Future Hall Of Fame Pitcher Ends Reds Season

              

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Dateline: Cincinnati  

It may have been three time Cy Young Award winner, Max Scherzer's last start in his career was a 5-1 win for the Toronto Blue Jays on the last day of the season.

Scherzer man handled the Reds for seven innings, allowing one run on six hits and one walk. He struck out seven.

He finished the season with a 4-9 record and a 5.74 ERA. For his 19 year career, he was 225-126 with a 3.29 ERA in 492 starts that included five shutouts. He pitched for seven teams and ended with 3,557 strikeouts if this is indeed his last start in a career his last strikeout victim was Juan Brito.

The Reds scored one run in the third inning on a double by Oswaldo Cabrera and a single by Carlos Jorge. 

The Blue Jays scored two in the second inning against Reds starter, Brandon Williamson, who finished the season after a two-year bout with injuries.

Davis Schneider walked and Brandon Valenzuela hit his ninth home run. They scored two more in the third.

George Springer doubled and Brett Bateman singled. Kazuma Okamoto walked to load the bases. Charles McAdoo hit a sacrifice fly and after a wild pitch, Schneider grounded out to score another run.

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

Williamson finished the season with a 5-5 record and a 5.30 ERA in 12 appearances, nine starts.

Zach McCambley pitched two scoreless innings for the Reds. Luis Mey pitched a scoreless inning. Carson Spiers finished the season after coming back late from surgery. He allowed McAdoo's third home run to cap the scoring.

The Reds finished dead last in the National League Central Division with a 75-87 record after being 20-11 on April 30.

An eight game losing streak followed and the team never recovered.

There were positives.

Chase Burns was 15-3 on the season with a 2.86 ERA in 29 starts.

Elly De La Cruz set career highs with a slash line of .283/.365/.515 and an OPS of .880. He hits 30 home runs, stole 30 bases and drove in 79 runs. He missed 25 games with a strained quad.

Sal Stewart put together a fantastic rookie season. He finished with .263/.330/.457 and a .787 OPS. He hit 32 home runs and drove in 111 RBI the first Reds rookie to drive in over 100 runs since Jim Greengrass in 1953. He was third in all of baseball in RBI behind Alec Burleson's 116 and Pete Alonso's 113. He played all 162 games. 

Rhett Lowder Best Start Ends The Season Strong

             

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Dateline: Cincinnati  

Rhett Lowder turned in his best performance of the season as the Reds defeated the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-1

Lowder finished the season with a 28 appearances, 26 starts. He fashioned a seven and 12 record with his first win since August 28. His ERA ended at 5.74. He pitched a total of 133 1/3 inning, the most of any level. He pitched 120 innings at Wake Forest University in 2023. In pro baseball, the most he's pitched was 108 2/3 innings in 2024.

JJ Bleday opened the scoring with his 24th home run, leading off the second inning. The home run off Trey Yesavage extended Bleday's career-high to 24 home runs and he collected his 200th career RBI. He needs two RBI to match his career high of 60 set in 2024 as a member of the Athletics.

The Reds added to the lead against Spencer Miles.

Matt McLain walked. Carlos Jorge bunted for a base hit. Elly De La Cruz lined out to Ernie Clement at second base but Jorge was able to get back safely. McLain and Jorge pulled off a double steal. Sal Stewart hit a hard ground ball to shortstop, Andres Gimenez, who booted the ball. McLain scored but Stewart was denied an RBI. Eugenio Suarez doubled to plate Jorge.

Toronto's John Klein was the victim of an error by Sean Keys at first base.

Bleday walked with two outs on an unsuccessful umpire challenge of ball four by Kirk. Tyler Stephenson hit a slow ground ball to first base. Keys was in front of the bag but bobbled it. Stephenson stepped around him to reach on the error. Rodriguez tripled off the top of the left field wall to put the Reds up, 5-0. 

Lowder left after the sixth inning. He matched his best start of the season with six innings of shutout baseball on three hits. He walked the first two batters of the game but none after that. He struck out two. Lowder had a similar outing against the Texas Rangers on April 4.

Connor Phillips gave up a run in the seventh on a walk and a hit.

Graham Ashcraft pitched a scoreless eighth.

Tejay Antone pitched a scoreless ninth inning. After three "Tommy John" surgeries, Antone hasn't allowed a run over his last 13 appearances covering 11 1/3 innings. With one game left he has 58 appearances and 55 innings all far exceeding his career totals. He missed two complete seasons, 2022 and 2025.

Elly De La Cruz Joins Club Reds Lose In Foreign Trade

            

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Dateline: Cincinnati  

Elly De La Cruz stole third base in a four-run rally that gave the Reds a three-run advantage that the Toronto Blue Jays eventually overcame to post a 6-5 win on Friday (092526).

De La Cruz is a member of the Reds 30-30 club a combination of speed and power with 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases. The other members in reverse order Brandon Phillips, Barry Larkin and Eric Davis.

The Reds fell behind with Nick Lodolo on the mound when the Blue Jays jumped out to a 2-0 lead with Alejandro Kirk and Kazuma Okamoto landing RBI doubles.

Lodolo settled in and shut down the Blue Jays after that.

It allowed the Reds to come back starting with Eugenio Suarez' 26th home run against Jose Soriano.

De La Cruz and company went to work in the third inning.

Newcomer, Oswaldo Cabrera singled to start the inning. Carlos Jorge bunted for a base hit. De La Cruz doubled them both home. He joined the club by stealing third base for his 30th stolen base of the season. Sal Stewart singled to drive in his 111th run of the season, third in MLB behind Alex Burleson's 115 and Pete Alonso's 113. Suarez singled to send Stewart to third. Hector Rodriguez hit into a force play that allowed Stewart to score.

Lodolo finished five innings but was relieved by Luis Mey after he hit Nathan Lukes with a pitch to start the sixth. Mey finished the scoreless innings to allow Lodolo to end his season on a high note.

Lodolo allowed two runs on seven hits and two walks. He struck out three. For the season Lodolo fought off blisters to make 21 starts. He was 3-6 with a 4.97 ERA. He pitched 108 2/3 innings far behind the 156 2/3 innings from 2025.

Mey ran into trouble in the seventh.

He walked Andres Gimenez and Kirk to start the inning. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled to score Gimenez. George Springer on an error by Cabrera at shortstop to load the bases with no outs.

Pierce Johnson replaced Mey.

Okamoto tied the game with a double. Lukes put the Blue Jays ahead with a single.

The Reds were shut out after the third inning to take the loss.

Elly De La Cruz Hits Milestone Home Run Carlos Jorge Drills First ML Homer Down Braves

            

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Dateline: Cincinnati  

Carlos Jorge drilled his first big league homer against former Reds ace Tyler Mahle.  Elly De La Cruz hit his 30th of the season and Hector Rodriguez hit his sixth of the season to down the Atlanta Braves 7-6. 

The win over Atlanta gives the Los Angeles Dodgers a first round bye and the Brave must play either the Philadelphia Phillies or the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLDS.

Jorge opened the game with a home run like Juan Brito did on Wednesday (092326). Tracy Jones and Kal Daniels were the last two Reds to do that in back-to-back games in 1987.

The lead was obliterated in the bottom of the first against, Brady Singer, who closed a disappointing season. The Braves ambushed Singer for four runs in the bottom of the first. 

Drake Baldwin opened with a single. Ronald Acuna Jr. belted Singer's pitch high off the wall. Rodriguez played the rebound to hold Acuna to a single. Matt Olson's fly out tied the game but the Braves were just getting started. Michael Harris Jr. doubled to the gap to give the Braves the lead. Mauricio Dubon singled. Ozzie Albies singled for a third run. Mike Yastrzemski walked to to load the bases. Austin Riley hit another sacrifice fly.

Rodriguez doubled with two outs and Matt McLain scored him with a single.

De La Cruz made it a one-run game with his career-high 30th home run. He needs on stolen base in Toronto to join. Barry Larkin, Brandon Phillips, and Eric Davis aire the only Reds to accomplish this in a season.

The Reds took the lead against Mahle on a two-run single by Eugenio Suarez later in the inning. Sal Stewart singled and Tyler Stephenson walked. JJ Bleday's checked swing grounder to the mound worked like a sacrifice bunt that setup Suarez' single.

Austin Riley hit his 19th home run against Singer. It was his second home run in the last two games.

Zach McCambley replaced Singer in the fourth.

Singer finished his season with a three-inning, five-run, seven hits, two walks with one strikeout. On the season Singer finished with a 6-15 record and a 5.85 ERA. The 15 losses are tied with the Cleveland Guardians, Tanner Bibee and the Baltimore Orioles, Shane Baz for the most losses. He pitched 157 innings, the fewest since 2022 when he pitched 151 1/3 innings.

McCambley gave up a run in 1 2/3 innings on an RBI single by Yastrzemski. 

Connor Phillips entered the game with two outs and Yastrzemski on first. He walked Riley and number nine hitter, Sean Murphy. Baldwin lined out to Jorge in center.

AJ Smith-Shawver replaced Mahle. He hit Suarez with a pitch and Rodriguez drilled his home run 423 feet.

Brock Burke, extending his career-high 77th appearance. He gave up a double to Baldwin but retired Acuna and Olson to preserve the Reds' slim lead.

Emilio Pagan gave up a lead off single to Harris. Dubon bunted him to second. A wild pitch put the tying run on third base with one out. Pagan struck out Albies swinging and Yastrzemski flied out. It was Pagan's 25th save of the season. Since he returned from a hamstring injury on July 1, Pagan is 3-0 with 18 saves. He pitched 27 2/3 innings over 29 appearances with a 1.95 ERA. He walked just five batters in that span, while striking out 33.

Andrew Abbott Has Longest Outing But Reds Fall

             

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Dateline: Cincinnati  '

Andrew Abbott has not won a game since August 6, but he had the longest of his 32 starts against the Atlanta Braves. He had a pair of one-run leads but two pitches kept him off the winning ledger as the Atlanta Braves won in 10 innings, 3-2.

Juan Brito hit his third home run of the season leading off the game against Chris Sales.

Sales got stingy after that and struck out 10 batters, including Sal Stewart for his 200th of the season. It was the ninth season in which he struck out 200 or more batters. He was relieved after the strikeout in the sixth.

Matt Olson hit his 41st home run of the season to take Sale off the hook.

The Reds snatched the lead back against Robert Suarez. Matt McLain tripled to lead off the seventh and scored on Will Banfield's sacrifice fly.

Abbott gave the lead back in the seventh on Austin Riley's 18th home run to tie the game.

It was Abbott's last inning. 

It was the end of the 2025 All-Star's longest start in a disappointing season. He pitched seven innings and allowed just the two runs on six hits and one walk. Abbott struck out six. He will finish the season with a 6-11 record with a 4.61 ERA. He lost his last four decisions.

Graham Ashcraft and Pierce Johnson pitched scoreless innings for the Reds. 

Dylan Lee and former Red Raisel Iglesias pitched scoreless innings for the Braves to take the game into the 10th.

Last years bullpen participant Brent Suter, stranded the Reds ghost runner, McLain.

Luis Mey was assigned to extend the game another inning.

Pinch runner, DaShawn Keirsey Jr., started the 10th on second base. Ha-Seong Kim bunted Keirsey to third. Mey hit Drake Baldwin with a pitch. Mauricio Dubon topped a ball toward the mound. Mey couldn't field it cleanly and Keirsey scored the winning run.

Brandon Williamson White Washes Atlanta

           

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Dateline: Cincinnati  

Brandon Williamson pitched six scoreless innings and was followed by three Reds' relievers in tossing a 4-0 shutout of the National League East champion Atlanta Braves.

Williamson had not pitched in 15 months when he was one of the best pitchers the Reds had in spring training.

The Reds decided to go with six starters, knowing they would have to navigate surgery with Hunter Greene and weaning Chase Burns through his first full major league season. Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott, Rhett Lowder and Brady Singer were the others. 

Williamson pitched six innings, allowing three hits, two of them infield hits. He didn't walk a batter and struck out two. The Reds turned in two double plays. He got seven of nine batters that put the ball in play for outs, on ground balls.

On Tuesday, Elly De La Cruz crushed his 29th home run and stole his 29th base. He added an RBI single. He is at a high point with a .288 batting average which is ranked 13th in Major League Baseball.

The Reds other two runs came off the bats of Dane Myers with his eighth home run in the sixth inning off Owen Murphy.  Eugenio Suarez belted his 25th home run which came against Murphy in the eighth inning.

Suarez now has 350 home runs for his career.

Brock Burke, Tejay Antone, who turned in his 11th straight scoreless outing, with a scoreless eighth. He had two hits and a walk with two outs, the second was an infield hit by Drake Baldwin. Antone got slugger Matt Olson out with a pop up foul to Ke'Bryan Hayes at third base. Emilio Pagan pitched the ninth in a non save situation.

Tony Santillan May Have Surgery Connor Phillips Recalled TJ Friedl Stays In Organization

            

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Dateline: Cincinnati  

The Reds placed reliever Tony Santillan on the injured list with a labral tear in his left hip.

Santillan suffered through an injury riddled year with a left oblique strain. The two injuries limited Santillan to 44 games almost half of the 80 games he appeared in last season. This year Santillan, who may have surgery next week, had a 3-4 record with five saves. He had a 6.42 ERA. Last season he had a 1-5 record with seven saves and a 2.44 ERA.

Connor Phillips finished last season strong and made the team out of spring training. After initial success, he lost control of the strike zone and sent back to Triple A Louisville. In his first 13 appearances, Phillips had a 1-0 record, a save and two holds with a 1.93 ERA. It was downhill from there. Phillips pitched in 12 games and ended with a 5.03 ERA and walked 28 batters in 28 innings. He went to Louisville and appeared in 31 games with a 2-2 record and three saves and a 5.06 ERA.

"He has two plus pitches," manager Terry Francona said. "We just want to see him fill up the strike zone."

TJ Friedl cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Louisville.

Pete Crow-Armstrong Leads Cubs Fit To Be Tied

           

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Dateline: Cincinnati  

The bright side for the Reds on Sunday (092026) was the Chicago Cubs couldn't be the second team this week to douse the visiting clubhouse with Chamagne.

The Cubs came close.

They returned to Chicago with the knowledge that if the Arizona Diamondbacks lose to the New York Yankees this afternoon they clinch at least a tie for a playoff berth. A tie with Arizona guarantees them a spot in the postseason. The question to be decided this week against the Miami Marlins and the Boston Red Sox is where in the playoff seeding they will be. 

Crow-Armstrong had three hits, scored three runs and hit his 45th home run of the season to tie Kyle Schwarber for the Major League lead in a 9-1 route of the reeling Reds in their last home game.

The Cubs got to Rhett Lowder for five runs in three innings. Lowder gave up six hits and three walks, including a bases loaded walk to Nico Hoerner. 

"It was walks hits and not putting the ball where he wanted to," Terry Francona said. "

David Peterson started the game for the Cubs and allowed just three hits, including JJ Bleday's 23rd home run of the year. 

The Reds got a scoreless inning from Luis Mey but a "feel good" story turned sour. Carson Spiers had an emotional return, coming back from "Tommy John" surgery a year ago. His triumphant return lasted one out before Michael Conforto belted his 15th home run of the year. Pedro Ramirez followed with a single. Spiers struck out Miguel Amaya but Crow-Armstrong hit his home run to extend the lead to 8-1. 

Spiers settled in a bit by retiring six straight batters seven out of eight until Seiya Suzuki hit his 25th of the season that landed inside the batter's eye, 440 feet from home plate. Although Spiers struck out the last two batters he faced the game was out of reach.

"I know he was mad when he came out," Francona said. "I told him, to think about where he was. Even though he was throwing the ball real good in Triple A, his velocity was down a tick. You will pitch a couple more times and have a normal off season and get stronger."

The Reds managed four hits, including an infield single by Elly De La Cruz; singles by Matt McLain and Will Banfield.

The big downer for the Cubs is Alex Bregman was hit in the face with a foul ball off the bat of Michael Busch. Bregman was removed from the game and taken to the hospital. There were few details after the game.

The Reds fell to their lowest level of the season, 12 games below .500 with six left to play. They haven't had been down that many games since the end of the 2022 season in which they were 62-100.

Chase Burns Placed On Injured List Finished For Last Seven Games

          

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Dateline: Cincinnati  

The Reds placed Chase Burns on the 15-day injured list with a tight groin. He will miss the last seven games of the season.

The Reds designated TJ Friedl for assignment, meaning his days with the Reds are likely over.

Carson Spiers, who had surgery last August, was added to the Reds roster.

Burns made 29 starts in his first full season in the major leagues. He was 15-3 with a 2.86 ERA. He pitched 154 1/3 innings. He walked 56 and struck out 185.

"It's not how I wanted it to end but there was a lot of growth this season," Burns said. "We have no idea what's going to happen next year but to get to 154 from 109 is huge and sets me up for next year. It is a lot to put on your body. There was some pain here and there but It was good to go through it."

The Reds were concerned that Burns volume of innings would exceed his 109 1/3 from last season by too much. The Reds decided to piggy back Brandon Williamson over Burns' last three turns in which he was limited to three innings.

Burns felt his groin tighten on Friday (091826) against the Chicago Cubs. 

"It didn't make sense to push him for a three-inning start," Terry Francona said. "He did a really good job and we got him to the point to where next year, no matter how he pitches, it's not going to be, we have to be cautioned with this." 

Spiers had a long road back to the Reds. He made the team out of spring training to take the spot in the rotation while Andrew Abbott was getting over an injury.

"That was the other part," Francona said. "We wanted to find a way to get him here anyway. By everyone's account he does everything right. He was in Arizona and kind of led that group. He is a leader and a really good kid. We had good reports on him from Triple A."

Spiers spent most of the year in Arizona but was able to make four starts for Louisville. He pitched 20 1/3 innings with a 3.54 ERA.

"It was really good to get innings this year. That was my whole focus," Spiers said. "Throwing the ball well has just been awesome. It is emotional when you think back on those 12 months (He had "Tommy John" surgery August 13). I put in a ton of work, a ton of hours. I did everything I could the right way. I learned how to be a dad. We had a baby girl this off season. She was with me through the whole rehab process. As for pitching, I didn't change a whole lot but I did get to mess around with a few things. I worked on my sweeper."

"Honestly the toughest part was once you start throwing lives (BP) and getting into games but it is such a lengthy process. You have doctors protocol's that you have to follow. Once I started throwing and throwing well, It was hot in Arizona too, so I was like, get me out of here. I stuck with protocols and that was the toughest part."

It was difficult for Francona to let Friedl go despite the tough year he had.

"We had talked to TJ and Nick (Krall) walked him through how it was going to work," Francona said. "TJ has been gone two days. I don't know what is going to happen with him. It wasn't that were trying to get him out. I will always root for that kid as will a lot of people here." 

Cubs Get Closer To Playoffs With Win Over Reds

           

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Dateline: Cincinnati  

Matthew Boyd ended a six-start losing streak, Dansby Swanson hit his first home run since coming off the injured list.

The Cubs inched closer to clinching a playoff berth with a 5-2 win over the Reds on Saturday.

The Cubs started the game in a tie with both the Phillies and Padres at 85-69. The Diamondbacks, the only other team in contention, are five games behind. Any combination of Cubs wins and Diamondbacks losses totaling two will ensure the Cubs playoff spot. The Cubs own the tie breaker with a 4-2 record head-to-head against Arizona, who play the Yankees later tonight. 

The Cubs scored single runs in the second and fifth innings against Nick Lodolo (3-6).

Nico Hoerner led off the second with a double and scored on a sacrifice fly by Matt Shaw. Dansby Swanson singled to open the fifth and scored with two outs on a Seiya Suzuki single. Dansby Swanson had two hits, including his 19th home run off Zach McCambley in the ninth.

Hoerner and Suzuki had two hits for the Cubs. 

The Reds challenged the Cubs defense after Mathew Boyd (9-5) allowed no hits through four innings. Eugenio Suarez walked to open the fifth. JJ Bleday hammered the Reds first hit to right field with Suarez hustling to third. Dansby Swanson's relay throw got away from Alex Bregman and Suarez scored. Ke'Bryan Hayes hitting .144 tied the game with a single.

Michael Busch hit his 20th home run in the sixth.

Boyd turned the game over to Daniel Palencia in the sixth. Boyd pitched five allowing two runs, one earned on two hits and two walks. He struck out four.

The Reds put two on with two out against Aaron Civale. Ryan Zeferjahn relieved Civale. He struck out Sal Stewart. Zeferjahn got two outs in the ninth. Ryan Rolison entered to pitch to Bleday with two outs. The Reds sent Oswaldo Cabrera to pinch hit. He was picked up by the Reds on waivers from the Yankees on Friday. Rollison turned in his third save.

Lodolo pitched seven innings for the second straight game, he allowed three runs on six hits. He walked two and had one strikeout.

The Cubs were 6-1 against the Phillies this season and won the season series,  5-1 against the Padres.