It was a hot day in LA. Legendary Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully called it “as hot of a day as he could ever remember.” The sweltering heat didn’t have an impact on the starting pitchers early, but it probably impacted how long they were able to stay in the game.
Zack Greinke and Anthony DeSclafani both held their opponents scoreless through the first three innings, and relatively with ease. In the bottom of the fourth, DeSclafani got in trouble. He gave up a lead-off single to Enrique Hernandez, and then walked Adrian Gonzalez. Justin Turner then lined out to Jay Bruce, and there were runners on first and third with one out. DeSclafani then struck out both Andre Either and Yasiel Puig on nasty breaking balls.
The Reds got on the board in the top of the fifth. Byrd singled, and then Tucker Barnhart doubled. The Reds were only able to get one run off Greinke, courtesy of a Billy Hamilton sacrifice fly.
The Dodgers came right back in the bottom of the fifth. Joc Peterson hit a solo home run, and then pitcher Zack Greinke followed that with a home run of his own. DeSclafani recovered quickly by striking out both Jimmy Rollins and Enrique Hernandez to end the inning.
The Reds threatened again in the seventh inning, but couldn’t get a run across against a tiring Greinke with a pitch count past 100. Byrd singled, and Barnhart walked. Skip Schumaker pinch-hit for DeSclafani, and he ripped a ball, but it was right at left-fielder Andre Either. Billy Hamilton grounded out to end the inning.
Joey Votto walked with two outs in the eight inning. Don Mattingly brought in Kenley Jensen for a four-out save, and he got the job done. The Reds fell 2-1, and lost three of four in the series to the Dodgers.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (51-65) | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers (67-51) | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| W: Greinke (13-2) L: DeSclafani (7-8) S: Jansen (24) | |||
| FanGraphs Win Probability | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
Biggest Play of the Game
According to Fangraphs WPA statistic (winning percentage added), the most important play of the game was Anthony DeSclafani allowing a solo home run to Joc Peterson with 1 out in the 5th inning, giving the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. That home run decreased the Reds chances of winning by 17.5% (from 64.1% to 46.6%).
Player of the Game
Zack Greinke: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K, 1.25 FIP (1 for 1, 1 HR at the plate)
The MLB leader in ERA showed just how good he is this afternoon. And just to add insult to injury, his home run off DeSclafani was the winning run.
Positives
Joey Votto showed some, dare I say, “elite baserunning” in the first inning. He also put on a hitting clinic against the MLB leader in ERA, by hitting two balls into the perfect spot against the defense. Votto is 5 for 8 this season against Zack Greinke and Max Scherzer.
Joey Votto now batting .360/.447/.599 in his career vs pitchers who have won a Cy Young Award, including .667/.706/1.133 this season. #Reds
— Joel Luckhaupt (@jluckhaupt) August 16, 2015
Votto has 282 career PA. Only Ted Williams (1.090 in 302 PA) has higher OPS vs CYA winners, min 250 PA. https://t.co/riUE8C4x3h
— Joel Luckhaupt (@jluckhaupt) August 16, 2015
Anthony DeSclafani pitched well again. He made two mistakes back-to-back in the 5th, but overall he was very sharp (6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 K).
Marlon Byrd had two hits for the good guys.
The Reds bullpen was unbelievable in this series. The Reds relievers allowed a grand total of 1 ER in 14.0 innings. The Reds bullpen in August leads the MLB with a 1.16 ERA. They have allowed just 7 ER in 57.2 innings.
Negatives
The Reds offense only scored once. That’s not very good.
Aroldis Chapman did not pitch in the four game series.
No more Reds games called by Vin Scully in 2015 🙁
Not so random thoughts………………..
The Reds may have lost 3 of 4 in LA, but I think it was a pretty nice series overall. Suarez played well, and Frazier came out of his slump. Votto was Votto. The Reds got nice pitching performances from Sampson and DeSclafani. John Lamb’s start was overall pretty positive, and you could certainly see the potential he has. The Reds bullpen was absolutely stellar.
It’s not really about wins and losses at this point. Actually, losses are better than wins (draft picks!). Some good stuff happened in this series. I’ll take the glass half full, bartender.
Up Next:
The Reds have an off-day tomorrow before they begin a four team, 10-game homestand. The Reds play two against the Royals (no Cueto), four against the Diamondbacks, one game against the Tigers (make up game), and three against the Dodgers. Tuesday night’s matchup looks fun.
Royals at Reds
Tuesday, 7:10 PM
TV: FSN-Ohio
Raisel Iglesias (10 GS, 4.70 ERA, 3.53 FIP) vs Edinson Volquez (24 GS, 3.27 ERA, 3.77 FIP)