KSReds: Cincinnati Reds Lose 3 of 4 in Arizona

It is a good news, bad news situation for the Cincinnati Reds as the calendar nears the month of September. On one hand, the ball club has already exceeded expectations and will be playing meaningful baseball into the final month of the season. However, on the other hand, simply treading water isn’t good enough anymore. The Reds have been able to stay in the playoff hunt, but a 9-15 record so far in August doesn’t have things trending in the right direction.

A similar good news, bad news situation lies ahead for the Reds as well. The good news is that back-to-back series against the San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs offers seven games against two opponents in the National League Central Wild Card race. However, the bad news is that both of these teams are good ball clubs which the Reds have struggled to beat of late. The opportunity will present itself for Cincinnati to make one more playoff push, but the light at the end of the tunnel is starting to dim.

Sitting in a tie with the Giants one and a half games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final NL Wild Card spot, the Reds will send Andrew Abbott to the mound on Monday night for a 9:45 p.m. EST first pitch in San Francisco. Brandon Williamson and Hunter Greene will also start as the club wraps up their West Coast road trip.

Late Home Run Dooms Reds in Series Opener

After completing a three-game series sweep in Los Angeles against the Angels, the Cincinnati Reds had built up some goodwill and cushion. However, in the midst of a tight playoff, you can’t let golden opportunities for a win slip through your grasp. That is what happened on Thursday night in Arizona as the Reds were just six outs away from a win, but ultimately lost 3-2 against the Diamondbacks.

For much of the evening out west, this one was a pitcher’s duel. Both starters left the game with shutouts on the books. Brandon Williams delivered six innings for the Reds allowing six hits, no runs, and striking out six batters. Meanwhile, Merrill Kelly was dominant for the Diamondbacks. The veteran pitcher struck out 12 batters and allowed just one hit in seven shutout innings. After excellent starts, neither team’s bullpen was able to maintain the shutout.

Arizona struck first in the bottom of the seventh inning when Jace Peterson came through with a pinch-hit RBI single. Cincinnati answered immediately in the top of the eighth with a Nick Senzel solo home run to tie the game. Then, Tyler Stephenson hit a go-ahead RBI single up the middle to give the Reds a 2-1 advantage.

Needing just six outs to secure the victory, the Reds bullpen only recorded one before relinquishing the lead. After a leadoff walk put a runner on base, Corbin Carroll smacked what would prove to be the game-winning home run. His 391-foot blast set the eventual final score of 3-2 as the Diamondbacks took game one of the series.

Big Fourth Inning Propels Diamondbacks to Victory

Recently promoted Nick Martini did his part for the Cincinnati Reds offense on Friday night. The 33-year-old journeyman put the Reds on top in the second inning with a solo home run over the right-field fence. Then, in the top of the sixth, Martini connected on another home run. His second of the game was a three-run shot that got Cincinnati back in the game. However, in between his two long balls, it was all Diamondbacks.

A hit parade in the bottom of the fourth by Arizona ultimately brought five runs across the plate. Alek Thomas came through first with a RBI single that tied the game. Then, Jace Peterson sent one to the right field wall for a two-run triple making it 3-1. Finally, former Red Tommy Pham knocked in two more runs with a single to left field to finish the big inning with a 5-1 Diamondbacks advantage. Martini answered with a three-run shot cutting it to 5-4, but it was all Arizona from there on out.

The hit parade continued in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings as the DBacks pulled away. In the eighth, Gabriel Moreno and Jace Peterson produced back-to-back triples that made it 10-4. Will Benson hit a grand slam in the top of the ninth making it 10-8, but back-to-back strikeouts ended the short-lived rally.

Reds Bounce Back with Wild Extra-Inning Win

On Thursday night the Cincinnati Reds lost a game that they probably should have won. However, it evened out a bit as they won a game on Saturday night they probably should have lost. In the first inning, Arizona got on the board by scoring on a passed ball. Then, Ketel Marte launched a three-run home run in the fifth that gave the home Diamondbacks a 4-0 lead. From that point, the Reds started chipping away, built a three-run, 10th-inning lead, blew that three-run 10th-inning lead, and ultimately won the game in wild fashion.

Matt McClain struck first for the Reds with a solo home run in the top of the sixth. Nick Martini came through with a RBI single in the eighth cutting the deficit to two runs at 4-2. Down to their final at-bat, Cincinnati made it happen in the top of the ninth. Tyler Stephenson made it 4-3 with a run-scoring double to right field. Then, it was McClain who tied the game with a RBI groundout that would force extra innings after Ian Gibaut helped out on the mound.

To begin the 10th inning it looked like the Reds might run away and hide with this one. McClain, Spencer Steer, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand connected on three consecutive hits to build a 7-4 lead. However, a costly error by McLain that could have ended the game with a double play led to the Diamondbacks scoring three runs in the bottom half of the frame to tie the game once again. It felt like a massive missed opportunity for the Reds.

In the 11th, the Diamondbacks recorded the first two outs of the inning before Steer reached on an infield single to put runners at the corners. That is when things got really crazy out in Arizona. Nabil Crismatt briefly double-clutched while coming set and was called for a balk which scored TJ Frield and handed the Reds a wild 8-7 victory.

Another Blown Lead for the Cincinnati Bullpen

Sunday offered a massive opportunity for the Cincinnati Reds to salvage a four-game series split against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Similar to the series opener, the Reds were counting outs in the final innings on the cusp of a victory. However, the Diamondbacks came through with a seventh- and eighth-inning rally to come back and win 5-2.

Arizona did strike first in the third inning with a Ketel Marte run-scoring double to grab a 1-0 advantage. In the sixth, TJ Friedl tied the game with a sacrifice fly. Then, rookie Noelvi Marte put Cincinnati on top 2-1 with a RBI single in the seventh. That would be the end of the Reds offense though as they would finish with just four hits on the game.

Lourdes Guerriel Jr. tied the game in the bottom of the seventh with a solo home run. However, it was yet another very strong start for Graham Ashcraft. He went six and two-thirds innings allowing two runs on seven hits. It was certainly good enough to win, but a lack of offense and poor bullpen work let the start go to waste.

The Reds bullpen made it pretty easy in the eighth for the Diamondbacks. Ian Gibaut and Lucas Sims combined to walk the bases loaded which allowed a pair of sacrifice flies to make it 4-2. Then, a single by Alek Thomas set the eventual final score of 5-2 in favor of the DBacks.