The Cincinnati Reds entered San Diego’s Petco Park on Thursday as the hottest team in baseball. On Sunday afternoon the Padres sent the team back east on a 4-game losing streak as the Cincinnati offense just couldn’t get enough going and fell 3-2 on Fathers Day.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (35-35) | 2 | 8 | 2 |
| San Diego Padres (42-32) |
3 | 7 | 0 |
| W: Lamet (2-2) L: Castillo (2-10) Sv: Melancon (21) |
|||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
The Offense
The Reds offense didn’t get much going in the first two innings, but in the 3rd Kyle Farmer singles and an out later Jonathan India walked to put two men on with one out. Jesse Winker and Tyler Naquin struck out and flied out to end the inning and any threat the team had going.
In the 7th inning the Reds had another thread going. Shogo Akiyama legged out an infield single, Kyle Farmer was hit by a pitch, and Nick Castellanos came off of the bench to pinch-hit for Luis Castillo and singled into center to load the bases with one out. But Jonathan India grounded into a double play to end the inning and keep the Padres ahead 3-0.
Cincinnati wasn’t going to just roll over, though. Jesse Winker led off the 8th with a single and Tyler Stephenson followed up with a double to put men on 2nd and 3rd. Joey Votto grounded out to second base, but Winker scored and Stephenson moved up to 3rd. Aristides Aquino then walked and stole second base. Eugenio Suárez grounded out, but both runners moved up and that made it a 3-2 game. Shogo Akiyama hit the ball hard, lining out to the warning track in right field to end the threat for the Reds.
Down 3-2 it was going to take some 2-out magic for the Reds. Jonathan India did his part, drawing a walk to put the tying run on base for Jesse Winker. It wasn’t to be on this day as Winker popped out to shallow center to end the game.
The Pitching
Luis Castillo ran into some troubles in the 1swt inning after a 2-out walk was followed up by a single to put runners on the corners, but he got Wil Myers to ground out to end the inning. Two innings later Myers got his revenge. After a single and a 2-out walk, Myers tripled, but a throwing error allowed Myers to also score on the play to put the Padres up 3-0.
San Diego was back at it the next inning. Ha-Seong Kim walked and Victor Caratini singled to put two men on without any outs. But a strikeout of the opposing pitcher and a double play for Luis Castillo out of the jam with no damage. The next two innings went smoothly for Castillo who finished with the day with seven strikeouts over 6.0 innings on six hits and three walks while allowing two earned runs and being charged with an unearned run.
Sean Doolittle came out for the 7th and got into a jam after a hit and a walk, but he got out of the inning while holding the score at 3-0. When Heath Hembree entered the game for the 8th the Reds had clawed their way back to within a run and he struck out the side to keep it at 3-2 and give Cincinnati’s offense one final chance to tie or jump ahead. It didn’t happen as the Reds were swept in a 4-game series.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs Minnesota Twins
Monday June 21, 8:10pm ET
Tyler Mahle (7-2, 3.39 ERA) vs J.A. Happ (3-3, 6.12 ERA)
Tuned back in to see us score 2 only to have my hopes dashed again. San Diego has been a brutal trip. Now it feels like we have to sweep in Twinkie Town. Can’t get there fast enough for me.
This series was lost with the collapse of the bullpen Thursday night. That set the tone for all that followed. That said, I admire the fight of this team.
I hope they are able to put it all together soon–and that reinforcements are on the way for the bullpen and the bench.
Sadly, I agree with your comment about the bullpen collapse Thursday night setting the tone for the series. Can’t change what happened. Lots of games yet to play! Only 3 games out in the loss column! Let’s go to Minneapolis and start a winning streak against the Twinkies!
+100
They fought and were in and could have won 3 of the 4 games.Only difference was the performance or lack of our pen.I only wish but I understand why he didn’t Bell would have fired another bullet in Sims’ gun Thurs or last night.May not have made any difference.Good to see Hembree bounce back.If he can keep it in the park and just throw strikes his stuff plays as does Warrren’s.Antone hopefully is back this week and Sonny in a couple of weeks so its not all gloom and doom.I think Castillo is back.Dude was throwing 99 in the 6th.I watched him pitch that inning and he was elevating that fastball more then I have seen him do.Guy is making adjustments and hitters have to look up and in more then before.In the past its was down and away for the most part.
I hope Sims isn’t ailing and that is why
India’s GIDP was a 97 MPH rocket hit right at the shortstop. It had an expected batting average of .550.
3 feet in either direction and Reds win. Baseball is a funny game.
And sad.
Reds win depending on pen performance.
Reds get 4 against the Braves 3 more against the Padres 3 against the Cubs 4 against the Brewers all leading up to the All Star break.
Braves and Padres and Cubs could put up some crooked numbers against this bullpen
When is Lorenzen due back to rescue the bullpen?
Not till after All star
Padres are a different club on the road. Would be nice to sweep them and get revenge.
Yes that would be very nice indeed
I was at the game Thursday & I left the game knowing that the brutal loss totally messed up all the momentum we had & I feared exactly what happened…a Padres sweep….again….thank you bullpen….I don’t care if I ever see Amir pitch another game for the Reds
Collusion.
Hopefully the Reds show up tomorrow. You never know what team your getting every series. This team is so Jekyll and Hyde.
Ronald Acuna Jr. (Braves) hit his 100th HR today. He is 23. Where is the Reds’ Acuna?
Winker?
And Wander Franco is being brought up today by the Rays. He is 20 years old.
The throwing error was by Votto, with the runner safely at third, Votto decided to play little league baseball and throw wildly down to third. The throw was into the ground and not even close, that put the icing on the padres little league three run homer. Of course that turned out to be the winning run and the most costly miscue. This team plays alotta sloppy baseball, this time it cost them the game.
India “stuck out” to open the game on a pitch outside. Then Castillo put the whole adjective baseball in the strike zone in their scoring inning atleast twice with no strike being called. Another 3 pitches in the strike zone that weren’t give to him.
I get home in time for Freeman’s at-bat in the 9th and the last curveball comes in at his shoulders for strike 3?
If the umps are going to decide the game then why play it? I remember 30 years ago, half the umps were obese and either dropping dead on the field or ringing up 15 guys (Eric Gregg) because they were too fat to lean over to see the corners of the plate.
Enough is enough. Most of them are hardworking guys trying to do their job, but some still ump like Manny Machado runs to first. Robo zone and lets the players decide the games.
Umps’ revenge for Votto yesterday?
If so, how very puerile and petulant they are
And yet another exhibit of how they act with impunity
I wouldnt go that far since I dont think umps hold grudges, but who knows if they do it unintentionally/subconsciously. Honestly even if they are, robo umps would help prevent that from even occurring in the first place. I say do it just to take out the doubt.
The home plate ump was a disgrace. Padres get how many outs per inning? 5? 6? I do not blame Luis one bit for being ticked off after two batters are given freebies. Disgraceful.
I couldn’t believe the awful calls on Castillos pitches to Myers. That was unbelievable. I don’t know how that could have been anything but intentional in the part of the ump. Three or four consecutive pitches clearly in the strike zone.
Can we start a go fund me accout to buy a 3B mit for Tyler Stephenson?
Lol
An OF glove might be better. Castellanos has played some 3b in his career and Winker some RF which could open LF. Mostly jesting here but not out of the realm of possibility. Bigger issue might be who becomes #2 catcher if Stephenson is playing LF every day.
I’ve said this before (and I know this is in jest, so not an attack in any way) but there is no reason to me why you’d teach a guy to catch to simply move him to a different position in the majors, even if he is average to below average as a catcher.
Dale Murphy, Carlos Delgado,
Craig Biggio…. all started their careers in the majors catching. Some teams dont want their guys who can hit crouching behind a plate every game.
@2020> I find myself wondering at times why Stephenson was not redirected from catching in the low minors. He doesn’t look like a natural back there and doesn’t have a build that screams catcher. This said, a contending team doesn’t want to stir the pot mid season, especially where the likes of Winker and Castellanos would be involved.
I saw someone listed a few notable MLB players who had been moved from catching. The name on that list which caught my eye was Dale Murphy (#5 overall pick in the 1994 draft) . In my mind’s eye memory his build very much resembled Stephenson’s current build; and a quick check revealed they were both listed at 6’4″ inches, Stephenson weighed in at 225, Murphy 210.
After making just short of 300 MLB game appearances at catcher (85) and 1B (205) and zero MLB OF appearances through his age 23 season, Murphy went on to make 1850+ OF appearances (1040+ as a CF!) and just 3 at 1B and none at catcher the rest of his career. He ended his career with 46.5 bWAR and an OPS of 121.
Never say never I guess. A lot depends on the surrounding cast of players I believe.
The offense fought hard this series and should not hang their heads. The bullpen knows what they are. In that sense it is misleading to title this blog article “Offense comes up short”
The owners, if they hold present course, will have convinced me of the notion that they are biding time and trying to cut losses, circle wagons, and generally gear up for the expected work stoppage pursuant to the next CBA negotiations.
Prove me wrong, Vegetable-Seller Bob!
They will stay the course and not do anything.Pen needs help,we need a shortstop that is above average defensively and it would be nice if Eugenio saw a little down time once Moose or Senzel return.I will take just one of these as a sign that they may have a clue as to what to do and go and do it.The break will tell us more cause nothing is happening before then so we play on.Go Reds
Lots of beefs about the umpiring in the last 4 games in particular. Sure they miss a call or make a bad judgement like everybody else but some of the comments seem to imply that they have a direct bias against the Reds.
Is this because since 2019, the Reds have gotten into extended arguments, fights, or other ridiculous behavior because of minor judgement calls like balls and strikes, “bullying” from the other bench, inside pitches, etc.? If not, what is the reason?
Puig, Garrett, Votto, Suarez, and others didn’t help the team then or in the future with their emotional outbursts. David Bell “backing up his players” accomplished nothing but enabling this lack of control and further contributed to a likely loss for the team due to the consequences . Even a 6 year old girl could sense that.
I don’t look at any of that. They are professionals. I only look at things which insert themselves into the play of the game, especially when significantly impacting the outcome if the game. Such as multiple calls leading directly to three runs. This game was a disgrace. Sickening.
You have a very good point
Suarez…….emotional outburst? Are we watching the same Suarez????
Not this year of course. A simple search of David Bell’s ejections or greatest moments refers to a very good compilation tape showing all the times he got thrown out of games in 2019. Three or four were caused when Suarez, Winker, and Puig got right in the umpire’s face, threw helmets, etc. to get thrown out and then Bell gets thrown out to “protect his players” whatever that means.
Good observation that Suarez has the swing and the desire of somebody hailing a weed wacker instead of a bat this season.
Has Bally or Fox ever presented any certification or verification of accuracy for their pitch tracking system compared the to the actual strike zone? Does it get its data from the same tracking system MLB uses to monitor umpire performance? If so, does it use the same software to analyze and present the results?
The articles I’ve seen about the official trials of the robo ump system(s) indicate they come with their set as of yet unresolved accuracy issues.
I am all for robo assisted human strike calls as soon as the technology is proven; but, that is not yet done.
They tap into the same system used by MLB.
Was at the games Friday and Saturday. While the Reds were in it Saturday, it felt like they weren’t in the same class as the Padres either night. Padres are a very good, very solid team. Reds just aren’t. They need heroics from Winker and Castellanos to win road games against good teams and that didn’t happen.
On the other hand, after all we’ve been through over the last year, pretty great to watch the Reds play baseball in a great, full stadium, on a couple of beautiful days.
Tend to agree Steve. Reds do a lot of fundamental things poorly – it’s why we hear Brantley and Larkin continually talk about being able to execute on the field. Our RP throw plenty hard enough, but many times fail to command a pitch to spots instead of the middle of the plate. Defensively, many times the team struggles to make routine plays, dittos for base running. Overall, Hitters r better in their approach, but still lack a few more who make solid contact when needed. The little things add up quick against ML talent.
Watched one game of TV while relying on Brantley and Thrall for the others. Loved all the games because of the fan’s enthusiasm and the pretty high level of play even though it was mostly by the wrong team. When the Reds play this team and the Giants previously, it is a different ballgame than the imposters of the NL Central. Nut, that’s what makes the game interesting that should also be a learning experience for the Reds organization on the obvious shortcomings of the team. At least the team does have more capability and fight that leads one to believe that the pathetic division they play in could be won by (almost) anybody this year.
Series first game outcome set the tone for the rest of the games, either the bullpen or the offense or both couldn’t overcame it. Still only four games behind first place, lets hope Antone and Gray will soon return to action. Go Reds!
The media finds it hard to not mention the Yankees are only four and a half games out, but they find it very difficult to mention the Reds are only four games out. Of course now the Reds are battling the Cardinals to stay out of 4th. place.
Busy weekend so didnt get to watch the past few games, but sounds like pen woes and, regrettably, umpire miscues played a part in the sweep. Very unfortunate result, but I still like this teams chances to be there in the end. All it takes is one hot streak.
Reds still have $130MM committed to only three players, Votto, Moustakas and Suarez from 2022 onward, which leaves very little financial room for other moves. As numbers tell, there’s not much to expect out of those contracts, perhaps only Moustakas could workout a comeback.
Tough weekend to be a Reds fan. It shows just how behind the Padres the Reds are in 2021.
It seems like the Reds always play their worst defense when Castillo is pitching.
There are 9 unearned runs when Castillo is pitching in 2021.
Mahle = 1
Miley = 1
Gray = 2
Hoffman = 4
Gutierrez = 0
Santillan = 0
As Chris Welsh said on the broadcast some of those missed called could be caused by Bernhardt late movement while Castillo is in his wind-up and starting to pitch.
The ump would position himself at the start of the windup and Barhardt would move 2 feet and block his entire view of the plate or then lunge back to the middle of the plate after he moved to a foot or more off the plate.
Barnhardt’s movements were very evident on the Hosmer walk in the 3rd that should have been a strike out which would have ended the inning.
Caratini was doing the same at times and both cost Padres pitchers multiple strike calls as well.
It has to be distracting to the umpire as well as the pitcher.
Barnhart seems to be having if it is not it is close a career year offensively.
If the team falters over the next 11 game home stand against Braves, Padres and Cubs, maybe Reds could be packaged with Barnhart and Suarez to make way for youth that will need to be great in 2022,23,24 for the Reds to compete.
There were a lot of people saying get rid of Branhart over the winter when he had little value, now that he could be at peak value, it could be time to move on. Assuming the Reds do not go 9-4 or better over their next 13 games so that they can hopefully be closer to 1st than 4 games out.
Bernhardt; Barhardt;Barnhardt;Barnhart;Branhart. We talking about multiple players here???
I think the comments are about the guy who wears uniform #16 for the Reds and while I did not see Sunday’s game, I’ve noted the same issues at times in the past and commented on them here.
There are times the Reds lose calls because the umpire’s field of vision and perhaps concentration are disrupted by late movement of this catcher. Maybe the pitcher and catcher are not on the same page on the pitch type or location. Maybe the pitcher is wild in the zone, misses his location badly but the pitch still ends up in the strike zone, just on the other side or much higher or lower than intended necessitating the catcher’s movement. Or finally, maybe the catcher is playing games within the game to try and cross up the batter or runners who might signal the batter on pitch location.
We will never know which unless a player talks out of school.
For a team without a shortstop and a bullpen a .500 record is pretty amazing. But without those two afore mentioned things they cannot do any better. But ownership doesn’t care.
i am happy with where are right now. we were competitive in 3/4 games in sd. we just ran into some bad luck. this team has a fighting spirit that will keep us in the playoff hunt the rest of the year.
i seems like there are more sweeps this year in baseball. more than i can remember. seems like teams “load up” for certain series and “tank” in other ones
A valid point, but the padres were tanking against the reds to prepare for the Dodger series that starts today.
What?
Please describe what you mean by tanking.Pads are good and have good players and a pen ranked right at the top in most all categories.I saw them all play and do well.Who did you see or what did you see?
I think he meant tanking by the Padres setting their starting pitching to set up for the Dodger series and not worrying about the Reds. I’m not a big fan of that theory by the Padres. You have to win today before you worry about tomorrow.