Soggy Night Belongs To Sean Rodriguez And The Bucs

On September 16, 1988 Tom Browning and the Reds had to wait in the rain two hours and twenty-seven minutes to play the Los Angeles Dodgers.  The game started at 10:00 and Browning threw a perfect game.

On Friday night a two hour fifty-five minute rain delay put the first pitch back to 10:05, there was no perfect game.  Far from it the Pittsburgh Pirates dampened the Reds' spirit with a 12-1 win.

The bats were soggy however as Jameson Taillon and Tyler Mahle pitched three scoreless innings.

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The sea worthy Pirates broke through in the fourth with singles by Colin Moran and Sean Rodriguez, surrounding a walk to Josh Bell.  Taillon executed a squeeze bunt for a 2-0 lead.  As the inning was ending on a routine fly to left, a cat ran on to the field.  It sprinted down the third base line and out through the stands.

The Reds gathered five singles through five innings but failed to score off Taillon.

Rodriguez opened the flood gates in the sixth.  Moran began the inning with his third hit.  Bell walked and Rodriguez, in his first game back from a strained right quadriceps, hit his fourth home run of the season, giving him four RBI on the night.  Corey Dickerson added his eighth home run to knock Mahle out of the box.

"We talked about it early in the year," Riggleman said.  "We were talking about getting past that sixth inning.  The sixth inning bit one of our starters again.  He had given up a couple runs but not many hard hit balls.  He was kind of cruising right along but he lost control there, a couple walks later in the inning he hung a slider..  It is a hurdle we've got to get over."

Mahle pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing six runs on eight hits and three walks.

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"A slider down the middle to Rodriguez then another slider it was 3-2 I had to throw a strike."

The Reds broke through in the bottom of the sixth.  Scooter Gennett drew a walk.  Eugenio Saurez struck out but Jesse Winker doubled off the wall in right center, his third hit.  Gennett scored from first base.

Gregory Polanco tripled to open the seventh off the glove of Billy Hamilton.  Elias Diaz singled him home.  Starling Marte hit a grand slam off Jackson Stephens in the eighth inning, following Rodriguez third hit and singles by Jordy Mercer and Moran, his fourth hit.  It was Marte's 14th home run of the season and second career grand slam.

Alex Blandino, who singled as a pinch hitter for Gennett, was injured turning a double play in the ninth inning as Jim Riggleman took Gennett and Suarez out of the game early.   The pair were in the All-Star game on Tuesday.   Curt Casali was brought in to play first base for the first time in his career.  When Blandino was taken out of the game the last man on the bench, Joey Votto had to come in.  Casali was moved to second.  Naturally the ball found him and he booted it for an error.

"Blandino was sore," Riggleman said.  "He'll get some x-rays tomorrow and hopefully its something that won't be too devastating for him. It was unfortunate.  I think the young man was trying to slide short.  He wasn't trying to hit Alex but he kind of stuck a little.  I'm sure he feels bad about it.. It was muddy.  He kind of stuck."