Titanic Struggle Recap: The Bryan Price Show, starring Brandon Phillips

The Good
–Todd Frazier had three hits, including an RBI single in the first, and he tied the game with a two-run homer in the seventh. He’s good, you know.

–Pretty good start by Anthony DeSclafani, all things considered. He only surrendered one earned run over six innings. Unfortunately, he also suffered through three unearned runs, as well.

–Brandon Phillips had a three hits, including a triple, scored a run, and drove in another one from the leadoff spot tonight. He also made another brilliant play at second base tonight. He may have lost a step, but BP still provides the highlight plays on a regular basis, doesn’t he?

Oh yeah, he also hit the game winning homer in the 13th too. Guess that thumb injury wasn’t too bad, eh?

–Top six hitters in the Reds lineup all had multiple hits tonight: BP, Joey Votto, Marlon Byrd, Frazier, Brayan Pena, Eugenio Suarez (and Billy Hamilton, hitting ninth, had two hits too).

–Reds bullpen — Burke Badenhop, JJ Hoover, Ryan Matthews, Carlos Contreras, Aroldis Chapman, Pedro Villareal — pitched seven scoreless innings.

The Bad
–Eugenio Suarez is a good defensive player. He made a crucial error tonight, though, and it cost the Redlegs. Then, in the ninth, he made a second error that almost cost the Reds a win in regulation. His defense has been a bit shaky since coming to Cincinnati, but be patient with the kid. He’ll be fine.

–I’m so sick of Bryan Price refusing to use Aroldis Chapman in high-leverage situations. It’s indefensible. For a former pitching coach, he’s surprisingly clueless in his management of the pitching staff.

Think about it: with the game on the line, tied in the bottom of the ninth, two runners on and one out, Price preferred to have Ryan Mattheus on the mound, facing Andrew McCutchen, rather than Chapman. Sure, it worked out, but it’s terrible decision-making. Ryan Mattheus!!!

I’m done defending Bryan Price. He’s Dusty Baker 2.0.

–Chapman did come into the game to face the bottom of the Pirates order in the 11th inning, however. But at least he came in for two innings, right? No, of course not. Price didn’t use a double switch to make that happen. He’s smart, you know.

Instead, Chapman — who had pitched once in the last nine games — threw only seven pitches in an extra-inning game.

Sheesh. Mike Leake pinch hit for Chapman and Pedro Villareal came in to pitch the 12th against the heart of the Pirates order.

Sheesh.

Not-So-Random Thoughts
–Series win in Pittsburgh. Hurrah.

–I’m happy the Reds won. Really, I am. But not as happy as I was last night, when my alma mater — the University of Virginia — won the College World Series championship. It’s not often that I get to see my Cavaliers win a national championship. I’m still basking in the reflected glory.

–In his last eight games, Todd Frazier has 6 HR and 13 RBI. Of course, he hit 13 homers in the eight previous games, so your mileage may vary.

–Through the tenth inning, the Reds had stranded at least one runner in 23 of their last 29 innings. That’s hard to do. They did have 17 hits tonight, though. That’s a season high.

–Disco has a 3.35 ERA midway through the season. I’ll take that.

–As I said in my last recap, every single time I write a recap, the Reds have a rain delay or go into extra innings, or both. I’m tired. Good night.