KSReds: Gut-Punch Sunday Loss, But Cincinnati Reds Win Series

At the end of the day, it is just about winning the series. If the Cincinnati Reds can keep stringing together series wins they will get themselves out of the National League Central cellar. However, when you have a golden opportunity to sweep a team like the San Francisco Giants it stings when it doesn’t happen. The Reds blew a 2-0 eighth-inning lead on Sunday afternoon to spoil what could have been a three-game sweep.

The Reds will take Monday off and then head to Boston for a quick two-game series against the Red Sox. Luis Castillo and Hunter Greene are scheduled to make starts at Fenway Park. Game one starts at 7:10 p.m. EST on Tuesday evening.

Graham Ashcraft Leads Reds to Series Opening Win

There haven’t been a ton of bright spots for the 2022 Cincinnati Reds. However, some young pitching prospects have given some hope for the future. Most fans know Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo, who both started the season on the big league roster, but 24-year-old Graham Ashcraft is also a top prospect in the organization. The crafty right-hander made his second start on Friday night and tossed six and one-third shutout innings to earn his first career victory.

The rookie pitcher was able to work with the lead after a Matt Reynolds double got the Reds on the board in the third inning. Brandon Drury also went deep in the fifth inning to make it 3-0 at the time. San Francisco got one back off of Alexis Diaz in the eighth, but that is all they could manage. Cincinnati immediately answered with two insurance runs in the bottom half of the inning to set the eventual final score of 5-1.

First Inning Home Run Proves to be Enough For Win

Saturday afternoon’s win at Great American Ball Park was an interesting one. Kyle Farmer put one over the left-centerfield wall in the bottom of the first inning to give the Cincinnati Reds a 3-0 advantage. From there on out the bats went cold. The Reds managed just three more hits through the next eight innings finishing with just five on the game. However, some resilient pitching was enough to hold on for a hard-fought 3-2 victory.

Vladimir Gutierrez earned his first win of the year on the mound working through five innings allowing just one run on six hits. Luis Cessa, Alexis Diaz, Ross Detwiler, and Tony Santillan combined to cover the final four innings in relief. The win clinched the series for the Cincinnati Reds. Cincy is now 4-2 when it comes to series in the month of May.

Tyler Mahle’s No-Hit Bid Goes to Waste

Tyler Mahle took a no-hit bid through six and two-thirds innings in a masterful performance on the mound. The Cincinnati Reds opening day starter struck out eight batters while keeping a clean slate. Outstanding bounce-back performance by Mahle after a tough outing against the Cubs last week. Unfortunately, the performance went to waste as poor defense and relief pitching blew a 2-0 lead in the eighth.

Albert Almora Jr. put the Reds on the board in the second inning with a RBI single and Joey Votto added a RBI double in the sixth to put Cincinnati on top 2-0. However, it all went downhill when Art Warren came out of the bullpen.

After a seeing-eye single by Joc Pederson got by Kyle Farmer in the shift to make it 2-1, David Bell called on Warren to get the final out of the eighth. Three hits and four runs later, the Reds were down 6-2. Evan Longoria smacked one over the wall in right-centerfield to put the Giants on top. Almora Jr. hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the night to make it 6-4, but that is as close as the Reds would get.

Winning the series is great, but that was a gut-punch loss on Sunday afternoon.