Reds Get First Look At Chase Pettty Who Might Want A Redo

 

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Dateline: 1,209 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico

Chase Petty made it to the big leagues and that was the only good news he had on Wednesday as the St. Louis Cardinals, roughed him up to sweep the doubleheader, 9-1.

Petty was called up after the Tuesday rainout to allow the Reds to keep its rotation in order.

“You know, we loved him. He’s a young kid with a really bright future. Whatever happens to him and we obviously want him to help us win the ballgame but regardless of how he does, it's not going to define his future. We do think the present is kind of exciting,” Francona said in the pregame meeting.

That is a good thing.

Petty lasted just 2 1/3 innings, allowing nine runs on seven hits, including two home runs. He walked two and struck out three.

“He was over throwing a little bit. He looked like he was ready to run through the line when he came into the dugout. He’ll learn. There is a lot to like,” Francona said. “He got two strikes and everything was hard. I’m sure he was amped up."

Steven Matz, who made his big league debut against the Reds in 2015. He dropped an already impressive, 1.80 ERA to 1.50 with four scoreless innings.

Petty started his career with a walk to leadoff hitter, Lars Nootbaar. Masyn Winn singled and after a diving catch of a line drive by Brendan Donovan, Willson Contreras hit his third home run for a 3-0 lead. Pedro Pages homered to conclude an 11-pitch at bat. The Cardinals scored five run in the third inning.

“I learned a lot,” Petty said. “I have to execute pitches with two strikes. I know I’m better than how I performed tonight. I think I handled my emotions. I just didn’t execute pitchers.”

The excitement of being called to the big leagues for the first time soured with his performance but Francona put it in prospective for him

“It was hard to enjoy because of the results but Terry Francona supporting me after the game put the biggest smile on my face. 

The Reds suffered their fourth shutout of the season, 6-0 in the first game. They didn't score until the sixth inning in game two.

Elly De La Cruz had two hits, including a single in the inning. He moved up on a wild pitch and scored on Santiago Espinal's third hit. De La Cruz extended his hitting streak to 14 games and his on-base streak to 18 games.

Brent Suter saved some bullpen arms with 3 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball. Lyon Richardson pitched three perfect innings as the pair retired 20 straight batters.