Francona said.

Brendan Sorsby Shines As The Bearcats Hand Heisman Trophy Winner Eddie George His First FBS Loss

 

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Dateline: 1,209 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico

Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as the Bearcats posted a 34-20 win over Bowling Green and former NFL running back and Ohio State Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George, who took his first loss as an FBS coach Saturday.

George, the 1995 Heisman winner with Ohio State, took over as head coach at Bowling Green (1-1) this season after four years leading FCS Tennessee State. He brought his team and social media sensation Pudge the Cat, the Bowling Green mascot, into Nippert Stadium to face the Bearcats (1-1).

Bearcats coach Scott Satterfield used a short passing game through three quarters until Sorsby rushed the last 27 yards late in the third to lead 31-10. Sorsby connected with Cyrus Allen for 44- and 2-yard touchdowns for the Bearcats’ first two scores and finished with 333 yards passing.

“There were a lot of questions about throwing the ball," Satterfield said. “Sorsby threw the ball well. Our guys made some great catches and had a lot of yards after catches.”

George elected to punt for field position twice in the first half rather than take a risk on fourth-and-short.. The Falcons punted on fourth-and-1 from the Bowling Green 47 in the first quarter and again from the Cincinnati 41 in the second quarter on fourth-and-3. That second time backfired as Cincinnati drove 89 yards to score its third touchdown and take a 21-0 lead on Sorsby's 9-yard toss to Jeff Caldwell.

“Looking at the flow of the game, down 14-0. I didn't want to give them a short field,” George said. “I wanted to be conservative until I get a good feel from my offense. I don't want to throw against the wind and hope, until we have something dialed in. "

Trailing 24-3 on its first possession of the second half, the Falcons went for a first down on a fourth-and-2 from the Cincinnati 12, Leo Kemp, a transfer from UCLA, was held to 1 yard by Jake Golday.

Drew Pyne threw for 274 yards and a score to Jyrin Johnson for the Falcons.

Takeaway

Donte Corleone, Cincinnati’s two-time All-American nose tackle, left the field twice. Corleone missed a series to have his ankle taped. He left for good midway through the second quarter. “We'll re-evaluate but I think he'll be fine,” Satterfield said

Family affair

Eddie George's son Eriq was the starting defensive end for the Falcons The son of athletic director Derek van der Merwe, Ian, is a defensive lineman. It is the first time in FBS history the coach and athletic director's sons played on the same team, according to the school.

Transfer

Drew Pyne made at least one start for Notre Dame, Arizona State and Missouri.

First-time ever

The Bearcats were 0-4 against Bowling Green coming into the game, losing to them in 1991, 1992, 1993 and a 38-0 loss in 1994, the first home shutout by the Bearcats since 1972.

Hold the Ball

In Eddie Georges first two games as head coach, Bowling Green has not turned the ball over.

"Why would you say that?" George asked kiddingly when it was brought up. "You know what's going to happen? That's exciting. Not turning the ball over and we were plus one. We're not creating turnovers that's the problem. I talk about our defense being surgical in getting the ball out. It's a situation where kids are still thinking about the calls and we're not playing fast right now because we're still learning the defense the nomenclature, the calls. It's tough for us to create those turnovers but we work on them. Every day in practice we work on ball security. I harp on that. I have a couple receivers and ball carriers that carry the ball in their inside arm. It is a matter of time, actually Ladarius did fumble the ball but he got it back. It is going to be emphasized daily.

Pudge the Cat on Scholarship

The locker room cat that has been adopted as the Bowling Green's team unofficial mascot, has its own web page and NIL sponsorship. The players made a Tic Tok video that got over 900,000 views.

Up next

Bowling Green will host Liberty next Saturday.

Cincinnati will be at home against Northwestern State next Saturday.

 

Edwin Diaz Escapes Ninth Inning Jam As The Fast Starting Mets Hung On For A Win

 

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Dateline: 1,209 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico

With the final National League Wild Card spot on the line, the New York Mets made their annual trip to Great American Ball Park.

Edwin Diaz pitched out of a bases loaded, no out jam to allow the New York Mets to extend their lead to six games with a 5-4 win over the fading Reds.

The Reds dropped below .500 at 70-71 for the first time since June 7 when they were 32-33.

Ke'Bryan Hayes singled to start the ninth inning. Matt McLain and TJ Friedl walked to load the bases. Diaz broke a spike and had to change shoes. He struck out Noelvi Marte swinging through a 3-2 pitch and Elly De La Cruz looking at a 2-2 pitch. Gavin Lux hit one past Pete Alonso at first. Luisangel Acuna fielded going to the hole and threw to Diaz to end the game.

"We gave ourselves a chance but we couldn't get over the hump," Terry Francona said. 

The Mets roughed up Reds' starter Andrew Abbott in the first inning. Francisco Lindor worked a walk from Abbott to open the game. Juan Soto hit a ground single to right that sent Lindor to third.  Abbott struck out Pete Alonso but Mark Vientos topped a ball down the third base line that stopped in fair territory allowing Lindor to score. Soto stole third base. Brandon Nimmo hit a ball over the wall in left center but TJ Friedl leaped, reached above to fence and caught the ball. Soto scored after the catch. Starling Marte dropped a single into shallow left field to score Vientos.

David Peterson allowed a first inning single to Elly De La Cruz but kept the Reds off the scoreboard through two innings.

Vientos hit his 16th home run of the season, leading off the third inning against Abbott.

The Reds got the run back in the bottom of the inning. Matt McLain singled to extend his hitting streak to eight games. Friedl doubled him to third. Noelvi Marte lined out to right. McLain scored after the catch.

Abbott got the first two outs in the fourth but Lindor and Soto hit back-to-back doubles to send their lead back to four runs.

The Reds got close against Peterson in the bottom of the fourth. Austin Hays and Spencer Steer singled. Tyler Stephenson doubled to the corner in left field. Hays scored easily. Steer was able to slide underneath the tag by Francisco Alvarez. Stephenson, who returned from the injured list afte missing 16 games, took third on the throw home. Ke'Bryan Hayes hit a line drive the Nimmo caught with a dive. Stephenson scored to make it, 5-4.

Abbott gave up two singles in the fifth inning. Connor Phillips came in to get Alvarez to fly out to right.

Abbott pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowing five runs on nine hit, a walk and a hit batter.

Phillips walked Lindor and Soto with one out but got Alonso to hit into a 6-4-3 double play. Phillips, Nick Martinez and  Emilio Pagan shut down the Mets for the last 4 1/3 innings.

 

Tyler Stephenson Returns To Lineup

 

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Dateline: 1,209 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico

The thumb on Tyler Stephenson, left (catching hand) has healed. Terry Francona put him right into the lineup. Backup catcher, Jose Trevino, caught as many as seven games in a row in his absence.

The broken thumb put him on the 10-day injured list on August 20. He missed 16 games in which the Reds were 6-10. He is catching Friday night against the New York Mets, batting seventh.

"The thumbs good. The test in Anaheim catching Lodolo's bullpen. it didn't feel great. I finally got an X-ray. I caught seven on Wednesday and didn't have any issues. I caught (Chase) Burns live. He was throwing 101 it feels good," Stephenson. "Luckily my hitting wasn't bothered at all."

Stephenson hit a home run in Louisville. He caught seven innings on Wednesday and was the DH on Thursday.

The Reds sent Will Banfield back to Louisville whose season ends soon.

 

Five Home Runs Help Toronto Erase Reds Five Run Lead

 

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Dateline: 1,209 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico

The Reds scored five runs in the second inning but five home runs to send the Toronto Blue Jays 13-9 win. It was their 42nd come-from-behind win of the season.

The loss sent the Reds back to .500 at 70-70 and with 22 games left remain five games behind their next opponent the New York Mets for the final playoff spot.

The Reds jumped on Shane Bieber who is in his third game back from "Tommy John" surgery.

Austin Hays singled to open the inning. Gavin Lux forced him at second. Spencer Steer singled Lux to third. Ke'Bryan Hayes walked to load the bases. Jose Trevino singled up the middle to score two runs. Matt McLain also singled up the middle to plate another run. TJ Friedl was robbed of an extra base hit on a diving catch by Addison Barger in right but Noelvi Marte doubled in the gap in right center to score two more runs and give the Reds a 5-0 lead.

Reds' starter Zack Littell struck out five of the first seven Blue Jay batters. Andres Gimenez singled up the middle but Ernie Clement hit a hard ground ball to Elly De La Cruz, who turned it into a double play. George Springer hit his 27 home run of the season with two outs to make it, 5-1.

"I thought that he had good finish on his fastball," Terry Francona said. "That sets up his split. Then one, two, we just couldn't keep them in the ballpark and after that couldn't keep them off the scoreboard."

Littell has allowed 31 home run this season. He started the game one behind Jake Irvin of the Washington Nationals for the most home runs allowed in baseball this season. Daulton Varsho put Littell ahead of Irvin with his 19th home run and Alezandro Kirk followed with his 12th home run. Littell allowed Totonto three solo home runs the last time he faced them on May 15.

"I started grooving every thing and they put some good swings on pitches but overall, I wasn't very good," Littell said. "We put up five runs early. In that spot, I've got to be better."

Springer singled in the fifth and scored on Barger's 19th home run, the fourth against Littell of the game, tied the game at, 5-5.

Guerrero greeted Nick Marinez who relived Littell with his 22nd home run to give Toronto a lead.

Sacrifice flies in the sixth and seventh extended the Blue Jays lead to three runs.

Marte drove in his third run of the game with a two-out single in the seventh. McLain, who reached on an error, scored to cut the Totonto lead to 8-6.

The Blue Jays put the game away with four runs against Lyon Richardson and Yosver Zulueta in the eighth. 

The Reds gave fans hope with three runs in the bottom of the eighth. Steer, Will Benson and McLain hit RBI doubles to keep Toronto within three.

Zach Maxwell gave up a single to Clement and a two-out RBI double to Guerrero in the ninth inning to provide the final margin.

Reds Comeback Fall Short Bullpen Had To Cover For Starters Illness

 

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Dateline: 1,209 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico

The Reds were in trouble early, like 2:30 PM.  Scheduled starter, Nick Lodolo took ill and the Reds had to use a tired bullpen, which gave up eight run in the first two innings, that held off a Reds' challenge in  a 12-9 triumph for the American League East leading Toronto Blue Jays.

The Reds actually out-hit the Blue Jays 15-12 but fell short in its uphill climb.

The New York Mets defeated the Detroit Tigers 12-5 to open a five-game chasm between the Reds and Mets, fighting for the last wild card entry into the playoffs. The Reds dropped to 70-69 with 23 games to play in the season.

Scott Barlow was asked to step in for an ill Nick Lodolo. He pitched yesterday getting two outs in the seventh inning to preserve a lead.

George Springer opened the game with his 25th home run of the season. Springer is now second all-time with 62 leadoff  home runs, second in baseball history to Hall of  Famer, Ricky Henderson, who hit 81 in his career.

Barlow got an out then, walked Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Daulton Varsho. Alejandro Kirk cleared the bases with a double. Kirk was thrown out at third for the second out. Barlow struck out Davis Schneider to end the inning.  

"It didn't look like he (Barlow) was commanding anything," Terry Francona said. "He was behind, like, boom, boom, boom."

The Reds got a run back against Jose Berrios. Noelvi Marte doubled with on out. Elly De La Cruz singled him home.

Bruce Sutter was next up out of the Reds bullpen. Andres Gimenez singled to start the inning. Isiah Kiner-Falefa forced him at second on a star play by third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes. The relay to first by Matt McLain was a step late. Springer blooped a hit to right to send Kiner-Falefa to third. Guerrero grounded a single to right. Bo Bichette followed with his 18th home run of the season. 

At that point, Bichette was 5-for-5 with two home runs, two doubles and a single.

The Reds pounded Berrios in the bottom of the inning. Jose Trevino doubled with one out. McLain followed with an RBI double. TJ Friedl grounded out with McLain going to third. It enabled him to score when Marte reached when Kiner-Falefa's throw pulled Guerrero off the base at first. De La Cruz walked and Austin Hays launched the first pitch by Berrios into the second deck in left field for his 13th home run of  the season.

"That's all we could do, today" Hays said. "It was unfortunate the bullpen couldn't go. We knew the offense would have to pick us up. We had good at bats and kept playing. We had good at bats up and down the lineup. If Marte isn't running down the line, I don't get a chance to hit in that inning. We played hard but at some point you have to give credit to the guys over there. They never took their foot off the gas."

Springer struck again off Suter in the fourth. Suter hit Kiner-Falefa with a two-strike pitch. Springer hit his 26th home run and second of the game. It is the 28th time Springer has homered twice in a game in his career.

Zach Maxwell  relieved Suter. He got out of the inning on five pitches. Guerrero singled but he retired Bichette for the first time in the series by inducing a 4-6-3 double play.

The Reds nicked Eric Lauer in the fourth. Friedl singled to open it. After two out Hays doubled home Friedl, his fourth RBI. Gavin Lux singled to score Hays and bring the game back to a two-run margin.

Varsho hit his 17th run in the seventh inning. Connor Phillips gave it up, the only his off him in his two innings.

Reiver Sanmartin entered to face the Blue Jays in the eighth. He has not pitched in the Major Leagues since May 7, 2023. The Reds selected his contract to bolster its tired bullpen. 

Friedl homered off Seranthony Dominguez, his 11th. It was his first home run since July 25th. It made it an 11-9 game. Marte doubled. De La Cruz grounded to first, bring Hays to the played representing the tying run. 

A passed ball with two outs in the ninth allowed Gerrero to score after he reached on a single, moved to second on a wild pitch and stole third.

"You look up in the second inning and you're down 8-1," Francona said with a shrug. "We kept playing and gave ourselves a chance."

Nick Lodolo Scratched With Sickness Scott Barlow Will Be The Opener

 

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Dateline: 1,209 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico

Nick Lodolo was scheduled to start against the Toronto Blue Jays but an illness put him on the shelf.

"He has a temperature and the chills," manager Terry Francona said.

The Reds chose Scott Barlow to make his 68th appearance of the season as a starter. He pitched 2/3 an inning against Toronto on Monday in relief of Hunter Greene. Barlow protected the one-run lead in the seventh inning.

The team went to Louisville to choose Reiver Sanmartin, a left hander who, is 29-years old out of Cartegena, Columbia. He pitched just 21 games over three levels of the Reds minor leagues. Sanmartin joined the Reds' organization in 2019 with Sonny Gray in a trade with the New York Yankees for Shed Long.

Sanmartin last pitched in the big leagues on May 7, 2023 with 1 1/3 innings against the Chicago White Sox. Surgery followed.

The Reds had to add him to the 40-man roster. Left handed reliever Joe La Sorsa was designated for assignment. Sam Moll was optioned to Louisville.

Noelvi Marte Was The Final Driver In A Roller Coaster Reds Ninth Inning Win

 

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Dateline: 1,209 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico

Noelvi Marte brought the roller coaster ride to a screeching halt by drilling a two-run single through a drawn-in infield to land the Reds safely to a 5-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Bo Bichette hit a two-run home run, his 17th and Daulton Varsho followed with his 16th home run to propel Toronto Blue Jays to a 4-2 come-from-behind lead setting up the Reds dramatics.

Not only did the Reds lose the led but they faced an uphill climb after missing frustrating chances to add on to a slim lead.

Ke'Bryan Hayes' third hit of the day set the table with a lead off single. Pinch hitter Miguel Andujar popped to shortstop to make Reds' faithful followers groan. Matt McLain singled to bring a smidge of hope. TJ Friedl appeared to tie the game with a line shot to right that appeared to tie the game as Hayes and Friedl crossed the plate but hold your horses. Totonto manager John Schneider successfully argued that the ball lodged in the bullpen gate and should have been a dead ball or ground rule double. 

An umpire review confirmed the ball lodged in the gate even though right fielder Addison Barger easily plucked the ball out of the gate and threw home. McLain had to slide to score. After the ruling, McLain had to return to third base, still trailing by a run. It was a bad omen. The Reds have struggled to get key hits with runners in scoring position, including this game.

The Blue Jays played for the win. The brought the infield in to choke off the run at the plate. Marte became the hero by scorching a hard ground ball between Ernie Clement at third base and Bichette at shortstop to score McLain and Friedl to win the game.

"I asked Freddie (long time Reds coach and player) if he had ever seen that," manager Terry Francona said. "He said no, he'd never seen that."

Hayes said, "I didn't see what happened. I was in the dugout. For a minute I panicked that I missed home when I scored."

"As initially deflating as it was, we had second and third," Francona said. "We had to figure out a way to get a hit or sac fly. We left some runners out there early. Against a team like that it can come back to bite you and it did. So we kept playing. That's a good characteristic to have.

Hayes a newcomer to the team, described the Reds mindset. 

"We had a player's only meeting the other day," Hayes recalled. "We felt we were getting punched in the mouth. You take and then you get back up. That's been our mentality the last few days. 

The Blue Jays own the best record in the American League, The started the day three games ahead of the New York Yankees in the AL East Division. 

The Reds kept in the final push for the last National League playoff spot and avoided dropping back to .500. They stand at 70-68 for the season

Chris Bassitt started for Toronto.

The Reds got to him in the second inning. Gavin Lux doubled to open the frame. Sal Stewart in his first Major League at bat singled hard to center field with Lux stopping at third. Ke'Bryan Hayes doubled to the gap in left center. Lux and Stewart scored and Hayes went to third on the throw home. Matt McLain hit a fly to medium left. Nathan Lukes fired a strong throw to the plate to nail Hayes and end the inning.

Hunter Greene gave up a leadoff single to George Springer in the first inning. Springer stole second but Elly De La Cruz made a leaping catch on Addison Barger's line drive. De La Cruz dived to catch Springer for the second out. 

The Reds had two runners on with one out in the fifth inning but did not score. De La Cruz led off the sixth inning with a triple but he was stranded. The Reds had two men on in the seventh after Hayes started the inning with a single but left them on base.

Greene shut down the Blue Jays, allowing just five hits Bo Bichette had two doubles and a single. His second double came with one out in the seventh. Greene walked Daulton Varsho. Alejandro Kirk singled to score Bichette to make it a one-run game. Scott Barlow finished the inning, stranding two runners.

Greene pitched 6 1/3 innings with one run, five hits and a walk. He struck out seven. 

Tony Santillan started the eighth on the mound for the Reds. He walked Springer with one out but Hayes started a 5-6-3 double play to end the threat.

Emilio Pagan was called to pitch the ninth with Vladimire Guerrero Jr., Bichette and Varsho, the 3-4-5 hitters due up. Guerrero reached on an infield hit. Bichette hit his 17th home run, his fourth hit of the game to put the visitors up 3-2.

Bichette's father, Dante, played for the Reds in 2000. Varsho's father, Gary, played for the Reds in 1993. Guerrero's uncle, Wilton, played for the Reds early in 2001 and 2002.

Reds Call Up Hitting Prospect Sal Stewart

 

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Dateline: 1,209 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico

The Reds September call ups, Sal Stewart and Yosver Zulueta, came up to fill the expanded roster.

Zulueta has been up and down the last couple years and been in games at the Major League level but Stewart, 21, will be making his debut. Terry Francona put him in the lineup at first base, a fairly new position and put him in the six hole of the lineup. 

Stewart impressed everyone with his bat in spring training. Brimming with confidence, Stewart dominated at Double A Chattanooga and was promoted right after the All-Star game was promoted to Triple A Louisville and continued to hit.

"He will be a good hitter one day," Francona said in spring training. "I don't know when. He doesn't look athletic but he can move and gets to all the plays that he's supposed to."

Stewart played mostly third base and second base in his pro career. The Bats played him at first base so it isn't completely new.

"I talked to them at Louisville and they told me he would be alright," Francona said. "I wouldn't put him out there."

"He (Steer) is so tough. He has been playing through it," Francona said.

Stewart made his Major League debut, becoming the seventh Red to debut in 2025.

Across 118 games with AA-Chattanooga and AAA-Louisville this season, Stewart slashed .309/.383/.524 (135-for-437) with 20 homers, 34 doubles, 78 runs, and 80 RBI.

During his 38-game stint with Louisville (7/18-8/30), led the International League in doubles (15), while also ranking in XBH (25, 2nd), total bases (90, 2nd), RBI (36, T2nd), hits (45, T2nd), SLG (.629, 4th), HR (10, 5th), and OPS (1.023, 7th).

Stewart is currently rated by both MLB.com (31) and Baseball America (86) as a top-100 prospect in baseball. Also he is ranked by both outlets as one of the top prospects in the Reds organization (#1 by MLB.com, #4 by Baseball America).

He represented the Reds organization in the 2025 All-Star Futures Game at Truist Park, along with C Alfredo Duno (Daytona)...honored as a Midwest League AllStar in 2024 and a Florida State League All-Star in 2023.

Stewart was named Southern League Player of the Week for the 5/19-5/25 and recognized as the Reds' Minor League Player of the Month for May. Stewart was selected by the Reds as a compensation pick in the 1st round (32nd overall) of the 2022 first-year player draft. wart is the seventh player this season to make his debut as a Red. 

The Miami, Florida native attended Westminster Christian School in Miami. He works out with the San Diego Padres, Manny Machado and former Red, Yonder Alonso. 

Stewart was informed by Louisville manager, Pat Kelly, that he got the call. 

"He had done a little Canada thing for me there," Stewart said. "He had me read it off the phone.  It was awesome. I called everybody, literally everybody, I could possibly think of . Oh definitely, I called Manny (Machado). He even did a video for me. It was one of the best moments, I ever had for sure."

 Stewart singled in his first Major League at bat and scored on a double by Ke'Bryan Hayes.

The Reds Snapped Losing Streak With A Win Over St Louis By Surviving A Tough Start

 

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Dateline: 1,209 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico

The Reds overcame shoddy fielding behind an outstanding pitching performance by Brady Singer in a 7-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

The win stopped the Reds season long losing streak at five and got back over the .500 mark at 69-68.

Shoddy fielding put the Reds and Brady Singer in a two-run hole in the first inning. Lars Nootbaar popped up to shallow left toward the foul line. Matt McLain and Ke'Bryan Hayes were in position to make the catch but the ball fell behind McLain for a hit. Nootbaar was running on the pitch with Gavin Lux covering. Ivan Herrera hit a weak ground ball in the area that Lux vacated for a single that put runners at first and third. Willson Contreras struck out but Nolan Gorman hit a sacrifice fly to left field. Herrera went to second on the throw home. Thomas Saggese singled him home.

Singer won his team-high 12th game when he refused to allow the game to get away from him.

"You just have to keep pushing," Singer said. "You make the best pitches you can as much as possible."

The "oh not again" feeling would have caused the Reds to crumble but it didn't.

"I thought the guys had good energy," Terry Francona said. "They kept grinding. That's a good trait to have."

Shoddy fielding allowed the Reds to take the lead in the second inning. With one out, rookie Cesar Prieto failed to handle a slow ground ball by Lux for an error. Cardinal starter, Andre Pallante, walked Spencer Steer. Hayes singled to score Lux. McLain walked to load the bases. TJ Friedl drove in two runs with a single.

The Cardinals tied the game in the third on another missed out. Nootbaar hit a drive to deep right. Noelvi Marte actually had the ball in his glove when he hit the wall but the ball popped out when he hit the ground. Nootbaar ended up at third with a leadoff triple. Herrera flied to medium right field. Marte caught it and appeared to throw Nootbaar out at home but the replay revealed that the Cardinal runner got under the tag and the game was tied.

The Reds took the lead against Pallante in the fifth inning. Elly De La Cruz took advantage of a shifted infield and doubled down the third base line. Austin Hays hit his 12th home run to give the Reds a 5-3 lead.

Singer left the game after six innings with a quality start. He pitched six innings, allowing three runs on five hits and two hit batters.

Sam Moll entered the game in the eighth.

Jimmy Crooks opened the inning with his first career home run on his first big league hit.

The Reds got the run back against Gordon Graceffo. Hays doubled to the right centerfield gap. Lux got him to third with a ground ball to first base. Steer struck out but Hayes singled to score Hays.

Tony Santillan started the eighth inning for the Reds, his 67th appearance. He struck out all three batters he faced.

McLain gave the Reds breathing room with his 13th home run leading off the eighth against Andre Granillo. It was his second home run in as many games.

Emilio Pagan took over on the mound for the ninth. Pagan picked up his 26th save in 31 attempts and first since August 9.

Singer won four of five decisions in August and fifth in his last six.

Reds Drop To 500 With A Loss To The Cardinals Their Fifth Straight

 

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Dateline: 1,209 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico

The Reds fell short for the fifth straight game as the St. Louis Cardinals edged the Reds with a 4-2 win. Andrew Abbott has pitched very well this season but couldn't stop the Reds' losing streak which extended to a season-high five games. 

It is the first time the Reds have been at the .500 mark, since they were 46-46 on July 8. They are now 68-68 and only a half game ahead of the Cardinals.

Abbott got out of a one-out bases loaded jam with a unusual double play. Ivan Herrera singled with one out and reached third on a double by Lars Nootbaar. Willson Contreras walked to load the bases. Jordan Walker popped up to the infield and was declared out automatically on the infield fly rule. Runners can advance at their own risk with no force play. Abbott backed down the mound as all four infielders converged. The ball fell behind Abbott, who picked it up and threw home. Herrera, the runner at third started home but stopped and went back to third. Nootbaar was standing on third and Contreras went to second. Jose Trevino threw to second and Herrera had to vacate the base because there were two runners on third base. Matt McLain threw him out easily at home to end the inning.

The Reds scored in the bottom of the first. Noelvi Marte singled with out out. Elly De La Cruz singled.  Miguel Andujar hit a one hopper back to the pitcher, who dropped it and took the force at third, instead of the double play with the hobbled Andujar (quad strain) running to first. Gavin Lux doubled to put the Reds ahead.

Abbott lost control in the fourth inning and gave up the leave. He walked two and hit Pedro Pages to load the bases with two outs. Rookie Nathan Church, hitting .107 in just 29 at bats, grounded a single into center field to put the Cardinals ahead.

"It was a bad game on my part," Abbott said. "I was fighting tempo and not executing pitches."

Still Abbott could have escaped with nothing but the two-out single with the bases loaded spoiled the outing. He dropped to 8-5 on the season.

"His fifth (and last) was his best inning," Terry Francona said. "He had his stuff from the get go that inning but a lot of deep counts. I think he had 86 pitches after four. It was not Abbottesque. Saying that, the runs the got was from the number nine hitter batting lefty."

Scott Barlow in his 66th game relieved Abbott, who pitched five innings allowing two runs on three hits, four walks and a hit batter. He struck out seven.

Barlow loaded the bases by issuing two walks and a single but he struck out Pedro Pages and Masyn Winn to keep the game where it was.

Contreras 20th home run stretched the lead to two runs against Connor Phillips.

Matt McLain retrieved the run with his 12th home run of the season in the bottom of the seventh. It was his first home run in 31 games since he homered against the New York Mets on July 18.

Pages hit his second home run in two games with two outs in the eighth off Zach Maxwell. It is 11th home run of the season and fifth in August.

"I thought they both (Phillips and Maxwell) threw the ball well but both gave up home runs on a hanging breaking ball," Francona said.

The Reds started the ninth with singles from Spencer Steer and Ke'Bryan Hayes but Will Banfield was asked to sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position but he bunted hard to the pitcher who got the force at third base. McLain forced the runner at third and TJ Freidl bounced out to Kyle Leahy, who earned the save.

"I just thought the bunt was our best chance to tie the game," Francona said.

Reds Have Two More Debuts In August

 

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Dateline: 1,209 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico

Will Banfield and Zach Maxwell, also known as big sugar, made their first big league appearances in August.

Both players were invited to spring training in Goodyear, Arizona and played in Louisville this year. 

Maxwell is 24 years old and stands 6’6” and weighs in at a generous 293 pounds. He can bring it. He routinely throws 100 miles an hour.

Maxwell was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 30th round in 2019 but pitched at Georgia Tech University instead. The native of Nashville, Tennessee was drafted by the Reds in the sixth round in 2022.

The name of Big Sugar was born when Maxwell pitched in the minor leagues. The broadcaster referred to him as “The Big Hunk of Sugar”. The name stuck. 

This season at Louisville, Maxwell pitched in 51 games in relief with a 1-3 record and five saves. He had an ERA of 4.17 over 49 ⅔ innings, walking 32 and striking out 59.

He was called up by the Reds during the long west coast road trip and made his first big league appearance on August 23 against the Arizona Diamondbacks in a blow out 10-1 loss. He gave up a home run but struck out five, one of five players since 1920 to do that in a debut.

Maxwell pitched a scoreless inning and a third against the Dodgers on August 25 with two walks and a strike out.

He graduated from North Paulding High School in Dallas, GA, where he threw a no-hitter in 2019, before going to Georgia Tech. In 2021, Maxwell pitched for Chatham in the prestigious Cape Cod League. His father, Tom, played basketball at Idaho State at 6’11”.

Banfield ,25, was drafted by the Florida Marlins in the second round of the 2018 draft out of Brookwood HS in Snellville, Georgia. He had a scholarship lined up to play baseball at Vanderbilt University but signed with the Marlins.

The catcher spent seven seasons in the Marlins system, including the Covid 2020 season in which he was part of the 60-man unit that trained at the alternative site in Jupiter Florida. He was granted free agency on November 4. 2024 and signed with the Reds to join Austin Wynns, adding needed catching depth when Tyler Stephenson was injured in spring training. When Stephenson recovered the Reds carried Wynns as a third catcher for a while but had to designate him for assignment when the roster needed more flexibility.

Banfield was invited to participate in his third Major League Spring Training camp by the Reds. He spent 2023 and 2024 in the Marlins’ big league camp.

He played in 17 games and hit .190 but all four of his hits were for extra bases, including a double, triple and two home runs.

Banfield’s contract was selected by the Reds when Stephenson was put on the 10-day disabled list with a broken left thumb.

He played in his first Major League game on August 23 after starter Jose Trevino was removed for a pinch hitter against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Banfield made his first start the next day against Arizona. He struckout twice in three at bats. He got his first career hit against the St. Louis Cardinals, entering the game when Trevino was removed for a pinch runner.

At Louisville this season, Banfield played in 73 games. He hit .220 with 13 doubles, two home runs and 23 RBI.

The following are his career highlights before he was signed by the Reds.

He entered the 2024 season rated by Baseball America as the Marlins No. 16 prospect.

Banfield was the starting catcher and cleanup hitter in the Marlins' inaugural Spring Breakout game vs StL on March 15, 2024.

In 2023, he was an MiLB.com Organization All-Star (Marlins).

That year Banfield was also recognized as Miami's Class AA Player of the Year after leading Pensacola in hits (118), home runs (23), doubles (25), extra-base hits (50), and total bases (216). He was rated the Marlins No. 26 prospect by MLB Pipeline.

As the Marlins No. 30 prospect in 2021, Banfield played for the Mesa Solar Sox in the prestigious Arizona Fall League, helping Mesa to an Arizona Fall League Championship.

Joe Trevino Drives In Two With His Bat And Save Two With His Glove Reds End Brewers' Spell

 

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Dateline: 1,209 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico

Jose Trevino was catching his second extra-inning game in a row in a day game after a night game. He came up huge for the Reds driving in two runs and saving two more with his arm to allow the Reds to snap the Milwaukee Brewers winning streak at 14 games in a 3-2 win in 10 innings. 

"This was a big one all around for us after two heart breaking losses," Trevino said. "We were in those games. We were in a lot of games this homestand. It shows a lot about our team. We could have easily crumbled. There is something about this team that is really gritty."

Austin Hays drove in the game-winning run with a single down the third base line with the Brewers infield in.

TJ Friedl was the ghost runner. Spencer Steer bunted on Grant Anderson to put Friedl on third base with one out. Brewers' manager, Pat Murphy, ordered Elly De La Cruz and Will Benson walked to load the bases and create a force at home plate.

Hays ruined the strategy by rifling Anderson's first pitch past Anthony Siegler at third base 105.6 miles an hour. It was at least the fourth time this season, opposing managers walked batters ahead of him. This time he made them pay.

Jose Quintana of the Milwaukee Brewers and Reds' ace Andrew Abbott traded zeroes for six innings.

Abbott pitched a scoreless seventh.

The Reds broke through in the bottom of the inning. Austin Hays opened with a double. Noelvi Marte belted a single right to Brandon Lockridge in right. It was hit too hard for Hays to score. Trevino lined a ball to the top of the wall in right center but Lockridge caught it as Hays scored and Marte moved to second. 

Quintana was replaced by Tobias Myers, the only Brewers' pitcher that did not appear in the first two games. Ke'Bryan Hays flew out deep to center and Marte moved to third. Gavin Lux hit for Santiago Espinal.

Tony Santillan replaced Abbott, who pitched seven scoreless innings on four hits with not walks. Abbott struck out seven.

The cool, calm Abbott ended a threat in the fifth with two runners on. He turned a potential bases loading infield hit into the final out of the inning.

"We knew we couldn't give them pitches to hit really. We tried to keep pitches off the barrel of the bat," Abbott said. "I tried to keep the leadoff hitter off base as much as I could."

"I knew the runner was pretty fast. I took a peek when I was running down the line. I thought it might roll foul but I took a chance to get him out right there. I didn't think too much about it," Abbott said.

Santillan walked pinch hitter Tyler Black with one out. Trevino threw Black out stealing with pinch hitter Brice Turang batting. Santillan struck him out looking on a 3-2 pitch.

Emilio Pagan has 25 saves now in 30 chances but couldn't close this one out. He walked Siegler to start the ninth. One out later the William Contreras extended his hitting streak to eight games with his 13th home run of the season.

"I'm going to have to sit down with Emilio. He's done everything we've asked of him and more," Francona said. "I think I've used him too much and that's on me. I have to find a way to lessen his work load."

It appeared the Brewers were about to record another late inning, come-from-behind win by taking a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth.

Tobias Myers relieved Quintana and was in line for the win but by using pinch hitters to get back in the game Murphy weakened his defense with Siegler at third and Brice Turang, a second baseman at shortstop. 

Will Benson recalled this morning when Jake Fraley was designated for assignment hit a ground ball to short that Turang bobbled and allowed Benson to reach base. Hays flied out. Murphy brought in Anderson. Noelvi Marte's second hit of the day put runners on the corner with one out. Trevino lined a single over second base to tie the game and send Marte to third. Hayes struck out looking but Matt McLain walked to load the bases. Friedl popped out to end the inning.

Graham Ashcraft entered in the 10th. Andrew Vaughn was the ghost runner. Blake Perkins bunted but Trevino pounced and Hayes retreated to put the tag on Vaughn. Ashcraft retired Danny Janson and Black to keep the tie.

Catchers rarely catch a night game and then a day game. It was a necessity with Tyler Stephenson dealing with a bad thumb on his glove hand.

 

Wade Miley Has Another Setback It Could Be His Last

 

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Dateline: 1,209 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico

The Reds pulled left handed pitcher Wade Miley from his rehab assignment retroactive to August 16 with a strained left flexor.

Miley made two starts for the Reds this season and one relief appearance. He allowed four runs in his two-inning stint against the Milwaukee Brewers on June 4. His two starts were better. The 38-year old pitched five innings in Cleveland and was the winning pitcher in the Reds 7-4 win on June 9. He pitched five innings against the Detroit Tigers, allowing two-runs but did not figure into the decision in a 7-4 Reds win.

The native of Hammond, Louisiana went back on the 60-day injured list on June 20 with the left flexor strain.

This could be the end of the road for Miley, who has expressed interest in a position as a pitching coach somewhere.

He was limited to two appearances for the Milwaukee Brewers last season after starting 23 games for them in 2023 with a 9-4 record and a 3.14 ERA.

Miley started the 2022 season with the Chicago Cubs a month after opening day. He was shut down from June 10 to September 6 that season. The last two and a half seasons he was limited to five appearances, four starts the last two seasons.

He pitched 1 ⅔ innings in Chattanooga on Friday August 15 and was scheduled to make another start for Louisville on Tuesday August 19. 

At the end of his pitching career, Miley completed 15 big league seasons with 320 appearances and 312 starts for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles, Milwaukee Brewers (two stints), Houston Astros, Reds (two stints), and Chicago Cubs.

Miley won 109 games, including a no-hitter against Cleveland for the Reds in 2021. He had a career 4.09 ERA with two shutouts. He struck out 1,368 and walked 611, a 2.24 strikeout to walk ratio. He allowed 198 home runs. He was an All-Star for the Diamondbacks in 2012.

With the Reds, Miley is 13-10 with a 3.76 ERA in 37 games, 34 starts. He struck out 144 and walked 65 with a 1.178 WHIP.

Brewers Speed And Aggression Force Reds Into Mistakes To Continue Their Streak

 

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Dateline: 1,209 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico

Andruw Monasterio's pinch hit, three-run home run off Joe La Sorsa in the 11th inning gave the Milwaukee Brewers their 14th straight win, a 6-5 win in the second game of the series.

Emilio Pagan walked the first two batter in the top of the ninth. His escape was ruined when Elly De La Cruz threw a double play relay to the screen in front of the Reds dugout. It was his fourth blown save in 29 chances.

The Reds suffered through 12 straight 1-2-3 innings since scoring the teams last run in a 10-8 loss.

While the Reds were flailing at the plate the Brewers scored a tainted run against Zack Littell to take a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Caleb Durbin hit a two-out single. Brice Turang hit a line drive to right field, Noelvi Marte misplayed it into a run scoring double.

Brewer's starter, Quinn Preister,  allowed a base runner when TJ Friedl singled. Spencer Steer bounced into a double play. Elly De La Cruz and Miguel singled to put runners at first and third but Gavin Lux bounced out to the pitcher.

Ke'Bryan Hayes led off the sixth with a line drive home run to left. Steer hit his 15th home run to give the Reds a 2-1 lead.

Durbin led off the seventh with a double. Terry Francona summoned Graham Ashcraft, who struck out Turang. Tyler Black walked but Brandon Lockridge struck out and leadoff hitter Sal Frelick grounded out to second to end the threat. 

Littell made his first start for the Reds at Great American Ball Park (He started against the Reds here with Tampa Bay on July 25th).

He pitched into the seventh allowing the tainted run in the second on four hits, one walk and three strike outs. Littell left with the lead.

"I thought we did a really nice job competing through the whole game," Littell said. "It is definitely intense with what we're both trying to do. There is a lot of scoreboard watching but our job is to go out and play the game. I don't know that we have to be flawless. We have to be crisper on defense. We have to be better as a pitching staff, going out there attacking guys. Really all around everybody in here (clubhouse) would point to themselves and say that we've got to be better."

Tony Santillan took over for Ashcraft in the eighth. He walked rookie .209 hitter Anthony Siegler and William Contreras but after a visit by pitching coach Derek Johnson, Santillan struck out Christian Yelich, retired Andrew Vaughn on a fly to center. Durbin tried to bunt for a hit but Hayes threw him out easily at first base.

Closer Emilio Pagan started the ninth. He walked Turang and Black to start the inning. Lockridge missed two bunt attempts that popped out to Steer at first. Frelick forced Black at second and De La Cruz threw the relay away and Turang scored the tying run.

"We haven't played clean and that's one of the points we talked about before the series," Francona said. "We haven't played clean. We knew how fast they are and how aggressive they are and that has hurt us both nights."

Both teams scored in the 10th. Contreras singled in the automatic runner, Siegler.  Scott Barlow limited the damage to one run.

The Reds scored when Hayes doubled in Matt McLain the automatic runner. Trevor Megill struck out De La Cruz to send the game to the 11th.

Siegler was the automatic runner. Contreras singled. They were holding Siegler but Jake Fraley hyper-extended his knee. He was charged with the Reds third error as Siegler scored to take the lead in the 10th. 

Caleb Durbin was the automatic runner in the 11th. Turang was asked to sacrifice and beat the throw to put runners on first and third, setting up Monasterio's heroics.

De La Cruz was the automatic runner a deep fly from Andujar sent him to third. Santiago Espinal who was the emergency replacement for Fraley scored De La Cruz with a long fly. Marte hit a home run off Nick Mears with two outs, his ninth but McLain, who struck out four times flied out to the wall in center.

The Reds Defense Crumbles As The Team Fumbles A Rare Chance To Beat The Brewers

 

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Dateline: 1,209 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico

The National League Central Division leading Milwaukee Brewers turned an 8-1 deficit into its 13th straight win, aided and abetted by the Reds. Nine unanswered runs produced a 10-8 win.

The streak matched their longest win streak which was accomplished at the very start of the 1987 season from April 6 thru the 20th.

The Reds scored seven runs in the second inning but shoddy fielding allowed the hard hitting Brewers to come back to tie the game.

The Brewers' bullpen retired the last 23 Reds batters after the Reds scored seven runs in the second inning.

"You can give their bullpen credit but not too much ,credit. We have to have better at bats against their bullpen too," Gavin Lux said.

William Contreras hit into a double play to end the first inning and hit into two grounders that should have been inning ending double plays but the Reds botched them.

The Reds' hit four singles in the first inning to score a run off the Brewers' rookie sensation, Jacob Misiorowski. The 23-year old righthander was in his first game back from a contusion to his left tibia. 

The Brewers' starter was on fumes as the Reds turned his wildness into seven runs after Christian Yelich tied the game with an opposite field home run off Nick Martinez, his 24th of the season.

Misiorowski hit Tyler Stephenson leading off the second. Ke'Bryan Hayes, TJ Friedl and Spencer Steer walked to plate one run. Elly De La Cruz greated DJ Hall with a two-run double. Miguel Andujar singled to score another run. Gavin Lux, Austin Hays and Noelvi Marte singled to score runs.

Martinez allowed singles by Brandon Lockridge and Sal Frelick to open the Brewers' third. Joey Ortiz popped up to second. Contreras grounded to De La Cruz at short. He tried to flip from his glove and only got the force when the slow footed catcher beat the relay. Yelich hit a flair to short left. De La Cruz and Hayes went for it and it tipped off Hayes glove to score one run. Andrew Vaughn hit his 14th home run to cut the Reds' lead to 8-5. Caleb Durbin and Brice Turang hit doubles to make it a two-run game.

"I lost my focus and started to leave the ball out over the plate," Martinez said. "When things happen you have to concentrate on executing the next pitch. I didn't do that."

The Brewers tied the game in the fourth off Brent Suter. Lockridge struck out but Frelick and Ortiz singled. Contreras hit a ground ball to Lux at second and for the second time Lux's error prevented the Reds from getting out of an inning with no runs. Yelich's third hit tied the game.

"We knew going into the game that you have to play a clean game against them," Lux said. "I make that play 99 out of 100 times but plays like that can't happen against a team like them."

Yelich hit another home run to the opposite field off Scott Barlow to give the Brewers, their first lead. It was his third multi-home run game of the year and 13th of his career. His fourth hit of the game was his 25th home run.

The Reds missed a golden opportunity to pass the New York Mets into the final wild card slot in the National League. The Seattle Mariners defeated the Mets 11-9 in Queens.