KSReds: Cincinnati Reds Suffer Disappointing Series Loss

All three series this season have come down to a deciding rubber match for the Cincinnati Reds. They were able to come out on top against the National and Phillies, but finally got burned by the New York Mets. Losing 3-2 and 3-1 made it hurt even worse. Still, the Reds are 5-4 heading into their first National Central series of the season.

The Reds will remain at Great American Ball Park to begin the week with four games against the Milwaukee Brewers. Graham Ashcraft is set to pitch on Monday night at 6:40 p.m. Eastern Time. Frankie Montas, Hunter Greene, and Nick Martinez are also scheduled to go for Cincinnati. The Brew Crew are 6-2 on the season. This series will be an excellent early barometer of how competitive the Cincinnati Reds will be this season.

Disappointing Loss to Begin Series Versus Mets

You aren’t going to win them all, but losing games like the Cincinnati Reds lost on Friday night hurts. First off, the New York Mets simply aren’t very good. Then, you get a dominant start from Hunter Greene. The Mets handed the Reds six walks and a pair of errors too, but ultimately Cincinnati came up short with the tying run in scoring position.

After a decent, but inefficient, season debut, Hunter Greene was excellent in his second start. The 24-year old turned in six innings of three hit, one run baseball. Most importantly, Greene struck out six batters while walking just one. He threw 99 pitches in his six innings of work which is much more like what Cincinnati needs out of him consistently. However, Fernando Cruz came in and walked three straight batters in the top of the seventh. The free bases led to the Mets scoring a fielder’s choice to take a 2-1 advantage.

Jeff McNeil made it a 3-1 game with a solo home run off of Emilio Pagan in the eighth. In typical Cincinnati fashion though there was fight shown in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Jonathan India reached on an error to opening the final frame and Spencer Steer drew a walk. Christian Encarnacion-Strand grounded out to shortstop, but the runners advanced putting guys on second and third with only one out. The Reds would have two cracks at it to tie the game. Jeimer Candelario made it 3-2 with a sacrifice fly, but Jake Fraley would strike out to end the game. The 3-2 loss put the Cincinnati Reds behind the eight ball in the series heading into the weekend.

Spencer Steer Leads the Cardiac Reds to Victory

The Cincinnati Reds are nothing if not exciting so far this season. After coming up just short of a comeback attempt on Friday night, they got the job done on Saturday. Spencer Steer was the catalyst of the comeback offensively, but strong middle relief from Buck Farmer and Emilio Pagan gave the Reds a chance to win.

After opening up a 2-0 advantage in the second inning, the wheels fell off for Cincinnati starter Nick Martinez in the fourth and fifth. Omar Narvaez tied the game with a two-run single to right field. Then, Brandon Nimmo followed with a two-run double making it a 4-2 Mets lead. Tyrone Taylor added a run scoring double of his own in the fifth which put the Mets on top 5-2. However, Cincinnati would keep chipping away to get themselves back in the game.

Stuart Fairchild singled to right field scoring Elly De La Cruz to make it 5-3 in the sixth. Fairchild then stole second base and Spencer Steer took home on the throw to cut the Reds deficit to 5-4. In the eighth inning, De La Cruz tied it up with a RBI single and Steer blasted a three-run home run making it 8-5. Christian Encarnacio-Strand capped off the frame with a sacrifice fly as the Reds would go into the ninth inning with a 9-5 lead.

The Mets managed to get one run back off of Alexis Diaz in the ninth, but he eventually shut the door and evened the series with a 9-6 victory. Emilio Pagan picked up the win on the mound by pitching a clean eighth inning. With the win, Cincinnati would play a third straight series rubber match to begin the season.

Reds’ Bats Go Quiet in Series Deciding Game

After playing with fire in the first two series of the season, the Cincinnati Reds finally got burned in a rubber match on Sunday afternoon. Sean Manaea turned in his second excellent start of the young season for the New York Mets going five innings allowing just one run on three hits while striking out six. However, for as good as he was, the Mets bullpen was even better. They would go on to not allow another hit in four innings of work to secure the series with a 3-1 win. There was just nothing going at the plate for Cincinnati as they mustered just the three hits, left eight runners on base, and finished 0-5 with runners in scoring position.

Andrew Abbott wasn’t his sharpest on the mound for the Reds, but ultimately he was good enough to give them a chance to win. He allowed three runs, only two earned, in five innings but gave up seven total hits and walked a pair of batters. A home run allowed to Francisco Lindor in the fourth made it a 3-0 game in favor of the Mets at the time. Then, in relief, Tejay Antone exited the game after throwing just one pitch. The injured-plagued Antone said he felt something in his elbow. Brent Suter was excellent throwing three shutout innings and Bucker Farmer pitched a clean ninth, but there was no support from the lineup at all.

The one run the Reds managed in the bottom of the fourth was manufactured off of just one hit. Jeimer Candelario walked to lead off the inning, Stuart Fairchild singled to put runners at the corners, and Elly De La Cruz was hit by a pitch. Santiago Espinal delivered a sacrifice fly, but a double play would later end the inning with the bases loaded. From that point on Cincinnati recorded zero hits. You aren’t going to win many games with one run and three hits.