Reds Loss Feels Like A Gain

For the second game in a row both within a 24 hour time frame the Reds lost a game but they felt like winning.

On Saturday, Sonny Gray pitched two scoreless innings.  Cody Reed, Amir Garrett and Matt Wisler had their best outings of the spring.  A grand slam late in the game caused the Reds to go down to defeat but the offensive pluses along with pitching far out weighed the results.

On Sunday the Reds dropped a 3-2 decision to the Arizona Diamondbacks but the pitching was so good, David Bell was ecstatic.

"The pitching was really good today.  It was good to see (Matt) Bowman and David (Hernandez) out there," Bell said.

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The starter, Tanner Roark, retired nine of the first 10 Diamondback batters, six by strikeout before Caleb Joseph hit a three-run home run in the fourth with one out.  Roark finished that inning to give him four full innings with four hits, three runs, one walk and six strikeouts.

"I ran out of gas which is good every now and then," said Roark, knowing that getting stretched out means pitching past fatigue.  "You have to take a step back when that happens.  I used a change up and didn't execute it."

The six strikeouts were a revelation.

'I'm not a huge swing and miss guy," Roark said.  "I will continue to get strike one and make the hitters uncomfortable."

"Tanner pitched so good, like he has all spring.  Getting tired is to be expected," Bell said.

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Raisel Iglesias, Ian Krol and Anthony Bass pitched perfect innings.

David Hernandez shook off a painful shoulder and made his first appearance of the spring.  He allowed the only other hit and no walks.  The shoulder pain is nothing new for Hernandez to go through.  He had the same thing last year, starting the season on the disabled list.  He returned in late April.

"I felt really, really good," Hernandez said.  "It is one of my favorite things to go out there for the first time in the spring.  I just wanted to feel good after it.  We will see how I feel tomorrow.  Last year I had the same injury.  I waited until the middle of March to say anything.  I was a little smarter about it this year and said something right away."

Matt Bowman, who appeared in 156 games over the last three years for the St. Louis Cardinals pitched a perfect inning in his first game this spring.

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"It was really good to see Hernandez and Bowman out there," said Bell, who was the bench coach for the Cardinals the last three years.

Chris Oakey doubled and Blake Trahan singled him home in the fifth inning.  Jose Siti singled in the eighth and stole second and third.  Kyle Wren hit a double to score Siri.

Christian Colon reached first on a throwing error, leading off the ninth.  Aristedes Aquino blooped a single to give the Reds a threat.  Okey sacrificed Aquino to second and pinch runner Narciso Crook to third.  Connor Joe hit a check swing ground ball to pitcher Dan Gibson, who caught Crook in a rundown.  Trahan backed up center fielder Tra Holmes to the warning track to record the final out.

Curt Casali, who had the labrum in his left hip repaired on October 1, caught four innings.  He beat Bell's early estimate by four days.

"He was ready early.  Nothing's changed.  It was just time to get him out there," Bell said.