Tony Santillan Finishes 1-0 Shutout To Sweep The Cubs And Caught The Mets With Six Games Left

 

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Dateline: 1,209 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico

The Reds sweated and strained to pull off a second 1-0 win over the Chicago Cubs since Thursday night. It provided a clean four-game streak over the division rival and put them in the driver's seat for the sixth an final wild card entry into the playoffs by catching the New York Mets.

"It is not over yet," cautioned Gavin Lux, who came to the Reds in the offseason after winning a World Championship with the Los Angeles Dodgers. "It is fun to win no matter where it is. We still have work to do.

Indeed, the Reds were six games out after Friday September 5, when they loaded the bases against the Mets with no outs in the ninth inning and failed to score in a 5-4 loss.

The Reds spent 10 days on the road and were swept by the Oakland Athletics in three games, that could have buried the team but they have turned it around and won five straight games as the Mets fell apart. They are tied but the Reds own the tie breaker because they took the season series from the Mets 4-2.

The Reds broke through against Jameson Taillon in the third inning. Matt McLain and Gavin Lux doubled to take a lead.

Andrew Abbott pitched out of trouble in the top of the inning. Michael Busch and Kevin Alcantara opened the inning with singles but Abbott retired, Nico Hoerner. Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki on fly outs.

"I got ahead of hitters but couldn't put them away," said Abbott, who praised the bullpen for picking him up and firing 4 1/3 innings of shutout baseball. "It is the time of the year where you just want to get the ball to them. Nick Martinez is like a swiss army knife."

Abbott allowed five singles and a walk in 4 2/3 innings. He was relieved by Nick Martinez who struck out Suzuki to end the fifth, preserving the Reds' one-run lead.

"Abbott competed like crazy," manager Terry Francona said. "I thought he started to get into a better rhythm right when we were about to take him out of the game but who was coming up. I don't think we're at the point of the season that anybody cares, who gets the win as long as its up. We thought Martinez was a better matchup."

Martinez transferred to the bullpen after starting in the starting rotation at the start of the year. He came back out and retired the next six batters he faced after the Suzuki strike out.

"He (Martinez) is special in a lot of ways," Francona said. "He's a good pitcher and competitor and he's willing to do whatever."

Martinez delighted in the competition.

"You can't kill us," Martinez said. "This last month, month and a half, there have been a lot of ups and downs. It's been a playoff atmosphere for us."

Graham Ashcraft pitched a scoreless eighth.

"These last two games, he's thrown the best he has all season," Francona said.

The Reds rode their horse or bear in the ninth inning. Tony Santillan walked two but struck out Pete Crow-Armstrong looking to seal the game with his 77th appearance of the season, earning his seventh save.

"We didn't have Pagan and we weren't going to use Santillan unless we had the chancet to win. He did what he always does. He grinded through it," Francona said.

Santillan walked the leadoff man Moises Ballesterios on a 3-1 pitch. Dansby Swanson flied out routinely to TJ Friedl in center field. Santillan struck out pinch hitter, Willi Castro but walked 30 home run hitter, Busch. That put the tying run in scoring position. Crow-Armstrong with 29 home runs to his name stepped to the plate. Santillan struck him out on four pitches, catching the inside corner to end the game.

"I obviously made it a little harder on myself," said Santillan known to his teammates as Oso or bear. "I walked the first guy and obviously I was like, 'what am I doing?' I told myself, 'don't give him any free passes.' I look over and there was a guy on first with a free pass. I started to concentrate and focus. I kind of slowed things down and make a good pitch. Trust my stuff," Santillan said.

A Very Coachable Tyler Stephenson Put The Game Away For The Reds Fourth Straight Win

 

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Dateline: 1,209 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico

The Reds had just escaped a one-out jam to cling to a one-run lead. Catcher Tyler Stephenson watched Noelvi Marte lead off the bottom of the eighth inning with a single off Chicago Cubs reliever, Andrew Kitteridge.  It brought Elly De La Cruz to the plate.

Stephenson went to manager Terry Francona and asked him."If Elly gets on base, do you want me to bunt them over?" Francona said, "No, I want you to hit it in the third row." That is approximately where Stephenson deposited his 12th home run of the season to provide the final margin in the Reds' 6-3 win.

"He's very coachable," Francona quipped after the game.

The win drew the Reds within one game of the New York Mets for the final Wild Card position. The lowly Washington Nationals parlayed an inside-the-park home run by Daylen Lile into a 5-3, 11-inning win over the Mets. A sweep of the Cubs by the Reds on Sunday could force a tie with the Reds holding the tie breaker.

Zach Littell gave up Michael Busch's 30th home run of the season with one out in the third inning. It was the 35th allowed by the Reds' right hander this season. That ties the Washington Nationals' Jake Irvin for the major league lead.

The Reds took the lead off Javier Assad in the bottom of the inning. Matt McLain opened the inning with a single and stole second. TJ Friedl singled but McLain had to hold at third as right fielder Willi Castro got to it in a hurry. Spencer Steer, who hit two home runs on Friday night, hit a slow roller to third baseman, Matt Shaw. McLain beat the throw home to tie the score. Will Benson singled with two outs to give the Reds a 2-1 lead.

Reese McGuire hit his ninth home run of the season with two outs in the fifth. It was Littell's league-leading 36th home run allowed this season.

Steer victimized Drew Pomerantz with his 21st home run in the fifh, his third in the last two games.

Austin Hays left the game with back spasms in the top of the sixth. Steer went to left and Sal Stewart took over at first base.

Friedl led off the bottom of the seventh with his 13th home run of the season. It came off Aaron Civale.

Castro and McGuire hit back-to-back doubles to open the eighth inning and cut the Reds' lead to one run. Nico Hoerner reached on an infield single. Tony Santillan struck out Ian Happ. Moises Ballesteros grounded out to short and the Reds took a one one lead into the bottom of the eighth. It was a slow roller that De La Cruz had to charge and he threw out Ballesteros on a close play.

"I've always had the confidence that I could do that," Santillan said. Still the emotions of the close play to escape the jam were prominent. "I thought I made a good pitch. He hit itand didn't hit it very hard. He's not a very quick runner but still I was tracking him, tracking Elly. I knew it was going to be really close. I got a little nervous for a second. Then he got him and it was a great feeling," Santillan said.

Marte greeted Andrew Kitteridge with a single and stole second. Stephenson hit his 12th home run into the right field stands to give the Reds breathing room at 6-3.

"I blacked out a little," Stephenson said. "I was yelling a lot and got a little light headed." His day wasn't done. 

Emilio Pagan entered the ninth inning trying to extend his career-high to 29 games. Pagan retired Dansby Swanson and Pete Crow-Armstrong easily but Matt Shaw hit a two-out double. Pagan completed  save by striking out pinch hitter, Seiya Suzuki.

The Reds clinched the season series against the Cubs with its seventh win as they try to earn a sweep on Sunday.

Hunter Greene Finished What He Started Shutting Out The Cubs On One Hit

 

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Dateline: 1,209 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico

Hunter Greene pitched a complete game shut out as the Reds defeated the Chicago Cubs 1-0 to stay withing striking distance of the last Wild Card slot in the National League playoffs

Greene retired the first 12 Cubs' batters to start the game. Moises Ballesterios reached first on an error by Elly De La Cruz. Greene retired the next two Cubs batters. Pete Crow-Armstrong lined a pitch off the tip of Spencer Steers' glove and hit off Ballesterios' batting helmet. The ball caromed into center field and TJ Friedl forced a dazed Ballesterios at second base to preserve Green's no-hitter.

Colin Rea gave up two singles in the first inning. One to Gavin Lux and the other to Austin Hays with one out. Sal Stewart struck out and  Will Benson lined out to first baseman, Michael Busch.

The Reds broke through in the fourth inning. Hays and Benson doubled to give the Reds a lead.

Seiya Suzuki doubled down the third base line with two outs for the Cubs' first hit. Greene finished the seventh inning  with no runs scored. Greene finished off the last seven Cubs' batters to seal the win. Busch flew out to the warning track in right to lead off the ninth and Greene struck out .300 Nico Hoerner and Reds' nemesis from the University of Cincinnati, Ian Happ to end the game.

"He deserved to finish that game," Reds' manager Terry Francona said. "What was most impressive is that it was 1-0. There wasn't a lot of wiggle room. A walk, an error and we could be talking about nice effort but.... or we could still be playing."

Greene allowed just the one hit, a walk and struck out nine.

"It was great. I was trying to stay present," Greene said. "Stepho, (Tyler Stephenson) were on the same page all night. It was a lot of fun. I was just trying to stay in the moment."

Greene came close to pitching a complete game shutout in San Francisco on April 7. He pitched 8 2/3 innings but Tony Santillan had to come in to get the last out in a 2-0 win.

"Of course there was a little extra heart beat going into the ninth inning," Greene said. "San Francisco kind of flashed through my mind. I was telling myself, this is my game. I told Tito the next game I pitch deep in that situation, that I wanted to finish it. I wanted to show myself and also Tito and the team."

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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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.