Bryan Reynolds And Henry Davis Hijack Reds

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Dateline: Cincinnati

Bryan Reynolds wore out Brady Singer with a home run and run-scoring double as the Pittsburgh Pirates took the first game of the three-game series, 9-1. Henry Davis hit his first two home runs in the rout.

Singer caught a break when catcher Tyler Stephenson successfully challenged a ball call to make the count 0-2 in the first inning but Reynolds deposited his fourth home run into the landscaping in center field.

He hit a two-out double to inspire a two-run third.

 Henry Davis found the same distant shrubbery with his first home run in the fourth.

While Pirates starter, Mitch Keller, stifled the Reds on one hit through five innings, the Pirates added on.

Marcel Ozuna smacked his third home run with a man on against Zach Maxwell in the bottom of the fifth.

Davis matched it with a two-run homer later in the frame.

Singer lasted 3 1/3 innings allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks. He gave up more home runs, two, than strike outs, one.

The Reds scored a run in the sixth. Frieda’s second hit of the game was a double,. Ground outs by Matt McLain and Elly De La Cruz put the marker up. It was De La Cruz’s 25th RBI on the season. He is in the top 10 in Major League Baseball and four short of Sal Stewart’s team leading 29 which is tied with Matt Olson and Liam Hicks for tops in MLB.

Pierce Johnson walked in a run in the bottom of the sixth.

Keller completed seven innings with one run on three hits and a walk. He struck out six.

Luis Mey pitched a scoreless inning for the Reds. Catcher Jose Trevino was pressed into duty in the bottom of the ninth. It was the second time in three games, he was called upon to save a bullpen arm. It was the third time this season Reds’ manager, Terry Francona, reluctantly used a backup catcher as a back up pitcher. 

The Pirates were held scoreless by Trevino.

In spite of a healthy 20-12 record the Reds have scored 10 fewer runs than they’ve given up this season.

Brady Singer Opens Pirates Series Aiming To Keep Reds Rolling

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Dateline: Cincinnati

Brady Singer is seeking his third quality start of the year when he faces the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Steel City.

 The Reds won their last five series and 11 of their last 15 games. 

He has pitched six innings in two of his last three starts, allowing a total of six runs. His last start was a winning effort against the Detroit Tigers. He was just short of a quality start, pitching 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on eight hits.

Singer is 2-4 in six starts with a 6.37 ERA.

Mitch Keller will pitch for Pittsburgh. He is 2-1 with a 3.28 ERA. 

He is 30-years old in his eighth season with the Pirates. He was taken in the second round of the 2014 draft out of Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Keller will seek his fourth quality start, pitching six innings in his first two games this season. He pitched seven innings on April 19 against the Tampa Bay Rays. He lasted five innings in his last start against the Milwaukee Brewers. Keller allowed two runs on five hits in a 6-3 10-inning win.

Lifetime against the Reds, Keller is 3-6 with a 5.59 ERA in 19 starts.

The Reds test Keller with:

TJ Friedl   CF

Matt McLain 2B

Eloy De La Cruz SS

Sal Stewart 1B

Nathaniel Lowe DH

Spencer Steer RF

JJ Bleday LF

Tyler Stephenson C

Ke’Bryan Hayes 3B

Pittsburgh’s lineup is:

Oneil Cruz CF

Brandon Lowe 2B

Bryan Reynolds LF

Ryan O’Hearn RF

Nick Gonzalez 3B

Marcel Ozuna 3B

Spencer Horwitz 1B

Konner Griffin SS

Henry Davis C

Andrew Abbott Pitches Reds To Win Nathaniel Lowe Brought The Offense

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Dateline: Cincinnati

A struggling Andrew Abbott shed his misery and pitched six stron innings. Nathaniel Lowe homered and doubled to lead the Reds to a 6-4 win over the Colorado Rockies.

The Reds took the series and won their 20th game of the season.

Tyler Freeman hit his first home run of the season with Brenton Doyle on base from a walk as the Rockies jumped on Abbott for two first inning runs.

"He got into a nice rhythm, I agree," Terry Francona said. "Even in the first inning, give Freeman some credit. I just didn't think off the bat. This is one of the few ballparks, today, it's a home run. When it went up we thought it was an out. After that he became more like Abbott. He threw his fastball up a little bit better. He used his change up, better than he has and was very effective."

Abbott has tried a lot of things to get back to his All-Star form. Against the Rockies he was able to reap the rewards.

"It is vindication," Abbott said. "Ride the wave. It wasn't what I wanted it to be earlier but I'm the only one that can change that. Put your head down and keep working. I went back to my roots. I pitched out of big spots and made pitches when I needed too. I made one mistake in the game today but I will take six (innings) and two (runs), everytime."

"I think its a big tip to DJ and the bio mechanics staff. They did a deep dive on me. We figured out I'm standing a little more taller, I bent over last year. My arm angles up. We knocked out what we could. We're not going to focus 10 things at one time. We made slight adjustments in the game and the weekly throwing program. I felt really sound, today." 

Nathaniel Lowe led off the second inning with his fifth home run to cut the lead in half. 

Abbott pitched out of a bases loaded jam in the fifth inning. A ground single by Kyle Karros was followed by a bunt single by Ezequiel Tovar and a slow roller hit by Jordan Beck. Doyle hit a ground ball to Elly De La Cruz at shortstop, who forced Karros at home. Abbott struck out Hunter Goodman.

"We had (Pierce) Johnson up. They had a couple righties and they may have pinch hit. I just thought he was throwing the ball the way he should. He deserved to try to see if he could finish that inning," Francona said.

TJ Friedl gave the Reds the lead with his second home run with Spencer Steer, who walked on base.

"Timing you're down one, then TJ and all of a sudden you're up one. It changes the whole complexion of the game," Francona said. "We kindof stayed at it, I mean how many times, you make a mistake and it costs you a game."

Friedl has struggled early in the year but is starting to reach his normal performance at the plate.

"We hit a lot of balls hard, right at guys. That's just baseball," Friedl said. "I think its just sticking to the approach that we had. You know things are going to turn. The biggest thing is adding on. Once we got that lead. The eighth was huge. Today was a gritty win. There are days you gotta dig deep."

Abbott earned his second quality start and first since opening day by pitching six innings, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks. He struck out five.

The Reds tacked on a run in the sixth. Lowe hit a one out double off Lorenzen. Steer singled him home against reliever Antonio Senzatela. 

Connor Phillips took over in the seventh. He hit a batter and walked a batter but struck out three in a scoreless seventh.

"Part of the reason we brought him in was we thought, they'd probably unload their lefties," Francona said. "He can neutralize that with his spin."

Tony Santillan allowed a leadoff single to Freeman but picked him off to start a scoreless inning that ended with a called third strike with a successful challenge by catcher Tyler Stephenson.

The Reds added two more runs off Victor Vodnik in the eighth.

Sal Stewart walked. Stephenson's double sent him to third with one out. Stewart scored on a ground out by Dane Myers. Stephenson scored on a double by Steer.

Emilio Pagan entered in another non-save situation. 

The two runs came in handy. The Rockies brought the tying run to the plate. With three singles and a sacrifice fly by Jake McCarthy, the Rockies had Goodman at the plate. Goodman had a pair of home runs on Wednesday night. Pagan retired him on a fly to left to seal the game.

"They got a couple of hits in the ninth. It ends up not being extra innings," Francona said.

The Reds are now 12-0 in games decided by two runs or fewer. The Reds are 16-1 when leading after six innings and 15-0 when leading after seven innings.

Andrew Abbott Faces Former Red Michael Lorenzen To Decide Series

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Dateline: Cincinnati

Andrew Abbott is off to a bad start and is hopefull that he can right the ship against the Colorado Rockies and former Reds' starter, reliever and center fielder, Michael Lorenzen.

After 75 career starts coming into this season, the 2025 All-Star, had no higher than a 3.87 ERA in three seasons. This year in six starts it is almost double that at 6.59. Somehow the Reds have won three of his six starts but he is 0-2 with one quality start.

Abbott lasted four innings in his last start, a 9-8 win over the Detroit Tigers but he allowed five runs on six hits and two walks.

Lifetime, he is 2-0 with a 3.91 ERA against the Rockies in four starts.

Lorenzen was picked in the first round, a compensation pick, by the Reds out of Cal State-Fullerton in 2013. Now 34 the athlete who could have also been an elite center fielder and tried to be a two-way player like Shohei Ohtani, he hit three doubles, a triple and seven home runs as a Red. 

He signed a free agent contract in January.

This season Lorenzen has a 2-2 record with a 5.97 ERA. He pitched a season-high seven innings, allowing one run in his last start against the New York Mets.

Lorenzen is 1-2 with a 6.48 in three starts against Cincinnati.

The Reds send this lineup against Lorenzen.

TJ Friedl CF

Matt McLain 2B

Elly De La Cruz SS

Sal Stewart 3B

Nathaniel Lowe DH

Tyler Stephenson C

JJ Bleday LF

Spencer Steer 1B

Will Benson RF

Abbott will face:

Jordan Beck LF

Brenton Doyle CF

Hunter Goodman C

Tyler Freeman DH

Willi Castro 2B

TJ Rumfield 1B

Kyle Karros 3B

Ezequiel Tovar SS

Troy Johnston RF

Brandon Williamson Goes To The Injured List

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Dateline: Cincinnati

Brandon Williamson left the game after three innings on Wednesday with left shoulder fatigue. He misse d 15 months with elbow surgery.

The left hander had an MRI this morning then received a cortisone injection.

Zach Maxwell joins the team from Triple A Louisville.

Williamson was the losing pitcher in the Colorado Rockies 13-2 win. He allowed four runs in three innings and walked four. He gave up four hits. Williamson was 2-3 with a 6.11 ERA in six starts.

The Reds are also missing Nick Lodolo, who will make another rehab start before he is ready and Hunter Greene had bone chips removed from his right elbow in March. He is expected to return in July.

Maxwell known as "Big Sugar" pitched in 12 games in relief at Louisville with a 1-0 record and a 5.91 ERA in 10 2/3 innings. He walked eight and struck out 17.

Brandon Williamson Leaves Early Hunter Goodman Powers Rockies To Even Series

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Dateline: Cincinnati

Reds starter Brandon Williamson had to leave the game early. Hunter Goodman powered the Colorado Rockies to an 13-2 win over the Reds to even the series.

The Rockies scored three runs in the first inning off Williamson. Brenton Doyle doubled with one out. With two outs, Williamson walked Hunter Goodman and Willi Castro. Brett Sullivan hit a double into the right field corner that cleared the bases as Castro beat the throw home.

The Reds attempt to get a run back went wrong. Matt McLain singled up the middle and stole second. Sal Stewart sent an identical ground ball up the middle. Shortstop Ezequiel Tovar made a diving stop in the outfield grass and recovered in time to throw McLain out at home.

The Rockies added a run in the third. Doyle walked and TJ Rumfield singled off the glove of Ke'Bryan Hayes at third base. Castro double of the wall in left center field to score Doyle.

Williamson left the game with left shoulder fatigue after three inning, allowing four runs on four hits and four walks. 

"We will get an MRI in the morning," Terry Francona said. "His command was off. The walks, that's a hard way to win."

"I feel like I'm catching up to a lot of rehab, not playing for so long. I'm trying to figure it out," Williamson said. "I felt like I had to drop down. I'm battling that. I haven't pitched in two years, including up to spring training. Now I'm close to 50 innings. Even if I didn't have surgeries, I'd probably be at that point. That just kind of adds to it."

Luis Mey relieved him on the mound.

"It's the first time, I've seen him this year. He's pretty impressive," catcher Jose Trevino said. "His slider is much improved."

Hunter Goodman hit his eighth home run of the season in the fifth inning to put the Rockies up 5-0.

Mey pitched two innings and struck out four but gave up the home run.

Jose Franco followed him to the mound.

"He was pretty impressive, coming out of the bullpen, trying to get some relief for our guys," Trevino said.

Goodman hit a two-run home run to extend Colorado's lead to 7-0 in the seventh inning. It was his ninth of the year and seventh time he's had a multi-home run game.  Castro singled and Sullivan hit his second double in front of  Kyle Karros' sacrifice fly to go up 8-0.

The Rockies scored five runs in the ninth off catcher Trevino's knuckleball.

Tyler Stephenson doubled off Jimmy Herget to open the ninth inning. Will Benson shattered the shutout with his first home run of the season.

Brandon Williamson Faces Rockies And Tomoyuki Sagano

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Dateline: Cincinnati

Brandon Williamson is making his sixth start of the season against the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday (042926).

Williamson missed all of 2025 after surgery on his left elbow. He returned to the major league mound against the Pittsburgh Pirates on March 31 after 15 months of rehab.

The long, lean, left hander has been sporadic in his other five starts, forging a 2-2 record and a 5.40 ERA. He pitched at least four innings in his five starts with a long start of  6 2/3 innings against the Miami Marlins. He allowed no runs on three hits and a walk. His last start was against the Tampa Bay Rays. He lasted 4 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits and three walks.

This will be Williamson's third start against Colorado. He has no record with a 3.38 ERA over 10 2/3 innings.

Tomoyuki Sagano will start against the Reds. He comes in with a 2-1 record and a 3.42 ERA. He has two quality starts, including a six-inning, one run game against the Philadelphia Phillies on April 5 and a six-inning, two-run outing against the San Dielgo Padres. He last started against the Padres on April 22. He pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing one run on four hits and a walk. He struck out four.

The Rockies signed him to a free agent contract in February. He had a 10-10 record in 30 starts and a 4.64 ERA with the Baltimore Orioles last season.

The 36-year old right hander will face:

TJ Friedl CF

Matt McLain 2B

Elly De La Cruz SS

Sal Stewart 1B

Nathaniel Lowe DH

Spencer Steer RF

JJ Bleday LF

Jose Trevino C

Ke'Bryan Hayes 3B

Williamson will try to solve:

Jordan Beck LF

Brenton Doyle CF

TJ Rumfield 1B

Hunter Goodman DH

Willi Castro 2B

Brett Sullivan C

Kyle Karros 3B

Ezequial Tovar SS

Micky Moniak RF

Graham Ashcraft Placed On Bereavement List Luis Mey Recalled

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Dateline: Cincinnati

Graham Ashcraft's grandfather is ailing in his hometown of Huntsville, Alabama.

The Reds allowed him to leave to be with family. 

Luis Mey was recalled from Triple A Louisville to take his place.

Ashcraft held the Reds 4-2 lead on Tuesday night after getting word about his grandfather in the afternoon. He gave up two hits but a double play turned by Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain took him out of the inning.

Ashcraft made 15 appearances so far this year with a 1-0 record, one save and a 1.20 ERA.

"Graham came in last night. His grandfather had a tough time during spring. Then rallied but things took a turn for the worst. He was really upset so, I told him I don't know what the rules are but go. We'll figure it out," Terry Francona said.

Mey has appeared in 11 games for the Bats with no record and a 4.91 ERA. He has one save. He has given up nine runs, six earned in 11 innings with 13 hits and three walks. He struck out 14.

Mey is rested he last pitched on Saturday, April 25.

"His breaking ball has really improved. He's been tougher on left handers which is really good," Francona said.

Elly De La Cruz Drives Four Runs Save Two With His Glove Spencer Steer Homers To Take Early Lead

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Dateline: Cincinnati

Spencer Steer hit a two-run home run and Elly De La Cruz drove in four runs to send the Reds to a 7-2 win over the Colorado Rockies to open the three game series.

Two players were happy to see Kyle Freeland come off the injured list to make his 10th career start against the Reds. Freeland himself and Spencer Steer

"We try to keep the same mentallity," De La Cruz said. "We play to win. We want to keep it that way. The work I put in the off season was to be healthy to be able to play everyday. I feel pretty good. I feel pretty comfortable at the plate."

Steer belted his fifth home run of the season to allow the Reds to stake Chase Burns to a 3-0 lead. His home run was the third he's hit off Freeland in the nine at bats he faced him.

De La Cruz didn't shed a tear either. He came into the game with three singles and six at bats against the veteran left hander.

"Right handed he has been so much better," Francona said. "You've heard me say and I'll say it again, when you drive the ball the other way, you're fundamentally very sound. He and Sal are strong enough when they hit the ball the other way, they get rewarded."

Dane Myers walked to open the Reds half of the first. He moved to second when second baseman Edouard made a sliding stop on Matt McLain's bullet up the middle. De La Cruz got jammed but placed the bloop just beyond the reach of first baseman, Troy Johnston. Cruz stole second while Sal Stewart was at the plate. After a pop out to second base, Steer reached the left field stands to score two runs. 

Burns struck out three batters in the first inning after walking Julien leading off. He gave up a leadoff single in a scoreless second inning but gave up a leadoff home run to Julien in the third, his second of the season. T.J Brumfeld open the fourth with a double but De La Cruz short hopped a high bouncer over the head of Ke'Bryan Hayes at third base and made an acrobatic throw to Stewart, who scouped to ball in time to nip Tyler Freeman at first. 

"I just wanted to catch the ball and make a play," De La Cruz said. "It was a high bounce so I was able to see it. You have to throw. If you don't throw, you're not going to make an out."

De La Cruz may not have been impressed with himself but veteran manager, Terry Francona was.

"That play he made to his right was a physically as an impressive play as you're ever going to see," Francona said. "I thought the play that may have been more impressive was the double play ball because that ball probably should have hit him in the Adam's Apple."

The Reds got the the run back in the bottom of the third. Myers singled and stole second. De La Cruz made it 5-for-8 against Freeland with a line drive up the middle to drive in his second run of the game.

Jake McCarthy bunted for a single with one out in the fifth. He stole second and scored on Julien's second hit a solid single.

Burns pitched out of another jam in the sixth. Rumfield singled to become the fifth lead off man to reach in six innings. Stewart alertly took out the lead runner after fielding a hard bunt by Freeman. Johnston doubled but Burns recorded his ninth strike out with Kyle Karros and got Tovar on a fly to right.

"I told Sal that was a great play after the inning," Hayes said. "He's has a great internal clock."

Burns finished with six innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and a walk and nine strikeouts.

"You're trying to go as far as possible. You kind of get fatigued out there so you take it pitch by pitch," Burns said. "When they start making better contact, you bear down and make sure you locate. DJ and I talk about it all the time, just staying in tune and staying in my breath. I try to slow the game down mentally."

"He left a couple sliders that they hit," Francona said. "But when they had a couple runners in scoring position even when we played back, he took it upon himself to go for the strikeout. He reached back and threw some really good sliders."

Graham Ashcraft, first "Grindstone Cowboy" to relieve in the seventh inning. He gave up Julien's third hit and a single by Micky Moniak with to put runners on the corners with one out. Hunter Goodman hit into a 6-4-3 double play.

Tony Santillan entered in the eighth. He allowed a two-out walk and a single but struck out Tovar to send the game to the eighth.

Tanner Gordon pitched two scoreless innings for Colorado but ran out of gas in the eighth.

Myers infield single allowed him to reach base for the third time. De La Cruz hit his 10th home run of the season to the opposite field to increase the margin. He matched Tony Perez as the only Reds' player to hit 10 home runs by May 1. Stewart hit a ground rule double to right center and scored on Nathaniel Lowe's single.

Brock Burke pitched the ninth in a non-save situation with three left handed batters due up. He struck out the last two batters to nail it down. He dropped his ERA to 0.63.

The Reds are 15-1 when they lead after six innings and 14-0 when they lead after seven innings.

 

Nick Lodolo Returns Soon Hunter Greene, Eugenio Suarez, Caleb Ferguson Progress

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Dateline: Cincinnati

It is like trading for a starting pitcher. Nick Lodolo left his last spring training start after two batters in the last game in Goodyear, Arizona, his final tuneup to start the season. 

Lodolo developed a blister on his left index finger and was removed with a 1-1 count on Jose Ramirez the start against the Cleveland Guardians. He was placed on the injured list to start the season.

The left hander has been working with trainers and working with a soft surface, weighted ball to heal the blister. After side sessions and a couple bullpen sessions, Lodolo, pitched in a rehab assignment for the Daytona Tortugas on April 2. He had to leave after reagravating the blister. On Sunday he tried again and pitched five scoreless innings against South Bend. He threw 55 pitches and had to throw more in the bullpen after he left the game.

Lodolo will pitch Saturday for Louisville in Omaha.

"We'll see where he's at after that," Terry Francona said. "We had a cap of 10 breaking balls. He threw a number warming up and he threw eight in the game, I believe."

Hunter Greene is in Arizona long tossing from 110 feet. He is under the supervision of the rehab specialist Eric Gonzalez. 

"We're anticipating about three weeks from now, he'll throw his first bullpen," Francona said. 

Eugenio Suarez had a mild oblique and is getting treatement daily.

"When he is paind free, we'll do another MRI. We're not there yet. When he's scanned again, we will see how much activity we can introduce," Francona said.

Caleb Ferguson pitched one inning for the Chattanooga Lookouts against Birmingham. He had a walk and a strikeout in a scoreless inning. He threw 14 pitches, seven strikes and had a balk with a disengagment violation.

He will pitch again on Friday.

"We will see what he wants to do Friday, whether he wants to start or come in during the game," Francona said.