Things were looking really good for the Cincinnati Reds. They looked primed to secure their sixth consecutive win, as they had a 98.7% win probability with a 6-1 lead in the 8th inning.
The Reds bullpen entered play on Tuesday with a 17.0 inning scoreless streak. Tonight, they only needed to cover two innings with a 6-run lead. They could not get it done. Here is how the night went down:
The Reds got the scoring started in the third inning on a Jonathan India 400-foot, RBI double.
A few batters later, Joey Votto tripled to make it 3-0.
Kyle Farmer kept the offense humming along with a 2-run home run in the 4th inning to increase the lead of 5-0. Farmer would finish the evening a triple shy of the cycle.
Luis Castillo continued his return to dominance on Tuesday night. He allowed just 1 run, 3 hits, 1 walk and struck out 4 over seven innings. He left with a 6-1 lead.
It was all downhill from there. Cionel Perez gave up a two run home run in the 8th. Brad Brach got out his jam in the 8th, but he did not have it in the 9th. He left with runners on second and third base after a painful error by Eugenio Suarez, with a 6-4 lead and 0 outs. Heath Hembree came in. He exited with the game tied and the winning run on third. Amir Garrett came on. He struck out Andrew Benintendi, but Salvador Perez hit a ball off the wall to end the misery.
The Reds will go for a series win tomorrow. The Reds are 21-13 in their last 34 games.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Royals (36-49) | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| Cincinnati Reds (44-41) | 6 | 11 | 3 |
| W: Lovelady (2-0) L: Hembree (2-4) | |||
| FanGraphs Win Probability | Statcast | 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 Heath Hembree allowing a 2-RBI hit to Nicky Lopez, who advanced to third base on an error by Aristides Aquino. That play decreased the Reds probability of winning by 53.0% (from 69.7% to 16.8%).
Positives
Tyler Stephenson had a 3-hit night. His OPS on the season is now up to .814.
Kyle Farmer homered and finished a triple away from the cycle. For all of his shortcomings against RHP, Farmer has a career .758 OPS vs LHP (.749 entering tonight this season).
Eugenio Suarez had a big insurance RBI. Ironically, it had a 76.1 EV. He had two hard hit balls on the night that went for outs.
Luis Castillo now has a 2.00 ERA in 7 starts since June 1st. The funny thing is, this is probably one of Castillo’s worst starts of the year. He allowed 12 hard hit balls, but he only walked 1 batter. He absolutely deserved a start like this after the awful luck he had early in the year when nothing could go right.
The Reds had a wild night defenisvely. They had some really nice plays, but also some ugly ones (more below). Aristides Aquino had a pair of nice catches, Tyler Naquin had a great sliding catch, Shogo Akiyama had a nice running grab and Kyle Farmer played his usual solid defense, starting the turn of a slick double play.
Negatives
Cionel Perez ended the Reds bullpen streak of 17 consecutive scoreless innings. He struck out Whit Merrifield (career .845 OPS vs LHP) on a beautiful 98 MPH fastball up and away. He then proceeded to allow a bomb to LHB, Andrew Benintendi (career .679 OPS vs LHP). Perez certainly has some talent, but he just has no place being an MLB roster at the moment, especially for a team hoping to compete.
Eugenio Suarez had a brutal error on a ball hit right to him. It could have potentially been a double play (Reds would have been up 6-3, 1 out away from a win with only 1 runner on base), but at least should have been one out. Aristides Aquino had a chance to throw out the tying run two batters later. He threw a missile, right on line, but air-mailed it (Bell praised the throw in the post-game in a do-or-die situation). The Reds would have been an out away from a win still.
Jonathan India had to leave the game early. He missed yesterday due to soreness after being hit by a pitch on Sunday.
David Bell said Jonathan India was "quite a bit less than 100%" with the way he ran, which is why he left the game in the 6th inning. Bell said India may start tomorrow. #Reds
— Bobby Nightengale (@nightengalejr) July 7, 2021
Not so random thoughts….
Tonight was a really tough loss. The Reds obviously need bullpen help, but the defense was probably just as much to blame. These kind of things do happen though. Remember, the Reds just won five consecutive games where they were trailing in every game (meaning their opponent blew a lead each night). This was a missed opportunity, but I certainly would have gladly taken a road series win before this series started. Hopefully the Reds can get it done tomorrow with Sonny Gray on the mound.
I thought that David Bell made the correct call having Amir Garrett pitch to Salvador Perez with a base open instead of Carlos Santana with the bases loaded (2 outs in the 9th, tie game). Garrett has a really bad 5.88 BB/9 rate, so you don’t want him pitching with the bases loaded and walking in the winning run. Perez only walks in 2.3% of his plate appearances, while Santana walks in 15.5%. It would have been really tough for Garrett to get Santana out with his lack of strike throwing.
The Brewers were rained out tonight at the Mets, meaning the Reds are now back 6.5 games. The Brewers will be playing a pair of 7-inning doubleheaders tomorrow before the Reds play a four game series against them in Milwaukee. The Brewers have elected to pitch tomorrow’s scheduled SP, Corbin Burnes in the first game against Jacob DeGrom. That is a high risk, high reward call for the Brewers. It gives them a better chance of sweeping the DH tomorrow, but higher chance of them getting swept also. Brewers were +245 tonight and -147 tomorrow. I am assuming they are now slight underdogs in both games. I’m not sure that’s the move that I would have made with a 6.0 game lead. Let’s hope it backfires on them.
I loved India/Stephenson/Castellanos hitting 1-3 vs a LH SP. I think the Reds should do this all season. All of those guys have hit LHP really well all year.
Help is on the way! Michael Lorenzen pitched a scoreless inning in his first rehab appearance.
Michael Lorenzen looked great on his rehab assignment in a perfect eighth inning.
His fastball hit 97, but his slider was his best pitch.
— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) July 7, 2021
Up Next:
Reds at Royals
Wednesday, 2:10 PM
TV: Bally Sports Ohio
Sonny Gray (3.27 ERA) vs Brady Singer (4.74 ERA)
Sal Perez 1.125 ops vs lefties. Just say no. Thats MVP Manny Ramirez levels. I would rather live with AG walking Santana.
It’s true that AG can’t be trusted to throw strikes, but he also can’t be trusted not to groove one down the middle when he’s trying to throw strikes. If he’s going to pitch to Perez there, it should at least be made clear to him that he isn’t supposed to throw anything remotely hittable. If he walks, he walks, and then you take your chances with the weaker hitter.
In fairness, the pitch that Perez hit was a ball. The only strike he threw was the first pitch https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/gamefeed?date=7/6/2021&gamePk=633369&chartType=pitch&legendType=pitchName&playerType=pitcher&inning=&count=&pitchHand=&batSide=&descFilter=&ptFilter=&resultFilter=&hf=liveAB#633369
Looks like it was pretty close to the middle of the plate, maybe a couple inches low. It might actually have been called a strike. Certainly not what I have in mind when I say he should have been throwing unhittable pitches to Perez. The fact that he nearly hit it out of the park is evidence of just how hittable it was. If I’m having AG pitch to him there, I want every pitch 6 inches off the plate, and if he gets a hit on one of those, so be it. I don’t tell AG “throw a slider down the middle — but 2 inches low.”
Lowest spin rate of the 3 but also the largest vertical break … he went golfing to get it. Clearly not meant to be tonight …
Absolute horrid loss you can’t have if you want to be a playoff team. Plenty of blame to go around tonight. Top 5 in order:
5) Eugenio Suarez Bat
4) Eugenio Suarez Glove
3) David Bell for bringing in Cionel Perez
2) Nick Krall for bringing up Cionel Perez
1) Bob Castellini for being so cheap to allow Cionel Perez to make this roster
Perez pitched 3 straight outs in the 8th inning against the 6-7-8 hitters with a 5-run lead. Closers mostly refuse to work in non-save situations, something about beneath their job description, i think. I’d argue that was *the* perfect situation to pitch that pitcher before he went back to riding the buses. He did the job …
Scratch that, RH #8 Alberto leading off vs RHP Perez, but the same principle. Bottom of the order …
Reds fan 11. Bingo. You nailed it. Bringing back C&L Perez shows everybody that you don’t really want to make the playoffs or contend. The great story of the offense hitting so well is spoiled by the bullpen.
Suarez hits a HR once in a while, plays below avg defense and is well below the Mendoza line. Why is he even still here?
We are not going to sweep every series. We should win tomorrow. This loss was gross though. Multiple failures. Yes many of the runs were unearned. Cannot have perez pitching with the lead. Need to get a reliable closer. Need to get more arms.
On the positive side i got a good payoff with my hit in every inning bet. I know that does the reds no good but…lol
Lots of blame to go around, but more often than not, a big lead evaporates with Reds RP starting the inning with free passes, tonight walk, hbp. Whether it’s Brach, Hembree, Garrett, or (name your reliever), it seems to always start with free passes. If I’m pointing fingers, Derek Johnson has some pointed at him for not rectifying this ever-repeating scenario.
>>>more often than not, a big lead evaporates with Reds RP starting the inning with free passes
Bingo!!!
Somebody had to really PO the Baseball Gods, who clearly have a devastatingly perverted sense of revenge humor …
Absent Stephenson’s passed ball negating the leadoff strikeout, Perez cruises through a 1-2-3 eighth inning against the 6-7-8 in the lineup. After all, nobody who even has a closer pitches them up by 5, in a non-save situation 8th inning
Despite the dinger by the 4th batter, it’s still a 3 run lead. Couldn’t ask for a more cake grounder hit any more directly to yesterday’s hero Saurez (who deftly had plated a 2-out insurance run in the 7th) in the 9th, still with cushion to burn …
The Fat Lady choked warming up on a chicken bone?
Tough loss. Reds lose a game to the Pads as well. Going to be interesting to see what they do at the deadline, which may depend on the upcoming Brewers series. Would be tough to watch them trade away more young talent. They lost both trades last year (Goodwin and Bradley) as Naughton and Fairchild both are looking like keepers for their teams (and Salvador has had some bright spots, though he’s a long way away). Maybe just getting Lorenzen, Antone and Sims back would be enough.
I’m still of the opinion they should trade away Gray, Miley, and Castellanos, and possibly Suarez, Farmer, Naquin, and Akiyama if they get a decent offer. The Reds have a good young core (Winker, India, Stephenson, Senzel, Aqunio, Mahle, Guttierrez, Castillo) with more help on the way in both the pitching and positional players, but if they trade some of their valuable assets now, they could land a real haul that would give them a young, cheap team for the next half a decade.
Yes, it’s exciting seeing the Reds in the race now, but this team is not built to last. Make the hard decisions now, and this team could really make some noise in the coming seasons.
Just for example, the Mariners are 3 games out of the Wild Card, and they desperately need outfield and pitching help. Reds send them: Castellanos, Gray, Farmer, and Akiyama. Mariners send back: JP Crawford, Julio Rodriguez, and a B level pitcher. Mariners get the players they need to “go for it” right now and can also provide production for a few more seasons, while the Reds get a 26 year old SS and one of the better OF prospects in all of baseball. Let Aqunio, Winker, and Naquin (and later Senzel) handle the OF for the rest of the season. The Reds should still be pretty good even in this situation.
The eye is to having this on the field in 2023 (ages in parentheses):
C Stephenson (26)
1B Winker (29)
2B India (26)
SS Crawford (28)
3B Senzel (28)
LF Aquino (29)
CF Siani (23)
RF Rodriguez (23)
SP Castillo (30)
SP Lodolo (25)
SP Mahle (28)
SP Greene (23)
SP Santillan (26)
Hopefully with the money saved from having such a young, cheap team, the Reds an assemble a dynamite bullpen to compliment them.
I know this plan depends on all the prospects involved continuing to develop and being ready to go in 2023, but any holes can also be plugged via free agency.
The Reds are sitting on a potential goldmine. They really need to cash in.
I agree but I have no confidence that the Reds front office can make such a beneficial trade. We’re as over matched there as our bullpen is.
Seattle’s not making anymore “go for it” moves than the Reds are. Generally, the teams that win every year have mostly a veteran presence with a sprinkle of young talent making contributions.
I like the pitching, but that lineup has a power shortage.
Personally, I’d rather sign Nick C than trade him.
Pass. Seattle would be stupid to take on all that payroll. And the Reds would be giving up too much for little return. Crawford is better than Farmer but has little power and is a career .247 hitter. Rodriguez is highly touted but unproven. Gray, Miley, and Castellanos should be retained. Suarez should be traded. I doubt Senzel has any value or much of a career ahead of him at this point. The best answer IMO is to trade Suarez for the best SS you can get. I’d probably trade Naquin as well, maybe for bullpen help. His stats are sliding precipitously, his fielding suspect, and he’s due an injury based on his history. Play Lopez and India regularly. Get AA more ABs and see what’s really there. Platoon Votto at first. And I’d start worrying about Winker’s splits. His career BA vs. LH’ers is under .200 with a .590 OPS. No good answers for the Reds with a cheap owner and lousy management at all levels.
This is bad on a lot of different levels. First, very few of the guys that you want to trade have any value. Farmer and Suarez have no value because they are replacement-level players. Akiyama has no value because of his contract (they trade contracts, not players). Miley and Naquin have little value because of their age and in Naquin’s case, history of injuries. Castellanos’s contract has some value, but he is in essence a two-month rental and wouldn’t bring as much as people think. Sonny Gray’s contract would bring a nice return, but trading him may also run off Derek Johnson.
Second, the fan base would never buy it, and it would take years to recover the lost revenue from a panic sell.
Third, the Mariners do not need outfielders in the long run. They have rookie of the year Kyle Lewis, an elite 21-year-old Jarred Kelenic with a OPS of over 1.000 in AAA, and Mitch Haniger, plus their #2 prospect Julio Rodriguez. They aren’t giving up Rodriguez and Crawford to go for it this year.
Fourth, Jose Barrero has a higher upside than J.P. Crawford, and he is in fact the only position player that the Reds have in their system who is going to arrive in 2022 and maybe 2023. After 2023, the Reds will be shed of the Moustakas and Votto contracts, but will owe Jesse Winker, Castillo, Mahle and perhaps Castellanos. In 2023, they will be paying final-year arbitration to Winker, Castillo, and Mahle, none of which will go cheap. (And the Reds would owe part of Suarez’s contract, because nobody will take that contract straight-up.)
Fifth, your team is underwhelming offensively. There are way too many question marks.
This management team will not do a fire sale this year, and I don’t think they should. I think the Reds are pretty well set to have good teams for the next 4-5 years. The odd truth of baseball is that the team can’t pick the year to go for it; the year picks the team. (Ask the Yankees, who thought this was their year. Or the Rays last year.)
It may still even be this year that picks the Reds, notwithstanding last night’s fiasco. Votto and Castellanos now have a sense of urgency to them that has been lacking on this team for a while. It may only be a small move, such as benching Suarez for Lopez, that allows a sustained run.
This loss hurt similarly to the game the Reds blew in game 1 against the Padres in San Diego. Just absolutely crushing. Hopefully this doesn’t start a skid one game before the Brewers series.
Also, I don’t know what the answer is, but playing Suarez every day at this point seems not ideal. That potential DP ball could not have been more routine.
Errors happen to everyone (sorry for the passive tense). Suarez has been making some very good plays since he moved back to third. Maybe this game will derail them, but I doubt it: they’ve just won five in a row, and the bullpen has been solid for a while.
In the last 4 days or so, Suarez has made 3 errors on balls hit right at him. He’s had some nice plays, too, but . . .
Suarez is a good man, and his teammates all seem to root for him. But he is a liability as a player, on balance. We aren’t asking that he be put in front of a firing squad; we are asking that 3/4 of his ABs be given to another player.
Good point that Suárez seems to whiff on balls right at him but clean up on balls he has to go get. Couple that with his hitting woes and maybe wonder if something is going on with his vision.
I am 40+ years older than he is but because of a retina condition in one eye, my sight detail with things in close proximity is terrible. Not blurred or out of focus, no, things are sometimes just inches or fractions of inches away from where my brain is telling the rest of my body they are because my two eyes are slightly out of synch with each other. Sound familiar?
Eugenio Suarez is a missing link for the Reds this season. At this point, no way should he be an automatic starter. Alejo Lopez, somehow, should be in the starting lineup. Lineup construction is a major function of the manager.
Yes.
Agree
Since unfortunately we can’t send Suarez back to the minors for a refresher course on hitting and fielding, I think he should be benched part of the time. As for trading him? Who would want him? If we threw in Garrett we might get a single A minor league player.
The self inflicted losses are the worst.
People were tricked into thinking that Suarez was good defender, because he made a few outstanding plays at 3rd.
2019 – 17 errors (151 games started)
2020 – 5 errors (in 57 games)
2021 – 6 in 48 games at 3rd this year so far.
Suarez makes brilliant plays at 3b. This routine play resulted in crushing loss. Still not ready to throw him in trash. He can carry a team when hot.
Willie Mays could carry a team when hot, too, and like Suarez, it’s been a long time since he’s been hot.
That’s the thing about Suárez’s D.
Has brilliant web gems and then turns around and blows routine plays.
I’d rather have the guy that makes all the routine plays with a few gems
Like Farmer?
3 errors and Cionel Pérez.
Yes. And Bell’s decision to pitch him.
It was 6-1, and the Royals looked lost all game. That’s when you bring in your scrubs. It was the correct call. Perez should’ve gotten the job done.
>>>It was the correct call.
Oh, really? I suspect IF it was the correct call, then we would have won the game (since we had a 5 run lead). Don’t you think? I think a good manager does not dick around and risk changing a winning momentum by putting in your WORST pitcher at that point in the game. Save your worst for a game you’re getting blown out, and not a game you should have in the bag. No,..in a game you have in the bag, a good manager NAILS DOWN THE WIN!!! Sad part is, that is the modus operandi of Bell. Dick around and put in your worst pitcher until the other team catches up, then go to your best pitchers after all,..the very ones he was trying not to use. He ends up using them anyway in a loss instead of a victory. He’s done that ever since he’s been the manager,..numerous times this year. So,..we’ll have to agree to disagree that it was the correct call. Okay?
It didn’t work out. Not all decisions by any manager do. The manager doesn’t have the luxury of hindsight.
Where was Art Warren last night? Not a good night for Bell? A team can only blow so many games with late leads until the roof caves in. Lorenzen will really help!
Just a weird game! Castillo gave up some rockets, but our OF outplayed their OF defensively! Aquino did miss a chance to be the hero though by airmailing that throw. Could’ve won the game because he had the guy.
Big game today. Win the series and you can start to forgot last night, but now you woke KC up. They were really sleepwalking
I felt the height of AA’s throw probably cost the Reds the chance to record the out on the play at the plate; but, Stephenson’s less than stellar catch attempt finished the deed of putting them really in an unrecoverable situation. Maybe TS mistimed his leap or tried to jerk the ball down too quickly but as noted on the TV coverage, the ball looked very catchable versus being outright airmailed. I’ll bet that ball sailed liked live fastball finishing.
Small note, but I was also wondering where was Hembree on that play? the ball flew by Stephenson and there was nobody backing him up.
@westfester> as I saw it (and I was so angry/ frustrated I did not stick around for highlights), Hembree was backing up in line with the original flight of Aquino’s throw but it deflected off Stephenson at almost 90 degrees toward the back stop.
Again just on the real time video and 1 replay, the ball looked to me to hit either into the webbing of TS’s glove or off the side and then flew off at that strange angle versus going straight through on the same basic line as the throw
The difference between the Brewers and Reds front offices: The Brewers front office actually makes personnel moves to improve the team. The Red’s front office makes words to say they may improve the team.
And the Brewers sweep mediocre teams. Bell makes sure they win at least one so their feelings aren’t hurt. Got to have that participation trophy.
They just swept the Cubs
Can’t be too down on the bullpen. They were on a nice streak. They’re just not, what I’d call, reliable. It’s still a spot that needs a good amount of improvement, and hopefully the FO will be true to their word for once and be aggressive on that front. They’ve been on good streaks before and then blew several leads in a row promptly after. Some of that is just the volatile nature of relievers, but it’s especially true when you are relying on guys who don’t even have a track record of being reliable.
Oh well, regroup and start a new streak. Hopefully help is on the horizon with Lorenzen, Sims, and Antone working their way back.
A big lead and a lackadaisical sense that another victory was in the bag costs the Reds.
Just watched the last 5 innings today.
agreed with the comment. , Entire team thought it was in the bag when Perez came in. They had a mental letdown the rest of the game which lead to physical mistakes.
Bell brought in the mop up pitcher and the team gave up its intensity edge.
Cannot play this game at 1/2 speed or 1/2 effort.
Brutal outcome. KC is not a good team, and any major league bullpen should be able to get 6 outs before giving up 5 runs. The errors make it even more painful. I hate the “wait for guys to get healthy” approach the Reds are taking. But that said, the return of Lorenzen, Antone and Sims should transform this bullpen. But when the Reds come up two games short of the playoffs it’s going to be this game and the Padres collapse that were the difference. Every. Game. Counts. Crushing loss – the response has to be to use it as motivation to win today then take at least 5 of 7 from the Brewers. Here’s hoping… go Reds.
I guess new school baseball -SP can no longer pitch into the 8th inning or throw more than 100 pitches.
Reds need to learn how to win these winnable games.
I feel at some point the entire team relaxed. With few exceptions, the team just drop playing MLB at the second part of the game. KC Pitcher Hernandez just cooled Reds hitters.
The best yesterday imho were:
Castillo
Farmer
Votto
Baseball is a game of tenths of an inch. Small details for the good or for the bad, matter a lot at the end.
Has David Bell ever uttered the words: “I made a poor decision” ?
Wasn’t one of his better nights, but RLN never gives him credit for when things go well. I’ve been studying this team/organization for a little while now and Dusty/Price never made quick adjustments. India had 4-5 good games at the plate and “boom” he’s the leadoff man. Dusty was riding Corey Patterson or Drew Stubbs come hell or high water. He pulled AG quickly out of the closer role when he struggled early. He dropped Suarez in the order. Yeah he’s made mistakes with the pen, but they’ve been a dumpster fire. He doesn’t make personnel decisions.
Brach last night for example? Walks the first guy in the 9th and then has a 1-2 count on Dozier, but then beans him. Dozier had weak swings and was going to make an out.
Bell atleast has them playing hard and together. Lets see how they respond today?
haha I haven’t heard it.
It’s the first loss in almost a week…lick’em today.
Line up for today’s game (per espn)
India
Winker
Stephenson (1B)
Votto (DH)
Naquin
Suarez
Barnhart
Akiyama
Freeman(SS)
Are we seeing the beginning of a L / R platoon at SS? I like Stephenson at 1B, when we have the DH, I bet you see Stephenson play a lot of games at 1B.
I think Bell is just trying to keep them fresh for Milwaukee. I’m thinking I heard Schrock can’t play SS, but he’s killing AAA pitching. I don’t think Freeman is going to be around much longer.
It’s probably a coincidence, but Farmer started the last 2 against LHP, and now Freeman will have started the last 2 against RHP.
The steady drum beat of Suarez hate is so bizarre. Stephenson had a pass ball that led to the beginning of the blowup, a high throw by Aquino allowed the tying run to score, and the bullpen gave up a 4, FOUR, a 4 run lead. Let’s ignore that to get to the real issue, Suarez, even though our offense is one of the best in the NL, it’s Suarez thats keeping us a 500 team, not our bullpen, that’s one of the worst in baseball. Get a grip people.
Actually they were up 6-1. Suarez & Bell are the whipping boys though. Castillo didn’t catch half that heat when he had a 7 era thru May
I accept physical errors (ball not fielded at 3rd base….high throw to the plate) because they will happen in the course of a season…. but I do not accept “mental” errors……putting a sub-major league pitcher in a game (Perez)that you basically have just dominated and are 6 outs away from winning is an “unacceptable” mental error by a manager. I am sure their are players on the Reds team that would agree with me it the truth be told….especially the starting pitcher last night.
Hope you realize Perez pitched a 1-2-3 inning if Stephenson doesn’t have a passed ball. Benintendi is also weak vs lhp so you couldn’t assume he’d take Perez deep for a 2 run hr. Hung a breaking ball when he throws 98 mph?
I wouldn’t have went with Perez either. I get your point, but he is on the team and they play 1 run games constantly. Doolittle pitches in 1 run games so maybe Perez could pitch in a 5 run game?
Reminds me of Bill Parcells when he said “I don’t want to be the cook if I can’t buy the ingredients”….basically saying he would GM, but he’s not coaching. I highly doubt Bell asked for Perez to come back again.
One of the things that separates good pitchers from bad pitchers is that good pitchers can pitch around an error, while bad pitchers give up 2 run homers after errors. When he gives up a homer after an error, it’s not random bad luck. It’s exactly the sort of thing we should expect from a guy who gives up an earned run per inning. Once someone has reached base against Perez, that guy is likely to score, and you’re lucky if he only gives up one run that inning. That’s what it means to have an ERA of almost 8. I have nothing against Perez and hope he has a future as a major leaguer, but right now he has no business pitching in situations like that unless there are literally no other options. He’s on the roster temporarily, and should be used only as a last resort. At best, Bell was saving one of his mediocre relievers one inning of work by using a terrible reliever instead, and it wasn’t a risk-free decision.
I get it. I didn’t like it when Perez came in either. I also hated when Doolittle came into 1 run games vs the Cubs, but it worked somehow. I guess if they’re on the roster then you use them somehow. The Reds had to work the pen hard vs the Cubs
@J, that’s the point, we need to fix the pen. They have had a nice run, but there isn’t 1 guy that’s an established closer, or setup man. We have retreads, neverbeens, and rookies. Get Kimbrel, or another closer, and the pitchers in the pen can settle into roles they’re better suited for.
Completely agree. I don’t understand why people get so upset about physical errors, which happen in a fraction of a second and are obviously not what the player intends to do. The mental errors, particularly those of the manager, are deliberate choices where there’s plenty of time to consider all the options and consult other people. Bell deliberately chose to use a guy who shouldn’t be in the majors, and is probably about to head back to the minors, rather than any of the guys who’ve actually been pitching well in the majors recently. He should be held accountable for those kinds of errors, whereas getting mad at Stephenson for not catching a ball serves no purpose. Stephenson wanted to catch it. Bell wanted Pérez to pitch. One of them had the right idea and the other didn’t.
I concur.
I am not a Bell supporter by any means, but last night loss was on the players. Stephenson had 2 mistakes, Suarez a terrible error, Brock let me down because I thought leaving him to pitch the 9th was a good move and AG left a pitch that was to good to hit with an open base. I saw today’s line up I was thinking resting Castellanos was a good move, until last nights melt down, now today is almost a must win. I would go with my best.
Today’s lineup infuriates me
I’m cleting ahead of time for my own sanity, and everyone else’s benefit. I’ll try not to let the door hit me on the way out lol
Blame the bullpen if you want, there is plenty there to blame but the defense cost us this one.
I do agree. 1 inning more to pitch, plus the momentum changed to the other side.
On the other hand, team seemed to have the game in control, after KC SP left, the reds bats were dismantled little by little, however
If and when Moose returns, a tough decision must be made. Farmer’s “D” is much better than Suarez plus he’s been providing more consistent offense. Hate to say it but Suarez should sit. Inexcusable error last night.
Moose makes more then Geno and Senzel was the 3rd overall pick. They have the clout to replace Suarez, but neither are ever available.
No need to blame Bell nor Suarez cause neither are going any where this year or next.My issue is on me in that after the Cubs series I thought Bell had established that Hembree was going to close when available and if he wasn’t then it was Garrett.This is what I saw and that was what I expected would happen going forward.Brach would be the set up guy.No way I can explain why Perez was brought in unless Bell thought he could get 3 outs and still have a comfortable lead which did happen nor can I explain why Brach started the 9th.I expected Hembree to come on and close things out based on what I had seen.Brach did punch out Santana on 3 pitches to end the 8th.Bell obviously will continue to play his entire roster and use his entire pen and that is not going to change so we move on and play on.I will close and say this which makes no difference and that is a lot of blame to pass around on this game.Never should have happened but it did and it will again.
Let me just add something regarding our roster.It is what it is and we know we have hitters and pitchers that don’t belong and would not be on other major league rosters.Bell will continue to use his entire roster and that in itself is not a bad thing if they belong but we just have way to many that don’t.Good players make good managers and bad players make bad managers.Everybody knows this and we can set here right now and say this pitcher or pitchers should never pitch unless there is nobody else or the game is out of reach and we can say that about some position players as well.Bell will not do that so until we get better players we must expect what happened last night to happen again.The more you play players that don’t belong the more games you will lose.