The Short Version: Cody Reed and the bullpen pitch well, but the Reds drop another close extra-innings affair.
| Final — 11 innings | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee Brewers (75-60) | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| Cincinnati Reds (57-77) | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| W: Soria (1-0) L: Brice (2-3) S: Hader (11) | |||
| FanGraphs Win Probability | Box Score | |||
The Good
–Joey Votto is back. That’s good.
–Cody Reed looked pretty good in his start today. He only lasted 4.2 innings, and he walked three (including two in his last inning), but his final line wasn’t bad, with one run allowed on four hits. It was a step forward, anyway.
–Mason Williams was the only Red with two hits. Scott Schebler, Dilson Herrera, and Billy Hamilton each doubled.
–The bullpen was outstanding for the most part (see below). Michael Lorenzen, Sal Romano, Jared Hughes, David Hernandez, and Jackson Stephens pitched six innings of one-hit, shutout baseball. Unfortunately…
The Bad
–Austin Brice returned from Triple-A before the game and gave up the lead on his first pitch in the top of the 11th. Shortly thereafter, he was forced to leave the game. From the ESPN recap:
–Michael Lorenzen didn’t hit a single home run today. #Lame.
–Eugenio Suarez was scratched from the lineup with back spasms. That’s not a good thing.
Not-So-Random Thoughts
–The Cincinnati Reds have lost 7 of their last 8 games, and 8 of 10. This #PositiveMomentum isn’t working so well.
–Milwaukee has homered in 22 consecutive games at GABP. The Reds should really try to stop that streak sometime.
–The Reds will go on the road to face the St. Louis Cardinals next. Homer Bailey (1-12) will get the start tomorrow night. Yahoo.
I am glad I can still remember the good old days of the past while looking forward to what lies ahead. Being positive may not help the Reds win games but at least it keeps me going.
I like the positivity. Like my coach used to say, “You can’t bunt them all.”
I remember Vada.Smooth dude.
I got a bad feeling that Riggleman will be handed the manager’s job without other candidates even being interviewed. My personal choice would be David Ross.
Despite what has been said by the front office about spending money, I don’t think there’s any chance they’re going after any big name pitchers in free agency such as Corbin or Keuchel. Any additions to the rotation will have to come via trade. We need a #1 and #2.
Would like to see Lorenzen’s numbers if he were given 150-200 at-bars as a backup corner outfielder.
I’ve tried200 bars. It doesn’t increase your control nor your reflexes.
Hamilton was a few feet away from homers in back to back games. Wonder if he’s ever done that
Surprisingly, for some odd reason, I wasn’t paying attention. But I’m curious – was anyone else available to pitch other than the guy that found out at 1:00 a.m. he was being called up and then had to drive from Columbus – for a day game? But really, doesn’t matter.
Cody Reed had some rough spots but overall, not bad. If Riggleman was really interested in sorting Reed he would have left him in in the 5th. inning with two outs. Taking him out meant, to me, the important thing was to win the game to further his chance of getting the regular job.
Change occurred when Reds were 3-15. They lost the first three under Riggleman before winning
Almost to September so it’s time to say goodbye for another year. We stink again yet this is the best blog/site for Reds info bar none. Yes, I’m negative but my frustration boils over because I’m tired of losing. Don’t take it personal Chad, Steve, et al, you’re the best. Seriously, you guys/gals deserved a round of applause. It’s not easy writing a summary when your team comes in last all the time. Please don’t hire Riggleman for next year. My blood pressure can’t take it.
I was pretty encouraged by Reed’s start today. One of his walks was a nervous, first batter pass, and two or three of the hits were a bit fluky. Cain’s squib in the fifth was just bad luck, and the blooper to left was another of those “anyone with a bat is dangerous”. I was disappointed that Riggleman didn’t give Reed the chance to finish the 5th, but on the flip side great to see Lorenzen bounce back with a great outing today. I’ll be eagerly awaiting Reed’s next start in Pittsburgh.
Despite the short outing, I am starting to have a more positive outlook for Reed’s future, especially compared with Stephenson. Beginning of the year, that was turned 180 degrees.
Perhaps the reason Stephenson’s opportunities were cut short is due to an injury? One never knows with the Reds. But the fact that he complained he couldn’t feel the ball in his fingers and was later moved to DL may be something. If it is then it is still a bummer and the fault still is on the FO for not bringing him up sooner.
Excellent point Jim. Some have pointed to the way Riggleman has handled the pitchers as a plus for him. The issue though is that he is very inconsistent in the way he handles pitches. With 90 pitches RS should never have been back out in the 6’th. He had handled some very stressful situations through 5 innings.
Bob started all season in the minors and after 3 starts in a lost season he is put in the pen.That makes no sense at all.Its just a circus and for us to try to make any sense out of anything is just a waste of our time.The Reds don’t show any consistency in how they handle players period.Some get soooooooooo many chances and still are baaaaaaad while others get hardly any at all.The ship has sailed on Bob,Garrett,Lorenzen,Reed and others as starters regardless of how they perform the rest of this year or even in the spring.They want these guys to perform like Cy Young which they won’t while at the same time watch Homer all the time and Harvey at times perform like Loretta Young.
It could also be said that for most of his tenure, including this season, that Price was faced with key players being injured. Look at the projected starting rotation last season vs. what the Reds ended up with. This year Desclafani was out until June, Suarez broke his hand, Schebler hurt his elbow, etc. I’m not suggesting the Reds should have kept Price because of that but if everyone had been healthy throughout his tenure, I’m pretty sure Price would have had a better record than he ended up with.
Yep. As I just detailed, RS also got burned by inherited runners allowed to score against the Brewers in his 3rd start, 2 that time in the top of the 6th after he had allowed just 2 runs through 5 innings versus them which isn’t bad considering their offense,..
The Reds need a change from the Baker, Price, Riggleman era. A young manager familiar with analytics who could be basically unknown like Sparky Anderson was is needed. The Reds have the makings of a good, competitive team if starting pitching is upgraded, but change is needed in the leadership.
Latos made 127 starts completing 799 innings over 4 consecutive seasons (2 with SD; 2 with Reds), his age 22 through 25 seasons. After that his most starts and inning were in his age 27 season, with 24 appearances (21 starts) and 116.1 innings) spread among 3 teams, Marlins, LAD and LAA. After that he was basically done in MLB (to date) even though he got some looks the next 2 seasons, The long short is he was rode hard and put away wet early in his career.
great stuff Hotto.
I hate that they have given up on Stephenson. In fact, Bailey is the guy who should be in the pen. Even with RS’s struggles this year, I would rather watch him right now than Homer.
It is not time to give up on anyone who can turn a corner. Phil Ervin was given up for dead last year prospect wise.