KSReds: Cincinnati Reds Begin Season With Series Victory

Baseball is all about winning series and that is exactly what the Cincinnati Reds did to begin their 2023 campaign. The Reds bounced back from a disappointing Opening Day loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates with a pair of weekend wins to take the series. Neither team entered the season with high expectations, but it is still always nice to start the season on a positive note.

Cincinnati will get to stay at Great American Ball Park as they begin the week with a home series against the Chicago Cubs. Connor Overton is set to start opposite Drew Smyly at 6:40 p.m. EST on Monday night. Then, Luis Cessa will go against Hayden Wesneski at 6:40 p.m. EST on Tuesday evening. Finally, the rotation will turn back over to Hunter Greene for a 12:35 p.m. EST getaway day matchup on Wednesday against Marcus Stroman.

The Cubs won 4-0 on Opening Day against the Milwaukee Brewers but then lost their next two to drop their first series.

Bullpen Woes Surface on Opening Day

In front of a Great American Ball Park record attendance, the Cincinnati Reds started Opening Day off in exciting fashion. The top of the first inning featured flame-thrower Hunter Greene sitting at 100-102 miles per hour on the radar. Then, in the bottom half of the inning, the Reds loaded the bases with no outs and cleanup hitter Tyler Stephenson at the plate. Unfortunately, Stephenson swung at the first pitch and hit into a tailor-made 6-4-3 double play. Jonathan India came in to score, but it ended what could have been an early rally. Only getting one run in that situation certainly did come back to bite the Redlegs.

Hunter Greene was electric in terms of lighting up the radar gun with triple digits. The 23-year-old struck out eight batters but also walked three and scattered five hits that resulted in three Pittsburgh Pirates runs. Two of those runs attributed to Greene though came after David Bell’s call to the bullpen.

Fernando Cruz was brought in to relieve Greene and promptly walked three batters, including two with the bases loaded, and allowed a third run on a wild pitch. Without even needing to swing the bat, the Pirates scored three runs to jump on top 4-1 in the fourth inning. However, Cincinnati did not go away quietly. Spencer Steer answered with a home run in the bottom half of the fourth to make it 4-2. Then, Jason Vosler tied it up with a two-RBI triple in the fifth. That 4-4 score would hold until Pittsburgh’s go-ahead sacrifice fly in the eighth that set the eventual final score of 5-4. Nine walks by the Cincinnati Reds’ pitching staff proved to be very costly on Thursday evening.

Reds Bounce Back With Help From the Long Ball

Pittsburgh got on the board first on Saturday evening, but the Cincinnati Reds wasted no time responding. Jonathan India smacked a leadoff home run to immediately tie the game back up at one apiece. Then, designated hitter Kevin Newman launched a 405-foot two-run home run into the left-field seats to make it a 3-1 ball game.

The Pirates got seven hits off of Nick Lodolo, but the talented left-hander struck out nine batters in his five innings of work to earn the win. Most importantly, unlike Thursday evening, the Reds’ bullpen was perfect behind Lodolo. Ian Gibaut, Buck Farmer, Reiver Sanmartin, and Alexis Diaz combined to throw four perfect innings and secure the series-tying 6-2 victory.

Graham Ashcraft Secures Cincinnati’s Series Win

Most Cincinnati Reds fans consider Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo to be appointment television when they take the mound. However, Graham Ashcraft just might be the best of the bunch right now. He certainly made his claim on Sunday afternoon with a fabulous performance to secure the series victory for the Reds.

Ashcraft turned in seven innings of work scattering just four hits and one run while striking out six batters. Alex Young gave up a pair of hits in the top of the eighth, but Derek Law came in to help get out of the potential jam. Then, Alexis Diaz recorded his first save of the young season with a perfect frame in the ninth inning.

At the plate, Jason Vosler hit a second-inning home run to continue his strong start to the season. Tyler Stephenson contributed an RBI groundout in the third inning and TJ Friedl capped off the Reds scoring with a home run of his own in the fifth. The 3-1 victory gave Cincinnati a season-opening series win.