KSReds: Cincinnati Reds Season is on Life Support

When keeping things in perspective, it has already been a very good season for the Cincinnati Reds. They are playing meaningful baseball into the month of September. Despite playing more rookies than anyone in baseball, and facing several key injuries, the team is still in the playoff picture through 145 games. However, once you get this close, it is hard to not want more. The Reds have so much young talent and are knocking at the door of the playoffs. It is going to be an uphill battle in the final few weeks of the season though.

After losing the first two games of the series against the St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati fell 2.5 games behind in the race for the final Wild Card spot. Sunday’s win at least allowed them to gain a game back as the Diamondbacks lost. The Reds are now 1.5 games behind Arizona and one game behind the Miami Marlins.

Cincinnati will take Monday off before embarking on a six-game road trip to Detroit and New York. They play the Tigers beginning on Tuesday night at 6:40 p.m. EST with Lyon Richardson taking the ball. Andrew Abbott is scheduled to pitch Wednesday while Thursday’s starter has yet to be announced. Then, the Reds will go to the Big Apple to take on the Mets.

Costly Walks, Lack of Situation Hitting Dooms Reds

After two batters it looked like Andrew Abbott was in for a great start. He struck out the St. Louis Cardinals leadoff hitter on three pitches. Then, he got Tyler O’Neill to pop out in foul territory. Five pitches, five strikes, two out. However, the wheels fell off from there. Abbott walked noted Cincinnati Reds killer Paul Goldschmidt. Nolan Arenado would then reach on an error at third base by Noelvi Marte. Those two free base runners brought Wilson Contreras to the plate and he promptly blasted a 440-foot home run well into the upper deck at Great American Ball Park. What started out as a promising inning for the Reds turned into three runs for the Cardinals.

The third inning was eerily similar to the first. After two outs to begin the frame, Goldschmidt once again drew a walk. Then, Arenado singled and Contreras walked to load the bases. That set up designated hitter Luken Baker for a bases-clearing double to make it a 6-0 game in favor of St. Louis. All six of the Cardinals’ runs had come with two outs and nobody on base. However, in typical Reds fashion, the home team would fight their way back into the game.

In the bottom half of the third Hunter Renfroe hit a two-run home run and Nick Senzel had a solo shot to cut the Cardinals lead in half to 6-3. Noelvi Marte then stole home in the fourth on a throw to second base making it 6-4. That would be as close as the Reds could get though. St. Louis added back three more runs in the late innings to set the eventual final score of 9-4. The stat of the game came down to runners left on base and batting with runners in scoring position. Cincinnati was an ugly 0-7 with runners in scoring position and left 12 on base. Meanwhile, the Cardinals were 3-9 and left just five on base.

Cincinnati Offense Goes Cold Versus Cardinals Bullpen

For the second straight night, Wilson Contreras got the St. Louis Cardinals on the board in the top of the first inning. The veteran catcher came through with a RBI single to make it a 1-0 game. However, it was the Cincinnati Reds that built the early advantage in this one. In the bottom of the second, their offense got going to put up a three-spot and climb on top of the rival Cardinals 3-1.

Tyler Stephenson got the second inning hit parade started with a RBI double that scored Nick Senzel to tie the game. Then, Alejo Lopez connected on a RBI double of his own to score Stephenson and give Cincinnati the 2-1 lead. Finally, Harrison Bader capped off the inning with a single to right field which scored Lopez and made it a 3-1 ball game. That lead wouldn’t hold for long though as Contreras would continue his massive series with a game-tying two-run home run in the top third. Lars Nootbaar tacked on a RBI double in the top of the fourth for the Cardinals and that would prove to be all the offense that was needed. In fact, that 4-3 score would eventually become the final score as St. Louis took game two of the series.

The Cardinals bullpen strung together four innings of one-hit baseball to finish off the Reds. Casey Lawrence, John King, Giovanny Gallegos, and Ryan Helsley combined to strike out six and hold on for the 4-3 victory. The loss dropped Cincinnati 2.5 games out of the final National League Wild Card spot.

Much-Needed Win Keeps Season on Life Support

The Cincinnati Reds season is very much on life support. However, Sunday afternoon’s victory at least kept the power on for a little bit longer. Also, the roster started to look a little better as Jonathan India, Joey Votto, and Hunter Greene were all back with the big league ball club. All three of those players played key roles in the easy 7-1 win over the rival Cardinals.

In the bottom of the third inning, Jonathan India hit a 409-foot home run to center field in his first at-bat back with the Reds. Later in the inning, Will Benson launched one 414 feet to make it a 2-0 game. Then, the Reds really broke the game open in the sixth inning. Spencer Steer, Nick Martini, and Joey Votto came through with three consecutive RBI to vault Cincinnati’s advantage to 5-1. Both TJ Friedl, who scored on Steer’s single, and Martini tripled in the inning.

Friedl would go on to homer in the seventh inning and Votto, on his 40th birthday, hit a 437-foot shot in the eighth to finish off the Reds scoring. On the mound, Hunter Greene was excellent in his return to the rotation. The 24-year-old turned in six innings of one-hit baseball while striking out nine batters. He is now 4-6 on the season with a 4.43 earned run average.