Third Time Not A Charm For Hays, Reds

 

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Reds Cut Ties With All-Star Closer

 

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Bradly Singer Wins Battle Of The Gators

 

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Abbott Answers The Question Who's On First

 

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Cubs Rally Late To Take Series From Reds

 

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Emergency catcher Reese McGuire hit two home runs. Seiya Suzuki retook the RBI  lead with a three-run home run to lift the Chicago Cubs to an 11-8 win to take the series.

Pete Crow-Armstrong had two RBI to take the National League lead over Suzuki with 48 but the home run put Suzuki at 49 on the season.

"Some lineups make you pay for mistakes more than others," Terry Francona said. "That (Cubs) is a good lineup and they're feeling good about themselves."

The first inning was busy.

The Cubs got a walk to Kyle Tucker and a single by Suzuki out of Nick Lodolo. A wild pitch put them in scoring position with two out. Crow-Armstrong singled them home with a hit off the glove of Matt McLain.

The Reds' answered with four runs against Chicago starter Ben Brown.

TJ Friedl and Santiago Espinal walked to open the inning. Elly De La Cruz beat out a relay on an attempted double play. Austin Hays drove in a run with a single off shortstop, Dansby Swanson's glove. Jose Trevino singled home a run. Will Benson singled down the right field line to put the Reds ahead. Trevino scored on a wild pitch.

Catcher McGuire was a late scratch with illness. McGuire a left handed batter hit his first home run of the season to make it a one-run game.

Brown retired 10 Reds' batters in a row before McLain topped a ball a few feet from home plate. McGuire's throw was late with the throw. McLain had a single. Freidl found a hole with a ground single. Espinal struck out on a 3-2 pitch. De La Cruz shot a single up the middle to score McLain. Hays tripled into the left field corner to drive in two runs. Trevino doubled with two outs to put the Reds ahead, 8-3.

Lodolo pitched five innings before Scott Barlow took over in the sixth.

Lodolo allowed three runs on six hits and two walks. He struck out six.

Barlow walked two and threw a wild pitch to allow one run in the sixth.

The Cubs got to within a run against Graham Ashcraft. He retired the first two batters in the seventh. Dansby Swanson hit a broken bat single. Crow-Armstrong singled and Nico Hoerner doubled them home. Michael Busch hit a flair for an RBI single before Matt Shaw struck out.

The bullpen has been good all year but in this series the Cubs mauled them with 21 runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth over the three-game series.

"Ashcraft gave up one ringing double but the other three, sometimes.... he made some really good pitches," Francona said.

McGuire homered for the second time off Taylor Rogers to tie the game, leading off the eighth.

Reds Top Prospect Will Be Out For Extended Time

 

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Elly De La Cruz Bashes Cubs Andrew Abbott Quiets Them

 

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Elly De La Cruz drove in four runs with a two-run home run and a single to lift the Reds to a 6-4 win over the Chicago Cubs.

"I'm not sure you can equate but it gave me energy," Francona said.

Andrew Abbott improved to 4-0 and dropped his ERA to 1.77 with 5 2/3 innings, allowing one run on six hits and two walks. He struck out two but navigated through a hot Cubs lineup.

In five May starts Abbott allowed two runs in 25 2/3 innings.

"His pitch count was very manageable," Francona said. "Some of their right hand hitters. There were some close misses. He had given us enough that I thought we could get it to the end."

The Reds scored in the first inning for the second straight game. Elly De La Cruz hit his ninth home run of the season off Colin Rea with Santiago Espinal on base with a walk.

Reds' starter Andrew Abbott gave up a hit to Kyle Tucker in the first inning. It was the first hit Abbott allowed in the first inning in 10 games dating back to last season.

"The guys made some good catches on some of those. They hit some mistakes and hit them hard but I didn't fall behind a lot and made pitches when I had to," Abbott.

Former Reds' minor leaguer, Justin Turner hit his first home run of the season to cut the Reds' lead in half. 

The Reds added a run in the fourth on a long sacrifice fly by Will Benson, that Pete Crow-Armstrong caught against the fence.

TJ Friedl singled to open the Reds' fifth. Espinal bunted for a single that put Friedl took second on Rea's throwing error. Espinal took second when the ball got away from catcher, Miguel Amaya. De La Cruz singled to make the score 5-1. De La Cruz stole second and Spencer Steer delivered him with a single to center and extended his hitting streak to 12 games and a career-long 15 games on base streak.

"It is always important to add runs, every time," De La Cruz said.

The Cubs got a run off Graham Ashcraft. Carson Kelly singled and Matt Shaw hit a double down the right field line. Kelly scored on a ground out by Ian Happ. Ashcraft struck out Tucker on a 3-2 pitch.

Crow-Armstrong drove in Seiya Suzuki with a sacrifice fly in the eighth off Tony Santillan.

Emilio Pagan entered the ninth. Kelly hit his ninth home run to leadoff the inning but struck out two and retired Tucker on a routine fly for his 13th save.

"There was bending in the bullpen but they didn't break," Francona said. "They competed like crazy and each of them got their big outs."

Reds Add Speed And Versatility To Bench

 

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Reds Start Fast Cubs Finish Faster

 

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Pete Crow-Armstrong hit two home runs, including a grand slam off the right field foul pole to propel the Chicago Cubs to an 13-6 series opening win.

The Reds made Cubs starter Matthew Boyd break a sweat in the first inning. The first three scored.

TJ Friedl opened the game with a double down the right field line that could have been a triple but the ball boy picked it up thinking it was foul. Santiago Espinal hit a slow roller down that Boyd fielded off balance down the first base line. Boyd tried to shovel the throw to Michael Busch at first. It went over his head, allowing Friedl to score. Elly De La Cruz singled Espinal to third. Austin Hays singled to score Espinal. Spencer Steer extended his career-high hitting streak to 11 games with a double. Tyler Stephenson walked to load the bases but Jose Trevino hit a pop up to the infield. Connor Joe hit into a contested double play. The Reds argued that Bush was pulled off the bag but the call was upheld. 

Hays opened the third inning with a triple. He scored on Boyd’s wild pitch to put the Reds ahead 4-0.

Hunter Greene made his first start since recovering from a right groin injury, shutting down the Cubs on one hit through the first three innings. With one out in the fourth Seiya Suzuki doubled. Pete Crow-Armstrong hit his 13th home run of the season. Greene walked two batters but finished the frame with no further damage.

Greene pitched four innings, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks. He struck out two.

The Reds replenished their lead against Julian Merryweather. Steer opened the inning with a single. Stephenson doubled high off the left field wall with Steer scoring. Friedl drove in Stephenson with two outs.

Ian Gibaut took the mound in the seventh which started out innocently enough. Dansby Swanson hit a routine fly to right. Nico Hoerner singled. Matt Shaw hit a slow roller up the middle that Matt McLain, who tried to tag Hoerner, who eluded the tag. Ian Happ singled just off the tip of Espinal’s glove in shallow left. Kyle Tucker singled two runs home. Suzuki singled to load the bases. Crow-Armstrong hit his 14th home run of the season off the foul pole to give the division leaders an 8-6 lead.

"I would probably want him to make sure to get one (out)," Francona said. "I'm trying to tell you that if we showed up to win and we didn't. Now we're going to have to show up tomorrow. If that inning affects us tomorrow, we're not, no it won't."

Suzuki hit a three-run home run, his 13th in the eighth inning.

Swanson added on with his 11th home run with a man on base.

Suzuki 46 RBI and Crow-Armstrong 45 are at the top of the MLB leaderboard.

Hunter Greene Opens Against The Cubs

 

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Will Benson NL Player OF The Week Other Reds On The Mend

 

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Big Leagues, Big Balls: Reds Pitching Show Courage In Sweep

 

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Reds Bullpen Finishes What It Starts On Satruday

 

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Will Benson Wrecks Guardians Andrew Abbott Shuts Them Down

 

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Will Benson hit his fifth home run in four games and fourth in the series against his former teammates the Cleveland Guardians to fuel a 3-1 win over the intrastate rivals.

Benson broke in with the Guardians in 2022 after he was their first pick in the 2016 draft.

The Reds sent Justin Boyd and Steve Hajjer him before the 2023 season. 

Benson hit a two-run home run off Luis Ortiz with Tyler Stephenson on first to get the Reds off to a 2-0 lead. He hit a solo home run off Hunter Gaddis in the sixth inning. That was the entire Reds offense.

"I'm trying to execute my plan. The first one I was visualizing it. I saw it happen before it happened. It was pretty cool it happened," Benson said. "I saw a theme from them.  I did have a different game plan coming into the game. I thought there would be a harder attack as you saw in the first at bat and I was able to capitalize on that."

Andrew Abbott pitched out of a bases loaded jam in the first inning. He hit Seven Kwan with a pitch to start the game. A nice running catch by Benson of Jose Ramirez' bid for extra bases turned out to be a huge out. Carlos Santana and Gabriel Arias walked to load the bases with one out. Abbott struck out Jhonkensky Noel and got Angel Martinez out on a soft line drive to Elly De La Cruz to escape.

Abbott worked around leadoff doubles by Will Wilson in the second and Ramirez in the third inning.

He finished with five innings, allowing four hits and three walks. Abbott struck out five.

"I want to say this appropriately, big balls," Francona said. "He made a lot of pitches early. DJ made a really good trip to the mound. He wasn't commanding early but he didn't give in and he competed like crazy." The same bullpen members that pitched nine innings on Saturday, shut out the Guardians for an encore.

Luis Mey gave up a run in the seventh. A leadoff walk to pinch hitter Bo Naylor culminated in a two-out RBI single by Santana. Taylor Rogers struck out Kyle Manzado to quell the threat.

Tony Santillan working his third day in a row pitched a scoreless eighth. 

Emilio Pagan had a two-run lead to protect knowing that the dangerous Ramirez was due up in the ninth.

Bo Naylor hit a bloop double to right. Pagan got the pesky Kwan on a pop out to short. Ramirez, representing the tying run, hit a slow roller to Santiago Espinal at third base. He had no play, leaving runners on first and second with one out. It took a nerve wracking nine pitches to strike out Santana. The last player left for the Guardians, Will Brennan, struck out on three pitches. Pagan's 12th save was his third of the series. As the Reds swept Cleveland for the first time in 13 years.

How about those big balls.

"I'm glad you said that, I told him I was going to get him some wipes because he won't be able to wipe his ass for a day or two," Francona said.

"You know what that was one of the funner games to be a part of. You couldn't even breath. Our guys are competing like crazy. Santillan and Pagan working three days in a row, day game, night game," Francona said.

How tired is Pagan?

"I'll let you know in an hour. Right now I'm still pumped up and feel fine," Pagan said. "I'm sure it will hit me sometime in the night. I honestly don't know if I can throw the ball better than that. Those guys are good. I faced those guys. the top three in particular, Kwan, Ramirez and Santana, a bunch the last few years being in that division," Pagan said. "The make you work for everything. They don't really chase out of the zone. I was trying to work the off speed down and away just to take the sting out of the bat a little bit. I was able to execute enough to get through the inning."

I

Mr. Opportunity Knocks Wlll Benson Answers

 

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Reds Bullpen Throws A Complete Game And Win Third Straight

 

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The Reds bullpen pitched the entire game and held the Cleveland Guardians to a single run in a 4-1 victory.

The Reds go two games up on the Ohio Cup and won their third straight contest.

Brent Suter pitched three scoreless innings to start the game for the Reds. 

"Suter does that with enthusiasm. When he's out there every body seams to have more pep in their step," Terry Francona said.

Chase Petty's turn came up and Terry Francona elected to go with Suter as an "opener". 

The Guardians sent Slade Cecconi to the mound for his first start of the season. Cecconi was dealing with an oblique strain from early spring training.

"Normally on a night like that you have to be careful but no one got fried," Francona said. "DJ (pitching coach Derek Johnson) and I talked before the game. We decided we were going to go inning by inning and keep taking the temperature."

Lyon Richardson replaced Suter and gave up a leadoff home run in the fifth inning to Daniel Schneemann, his sixth of the season.

Will Benson hit his third home run in three days to tie the score in the bottom of the fifth inning. It was his third of the season. 

"Once Will tied the game, we were so invested in the bullpen and we won. You'd hate to lose a game like that." 

TJ Friedl doubled to lead off the sixth. Santiago Espinal indicated that he was going to bunt Friedl to third. Instead he drew his bat back and hit a line drive over the head of the second baseman, Schneemann.

"I saw they were kind of like breaking everybody," Espinal said. "In my mind I was going to put the ball in play. That doesn't work very often but with the shortstop going to third, the second baseman going to first. I was trying to go through the middle or where nobody was. Thankfully I hit a line drive."

Friedl scored. Austin Hays hit a double off the left field wall to score Espinal. Hays went to third on Jose Ramirez throw home.

Luis Mey and Graham Ashcraft pitched a scoreless inning apiece.

Mey got the credit for his first career win.

"My teammates were really happy for me," said Mey, who dropped his ERA to 1.08. "I want to deal with the pressure. I'm happy the Reds gave me the opportunity. I want to stay here forever."

Rece Hinds connected with two outs in the seventh for his second home run of the season. The blow to straight away center off former Red, Jakob Junis gave the Reds a three-run lead. 

Tony Santillan retired the dangerous Ramirez to complete a scoreless eighth inning.

Emilio Pagan picked up his 11th save of the year with a perfect ninth. 

Reds To Use Opener To Ease Chase Petty's Burden

 

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Chase Petty is working on the side with pitching coach Derek Johnson.  Even though it is Petty's rotation spot, manager Terry Francona and Johnson decided to lighten the 22-year old's workload.

Veteran Brent Suter will open the game against the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday. Petty will follow at some point in the game.

"We're trying to balance getting a win and taking care of Petty," Francona said. "Anything he experiences now will help him. He's an amped up kid anyway. We don't want to take that away from him. Like I explained, we're trying to balance. No one has a crystal ball. We do the best we can."

Suter opened several games in his career, including the April 20, game in Baltimore. He will go as far as he can to reduce wear and tear on the bullpen.

Petty has been with the team since his last start in Houston. He is getting to know what it is like in the major leagues. 

"Anything he experiences now will help him. Having him here for a week instead of just being called up and pitching, having a side day with DJ should help him. He's young," Francona said. 

Francona doesn't want to make a habit of using an opener, "I don't think you can do this all that often unless you're ok with sending guys up and down and we prefer not to do that."

 

Previously Untold Stories About Pete Rose

 

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Reds Score Early And Hang On For The Ohio Cup Lead

 

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The Reds jumped on the Cleveland Guardians starter, Tanner Bibee in the second inning.

Gavin Lux singled and went to third on a double by Spencer Steer. Tyler Stephenson struck out. Will Benson hit his second home run of the season and the second in two days. The Reds continued. Matt McLain singled and moved to second on a groundout. Santiago hit an infield single to second baseman Garbriel Arias. Arias made a desperate throw over the head of Carlos Santana at first base. McLain trotted home.

Benson was sent to the minor leagues in spring training and again after a two game stint in April.

"He was dying for an opportunity. I lot of times when a guy goes down, I don't want to say pouts, it's human nature it's like a kick in the stomach. He probably did the opposite of that. He went and played., Francona said. "He shows up every day ready to play. You're not going to get a hit every night. He is trying to make the most of the opportunity."

Benson broke in with Cleveland in 2022 and was signed by the Reds.

"I looked at it as an opportunity to lock in my routine," said Benson, who has also played good defense. "I'm thankful for the opportunity to play everyday. No, it was any more special about beating them. I've kind of gotten past that revenge. I was joking about that today. I'm having breakfast with Kwan in the morning. We'll have a good laugh."

Austin Hays hit his sixth home run to open the third.

The Guardians fought back against Brady Singer, the Reds starter. Singer faced the minimum of nine batters through the third.

Steven  Kwan walked. With two outs Kyle Manzardo doubled down the right field line. Elly De La Cruz could not hold onto the throw to get Manardo. Santana singled to score two runs. Bo Nay lor hit his sixth home run in the fifth to make it a two-run game. 

Taylor Rogers relieved Singer, who pitched five innings, allwing three runs on three hits and three walks. Singer struck out four.

"I thought he (Singer) had to battle his rear end off," Francona said. "You look historically at their (Guardians) lineup there were a lot of hits against him and a lot of damage. He did a pretty damn good job.

The Reds missed a scoring chance in the sixth. Stephenson missed a home run by a few inches. Kwan played it off the wall and held Stephenson to a single. Benson singled but the Reds failed to add to the lead.

Rogers and Graham Ashcraft pitched scoreless innings. Tony Santillan got the first two outs in the eighth but Jose Ramirez hit his ninth home run to pull Cleveland within a run.

Emilio Pagan earned his 10th save with a perfect ninth inning.

Reds Figure Out How To Score Runs

 

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Eureka!!!!

The Reds scored more runs in the first inning than they scored off the Chicago White Sox in the first two games of this series on the way to a 7-1 win.

"I think we all needed that. Now we have to back it up. That's part of the game but enjoy it today," Terry Francona said.

Gavin Lux walked against White Sox' starter, Bryse Wilson. Santiago Espinal bunted for a hit and Elly De La Cruz hit a flair down the left field line to load the bases with no outs. Austin Hays plated Lux with a fly out to deep center. Will Benson singled home two runs to put the Reds ahead, 3-0.

Nick Martinez mowed down the first 13 batters before Matt Thaiss singled. 

"Because they had to respect all of his pitches, he was able to keep his fastballs of their barrels a lot," Francona said. "He was really impressive."

Elly De La Cruz homered to left field off Wilson for his eighth home run of the season, leading off the third inning. 

Benson hit his first home run of the season in the fifth inning."

He's making the most of his opportunity," Francona said. "When we sent him down (minor leagues), we told him go play. You'll get a chance. That's the way the game is."

"When I went down, it let me lock down my routine and do what I can," Benson said.

The Reds scored a run on a force out hit by Lux, scoring Matt McLain, who doubled. 

McLain hit his sixth home run in the sixth inning.

Martinez finished seven innings, allowing two singles as the only base runners for the White Sox for the day. He has not walked a batter in his last three starts.

"It's part of my game, attacking the zone and challenging hitters," Martinez said. "I was able to locate my fastball, change speeds, read bats."

Taylor Rogers took over in the eighth. He gave up a run.

Louis Mey struck out two in a perfect ninth.

Reds Outfielder Leaves Game On One Limb

 

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Reds Scoring Draught Continues Lose Series To The Popes Team The Chicago White Sox

 

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Since Pope Leo XIV was chosen as Pope, the Reds lost five of six games, including two straight to the Chicago White Sox, his favorite team.

The Red scored 13 runs in their lone win in that period but just seven runs in the five losses. 

Meanwhile his sainted White Sox, who came into Cincinnati with a 12-29 record won four of five.

It was Pete Rose night on the banks of the Ohio, you'd think the Reds could score 14 runs to match Rose's retired number.

Instead the White Sox scored single runs off Nick Lodolo in the second and fifth inning. Lodolo left after Lenyn Sosa belted his third home run of the season with one out in the sixth. 

Lodolo pitched 5 1/3 innings with three runs on seven hits. He walked one, Luis Robert Jr. in the third inning to load the bases but pitched out of it. He struck out one.

"I thought they did a pretty good job of laying off his fastball in," Terry Francona said. "It ran the pitch count up, saying that he gave up the home run. It was getting close to six innings. He pitched ok on a lot of nights (like that), we're patting him on the back."

The Reds had nine hits and a walk but again struggled to get a key hit. They had the first batter of the inning reach base three times against White Sox starter, Davis Martin. They had runners in scoring position with less than two outs in three innings with nothing to show for it.

Scott Barlow gave up number nine hitter, Michael A Taylor's second home run of the season and the Reds, who have scored one or fewer runs in eight games coming into Wednesday, scored in the seventh inning on Spencer Steer's fourth home run. Elly De La Cruz doubled with two outs in the eighth and scored on Austin Hay's second hit since coming off the injured list on Friday in Houston in 17 at bats.

That was the scoring and the Reds will try to avoid a sweep.

White Sox Big 10th Inning Dooms Reds

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The Chicago White Sox scored four runs in the 10th inning with two outs and sent the Reds to its fifth extra inning loss. 5-1.

The run starved Reds continued to waste good pitching and are 0-5 in extra inning games. The White Sox won their first in three tries. They have given up leads, 15 times in their 42 games.

Andrew Abbott allowed one earned run in six innings and dropped his earned run average to 2.10. He didn't walk a batter, gave up four hits and struck out seven.

The only run scored for the White Sox came on a bloop double by Miguel Vargas that magically fell among four players with a sliding collision between TJ Friedl and Elly De La Cruz. Friedl who was hit by a pitch on the left forearm in the top of the third left the game after the fourth inning.

Rookie Edgar Quero followed with an RBI single.

"We were really mixing and matching Stepho called a good game. They are still a good hitting team. We tried to keep them off balance."

"I couldn't really see the ball, where it hit," Abbott said. "At that moment I'm not worried about the hit. I'm worried about my teammates."

The play was costly for another reason. Friedl hit his other arm on his dive by hitting De La Cruz. 

"I have cleat marks all up and down by my thigh," Friedl said. "It was a good thing he was wearing molded spikes instead of metal."

"They infielders are taught to go after the ball until someone calls them off. I was calling Elly off but he couldn't hear me. I think I waited too long and called right before we started our slides."

X-rays were negative but Friedl will have an MRI in the morning.

The Reds scoring draught carried into the ninth inning even though they put the leadoff hitter on base in three consecutive innings.

Elly De La Cruz broke the shutout with his seventh home run of the season coming off a 3-2 offering by Steven Wilson.

Jonathon Cannon followed the opener, Brandon Eisert with six scoreless innings on four hits and no walks. He struck out six. 

The Reds ran themselves out of two scoring chances.  Spencer Steer was on third base with one out and the infield in. Matt McLain hit a high chop that Cannon fielded with Steer halfway between third and home. Cannon slipped but recovered and threw Steer out at trying to get back to third.

"It was a play that we weren't going on contact," Francona said. "But if they see something, they can go. He just got caught when he didn't go right away, he didn't know if the ball was going over the pitcher's head. He got caught in no man's land."

Connor Joe hit a one out double. Benson walked but on ball four Joe was caught stealing third.

"Connor was trying to make something happen. By his own admission he said I tried to make something happen and I shouldn't have."

Graham Ashcraft relieved Abbott and was greeted with a double by Andrew Vaughn. Lenyn Sosa singled Vaughn to third with no outs. Ashcraft struck out Tim Elko. Josh Rojas hit a one hopper to Steer at first. The first baseman stepped on first and threw Vaughn out at home.

Emilio Pagan pitched a scoreless ninth but the home run pressed him into duty for a second inning. 

Baldwin was the ghost runner. Elko grounded out to Santiago Espinal at third. Pagan struck out Rojas and had a 3-2 count on pinch-hitter Matt Thaiss and walked him. Chase Meidroth hit a high two strike pitch for a go ahead single. Vargas put the game out of reach with his third home run of the season.

"It was a big ask (of Pagan) to send him out there. He didn't have a lot of pitches in the ninth but it was still a big ask," Terry Francona said. "As excited as we were to see Elly's home run, we were feeling it in our bullpen. We had a couple guys not available. We had one guy emergency."

Odd Timing Pete Rose And Black Sox Eligible For Hall of Fame

 

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The Reds Will Honor Pete Rose On Wednesday

 

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Pitching Prospects Are Gettin Closer

 

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Reds Rookie Hurler Gets A Second Chance

 

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Dateline: 1,209 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico

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Reds Get Back To Full Strength

 

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Reds Return Slugger and Rookie To Roster

 

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Reds Ace Will Go On Injured List Friday

 

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Francona Tossed In Frustrating Loss

 

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Dateline: 1,209 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico

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Calling All Catchers

 

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Injured List Expansion In Cincinnati

 

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Reds Victim Of an Inside-the-Park Home Run Lose Prospect To Injury Avoid No-hitter

 

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Dateline: 1,209 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico

It was an awful night for the Cincinnati Reds.

Matt Olson hit an inside-the-park home run and a bright Reds’ prospect broke his left forearm on the play.

With the Braves already ahead 2-0, Olson hit a drive down the left field line. Tyler Callihan, who was with the Reds for less than a week, appeared to catch the fly but lost the ball when he banged into the wall in foul territory.

The play was reviewed and the call was no-catch and Austin Riley and Olson circled the bases.

Callihan was in obvious pain and TJ Friedl frantically signaled for medical attention. Surgery is required.

“We’re sending him back to Cincinnati in the morning to line up surgery,” manager Terry Francona informed the media after the game. “How tough was it to watch? There’s no good way to explain it. The kid is running full blast to save it, you know, save runs.”

“I asked TJ. He said it was so bad when he got there. He knew. We’ll get him fixed up. He’s young. He’ll be ok. It will just take awhile.”

While the Reds were licking their wounds, AJ Smith-Shawver took a no-hitter into the eighth inning. Santiago Espinal broke it up with a line single up the middle.

“He was just dominant with his velocity,” Francona “Then you add the splitter and the breaking ball. He had everything working.”

The last Braves no-hitter was authored by former Red, Kent Mercker on April 8, 1994 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Elly De La Cruz was 0-for-4 and his on-base streak was snapped at  games.

Ashcraft Shows He's Human Luis Garcia Powers Nationals To A Series Win

 

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Dateline: 1,209 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico

Graham Ashcraft had an ERA of 0.57 after he retired nine straight Cardinals hitters in his last outing.

Luis Garcia hit a home run, the first against Ashcraft this season as the Washington Nationals snagged the final game of the series, 4-1.

"He left a couple pitches where he didn't want to. He kind of proved that he's human. You're going to give up runs. That's how the game is," Terry Francona said.

Nick Martinez and MacKenzie Gore battled for five innings.

Nathaniel Lowe doubled to lead off the second inning and scored on a sacrifice fly by Luis Garcia Jr.

Tyler Stephenson the game with his first home run of the season, leading off the bottom of the second.

"He threw me a curve ball that he left up," Stephenson said. "I'm trying to get pitches I'm supposed to hit and be on time for them. When I was rehabbing from the oblique, the thought in my mind was don't reinjure it but my first game back I checked a swing and fouled one off, so it checked some boxes. I knew I would be ok."

Reds thought they had a two-run lead when a line drive by Elly De La Cruz cleared the left field fence near the foul pole. Third base umpire Sean Barber signaled fair ball but it was overturned on a crew chief review. De La Cruz walked during the at bat to extend his on-base streak to 23 games.

"I didn't let myself get to overboard there because I thought it was foul," Francona said. "For a second I thought maybe it hit the foul pole. We called right away so we knew."

Gore pitched five innings, allowing one run on four hits.

Martinez pitched six innings, allowing one run on four hits. He didn't walk anyone and struck out six. It was the second quality start in a row and he missed a third straight with 5 2/3 innings in Miami.

"I got into a rhythm with my mechanics. I felt free and was able to attack the zone," Martinez said. "Even my misses were pretty good."

Ashcraft took over in the seventh. 

Garcia hit the home run, his third. singles by Alex Call and Dylan Crews set up a two-run double by CJ Abrams to give Washington a 4-1 lead. The runs were charged to Ashcraft but it was Taylor Rogers that allowed the double on an 0-2 pitch.

Every Good Team Has a Player Like This Cincinnati Red

 

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Reds Teammate Powers Nationals To Even The series

 

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Amed Rosario hit an RBI double and a three-run home run off Nick Lodolo to put the Washington Nationals in command in a 11-6 win.

The Reds and Nationals were tied 3-3 when an error by Matt McLain set up the visitors for a big inning. 

With one out and the bases empty, McLain fumbled the ground ball hit by number nine hitter, Jacob Young. Lodolo hit CJ Abrams with an 0-2 pitch and Rosario, who played with the Reds last season unloaded his second home run of the season. 

"It got away from us and it got away and it got away in a hurry," manager Terry Francona said. "We were 3-3 and feeling good about it and it got away fast.

Both teams scored a pair of runs in the first inning. An RBI single by Alex Call and a sacrifice fly by Luis Garcia Jr. staked Nationals starter Trevor Williams to a brief 2-0 lead. 

The Reds answered with two runs. TJ Friedl singled to start the Reds' inning. Elly De La Cruz walked to extend his on-base streak to 22 games. Spencer Steer hit a two-run double.

Rookie Tyler Callihan singled for his first big league hit to drive in Jake Fraley in the second inning.

"It was huge. All the things you put to work and show out. And it got a run for the team." Callihan said. "I wasn't sure it was going to fall in, that's my buddy out there Jacob Young. He flies out there. I thought he was going to have a chance but when I saw it get down, I was pumped for myself and the team."

Luis Mey allowed a run but struck out three in the top of the ninth.

Rosario's two-out double tied the score in the fourth.

Lodolo couldn't finish the sixth after James Wood's second infield hit and fourth hit of the game.

"He wasn't commanding like he can and it cost him a little bit," Francona said. 

Lodolo finished with 5 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs, six earned on 10 hits, two walks and two hit batters. He struck out four.

"I was falling behind a good bit," Lodolo said. "The damage wasn't crazy but Rosario killed me."

Jake Fraley hit his third home run of the season in the sixth.

The Nationals squeezed home a run against Yosver Zulueta in the seventh.

Washington tacked on two more runs in the eighth against Brett Suter.

The Reds scored in the eighth when Rosario lost track of  Noelvi Marte's infield pop up. Steer scored on the play. 

De La Cruz doubled home McLean in the ninth.

Hunter Greene Dominates The Washington Nationals With 12 Strikeouts

 

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Dateline: 1,209 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico

Hunter Greene dominated the Washington Nationals in a 6-1 win in the first game of a three-game series.

Greene struck out 12, two shy of his career-high on September 20, 2023 against the Minnesota Twins.

He fanned every Nationals batter at least once.

Santiago Espinal and Tyler Stephenson had two-out, two-run doubles in the first three innings to stake Greene to an early lead.

Greene took it from there, allowing one hit off a scary line drive from CJ Abrams that hit Greene in the back by his shoulder blade. He tossed a couple pitches and stayed in the game to throw 114 pitches. He struck out five of the last six batters he faced.

"He deserved to finish that inning," manager Terry Francona said. But I was getting angrier each pitch. At the same point I've got a job to do. The guys took a bullet off his shoulder, so I was feeling it a little bit. It was going to be his last hitter."

Stephenson hit two doubles in his first game of the season after recovering from an oblique strain in his lower back.

Espinal was 1-for-3 and ended the game with a .324 average.

Greene pitched six innings allowing two hits, including Josh Bell's fifth home run that accounted for all Washington's scoring.

"I was really trying to throw Abrams out but by the time I found the ball, it was too late," Greene said. "I was digging deep and trying to be a man of the people and get 11 strikeouts"

Reds fans in attendance get free pizza from LaRosa's with 11 strikeouts.

Elly De La Cruz was hitless but walked and scored in the first inning. He has reached base in 21 straight games.

Scott Barlow, Tony Santillan and Emilio Pagan each pitched a scoreless inning and added five strikeouts to the Reds' total.

The Reds Have Three Catchers With Veterans Return

 

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Mey Day a Flamethrower in Cincinnati

 

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Dateline: 1,209 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico

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Petty Wins Chase To Big Leagues But It Will Not Define Him

 

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Dateline: 1,209 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico

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There's A New Closer In Town

 

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His Face Is On A Video Game But His Numbers Are Real

 

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Dateline: 1,209 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico

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Reds Gain A Split In The Rain Another Rookie Breaks In Bullpen Was Nearly Perfect

 

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Dateline: 1,209 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico

Jose Trevino got the Reds off to a fast start an Andrew Abbott pitched four rain soaked innings while the Reds added on to earn an 9-1 decision.

It was the cure for a doubleheader loss on Tuesday night, in which they were outscored 15-1.

Trevino hit his third home run of the season after Gavin Lux walked in the second inning off ST. Louis starter, Matt Liberatore. The pitchers took it from there. 

Abbott pitched four innings in which he allowed three hits and walked four. An unearned run in the third inning when a bloop single by Nolan Arenado was fumbled by Elly De La Cruz as Brendan Donovan sprinted home. 

Rain that lasted an hour and 37 minutes ended the day for both starters. 

Graham Ashcraft picked up the win with three Perfect innings with four strikeouts. 

"We kind of gambled with him being first out of the chute," manager Terry Francona said. "The perfect case was that he was able to go three. That was exactly what he did. He filled the zone with strikes with two different pitches and quality"

Ashcraft lowered his ERA to 0.57.

"There hasn't been too many times where I've gone nine up, nine down. My stuff was pretty good today," Ashcraft said. "I feel I'm right there where I need to be. They told me that i was going to go right after the rain delay, when they knew it was going to be more than an hour. I wasn't going to do a whole starter routine because that's not what I am any more..

Taylor Rogers pitched a perfect eighth.

Luis Mey, who the Reds promoted when struggling Alexis Diaz went to Louisville, made his first Major League appearance. He struck out the first batter he faced.

Mey is a big guy that throws hard. He had more pitches clocked over 100 mile an hour than anyone in the minor leagues, getting up to over 103 at times.

"I was feeling a little nervous but it was nothing that I could not control," Mey said. "After my first pitch I said let's get back on track, throw strikes and let's see what happens."

He was the third rookie to appear in his first game, joining Chase Petty and Tyler Callihan.

Matt Svanson was touched for two runs when play resumed.  Noelvi Marte singled to greet Svanson. Santiago Espinal singled and Spencer Steer walked. Lux forced Steer at second as Marte scored. Trevino drove in his third run of the game with a fly out to right.

Steer hit his third homer in the sixth off Riley O'Brien. The Reds tacked on three more in the seventh and one in the ninth against John King.