Raisel Iglesias and Aroldis Chapman each gave up three earned runs, as the Reds lost 8-1 on Saturday afternoon to the Oakland A’s. The Reds are now down to 11 more games (12 days) before traveling to Montreal, to play a two game series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Olympic Stadium. Two weeks from tomorrow, the Reds will play their first game of the 2015 MLB season against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Cincinnati.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
|  Cincinnati Reds (8-9) | 1 | 8 | 0 |
|  Oakland A’s (13-7) | 8 | 12 | 1 |
| W: Hahn (1-2) L: Iglesias (0-2) | |||
| | Box Score | MLB.com Recap | AP Recap | | |||
Raisel Iglesias struggled in the first inning, as he gave up three-run homer to Brett Lawrie. Iglesias did however settle down and retire the final five batters he faced. Iglesias gave up five hits over his three innings pitched on Saturday, but did manage to strike out four batters, while not allowing a walk. This was the first time in five appearances this spring that Iglesias allowed a run.
Bryan Price had this to say about Iglesias’ start on Saturday (courtesy Jane Lee): “Mechanically, he was breaking down and throwing just a lot of flat pitches and they put some really good swings on them in the first inning. Certainly to his credit, Jeff [Pico, the pitching coach] talked to him with Brayan Pena about getting taller in his delivery and creating a little bit more downward plane with his pitches. He pitched better the last two innings, especially the last inning. He made some strides. Next time out, we expect him to be better from the very beginning.”
Aroldis Chapman had a shaky two-inning appearance on Saturday. Chapman gave up a two-run homer to A’s catcher Josh Phegly. Chapman’s line on the afternoon: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K.
Marlon Byrd and Kris Negron each collected two hits on the afternoon. Both players are having a nice spring. Byrd is hitting .417/481/.500, while Negron is hitting .345/387/.514.
Billy Hamilton had a walk and a hit in four plate appearances. That was encouraging to see as Hamilton has struggled this spring, hitting .174/.208/.304.
Homer Bailey will throw 30 pitches in a minor league game on Sunday, according to C. Trent Rosecrans.
Other news and notes:
Mark Sheldon: Reds expect Cueto to be ready for opening day start
C. Trent Rosecrans: Reds’ Raisel Iglesias learns from early mistakes
Up next:
Oakland A’s at Cincinnati Reds
Sunday, 4:05 ET; Goodyear Ballpark
CIN Radio: 700-WLW
Mike Leake (2-0, 0.00 ERA) vs Kendall Graveman (2-0, 0.93 ERA)