KSReds: Cincinnati Reds Suffer Series Loss to Miami Marlins

Well, that was a less than ideal weekend for the Cincinnati Reds. After a convincing win on Friday night, the Reds bats went quiet on Saturday and Sunday.

The Reds lost 2-1 on Sunday afternoon as Jesus Luzardo tossed a two-hitter. As a team, Cincy struck out 26 times in the two losses on Saturday and Sunday and scored a combined two runs.

With the San Diego Padres off, the wild card advantage shrunk to 1.5 games. The Reds will welcome the St. Louis Cardinals to Great American Ball Park starting Monday night. Luis Castillo will take the ball against Jon Lester at 6:40 p.m. Eastern Time. Sonny Gray will pitch on Tuesday followed by Wade Miley on Wednesday.

Wade Miley, Cincinnati Reds Cruise to Victory

It isn’t being talked about enough, but Wade Miley will receive Cy Young votes. While he obviously won’t win the award, the veteran left-hander is definitely a top 5-10 candidate. Miley’s candidacy was really driven home on Friday night.

Miley turned in seven shutout innings against the Miami Marlins to move to 11-4 on the year. His earned run average is now a dazzling 2.74. Again, those are the type of numbers that get you Cy Young votes.

While the lefty was dominating on the mound, the bats were taking care of business at the plate. The Cincinnati Reds offense was busy early and often with a Tyler Naquin home run starting the scoring in the first inning. The long ball was his 19th of the season and extended his hitting streak to 16 games.

That's one way to extend your hitting streak to 16 games❗️ pic.twitter.com/xEiYAH5nTU

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) August 27, 2021

The Reds would pull away in the top of the fourth putting four runs on the board to make it 5-0. Mike Moustakas struck first with an RBI double driving in Joey Votto. Then, Wade Miley helped his own cause with a double of his own to drive in Moose. Both Max Schrock and Miley would come around to score on a throwing error to cap off the big inning.

Moustakas went on to add a solo home run in the eighth inning to set the eventual final score of 6-0. Jeff Hoffman pitched a clean final two innings in relief to close the game out.

Marlins Score 5 in 1st, Defeat Reds 6-1

Sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes the bear gets you. Sometimes that proverbial bear is actually a marlin. The Cincinnati Reds ran into a buzzsaw on Saturday night down in Miami. Cincy was thoroughly dominated at the plate by Sandy Alcantara who was spotted a five-run lead in the first inning.

Alcantara would rack up 12 strikeouts across seven innings of work while allowing just one run. On the other side, Vladimir Gutierrez had an uncharacteristically bad start. The Marlins struck early with seven hits and five runs in the first inning. A three-run home run by Jesus Sanchez capped off the scoring as the Marlins jumped out to a 5-0 lead.

For the Reds offense, Tyler Naquin extended his hitting streak to 17 games with an RBI double in the third inning. Unfortunately, that was the only offense provided all game long.

Cincinnati struck out a total of 15 times on the way to a 6-1 defeat. The loss evened the series at one game apiece, setting up a big Sunday afternoon rubber match.

Offense Quiet Again, Reds Lose 2-1

Series losses are never fun. They are even harder to stomach against a bad team while in the middle of a tightly contested wild card race.

On Sunday afternoon the Cincinnati Reds were held to just two hits and lost the series-deciding game to the Miami Marlins 2-1. Jesus Luzardo, with an earned run average in the sevens, pitched six shutout innings and struck out eight batters.

At the plate, the Reds threatened right away in the first inning with a Jonathan India double and Tyler Stephenson walk. Unfortunately, a controversial third strike call against Joey Votto busted the momentum. From that point on there just was nothing happening for the Reds bats.

Tyler Mahle allowed a two-run home run to Jesus Sanchez in the first inning that were the only runs they managed all game long. After the lone mistake pitch, Mahle was brilliant allowing just four runs in seven innings.

The wild card lead now stands at 1.5 games with the San Diego Padres off on Sunday. Being in a playoff race is certainly fun. However, the Reds simply let this series get away from them.