The Cincinnati Reds lost Tyler Stephenson to an injury after a collision at the plate in the 1st inning and they’d eventually lose their 8th consecutive game as the San Diego Padres came out on top 6-2.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (2-10) | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| San Diego Padres (8-5) |
6 | 8 | 0 |
| W: Musgrove (2-0) L: Sanmartin (0-2) |
|||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
The Offense
The boos are feeding Tommy Pham and the Padres fans may want to stop because if they keep going they’re going to rename the town Pham Diego. Cincinnati’s left fielder cracked a 419-foot home run deep into the second level seats in left field to put the Reds up 1-0 in the 1st inning.
In the bottom of the 1st the Reds lineup took a step backwards. On a play at the plate, Tyler Stephenson took an elbow to the head on a collision and had to exit the game. That meant that Aramis Garcia had to come on to catch, but he was the designated hitter on the day, meaning that starting in the 2nd inning the Reds no longer had the DH position in the lineup and would either need to allow the pitcher to hit – in this case it would be Reiver Sanmartin in the #5 spot – or pinch hit for the spot each time through the lineup.
The offense went silent for a long time after the Pham home run. Joe Musgrove retired 14 batters in a row before Aramis Garcia doubled with one out in the 6th inning. Kyle Farmer would drive in Garcia later on in the inning with a single to make it a 5-2 game as his strong start to the season continues.
In the 7th inning the Reds tried getting things going again as Joey Votto picked up his 1st hit in 18 at-bats and moved up to second base when Colin Moran walked, leading to a pitching change for the Padres. It did the trick as San Diego escaped with no damage done as they held onto their lead. Cincinnati wouldn’t threaten again, falling 6-2.
The Pitching
It’s Deja Vu all over again. After grabbing a 1-0 lead on a 1st inning homer from Tommy Pham the Reds lost the lead in less than 10 minutes on a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 1st inning by Manny Machado. The Padres added another run after Eric Hosmer singled in Jurickson Profar to make it 3-1.
Over the next two innings Reiver Sanmartin settled in, but San Diego got things going again in the 4th. Hosmer added another single, moved up to second on a wild pitch, and then he scored when Wil Myers doubled off of the wall in center to make it 4-1. Jose Azocar would double later in the frame to extend the lead to 5-1. A scoreless 5th followed, and Sanmartin began the 6th and recorded an out before David Bell went to the bullpen to turn things over to Dauri Moreta. He needed just seven pitches to record two outs and get out of the inning.
Ryan Hendrix took over for the bottom of the 8th and struggled to throw strikes. He hit the first batter he saw with the first pitch he threw. He walked Jurickson Profar later in the inning and both moved up on a wild pitch. A run scored on a ground out to make it 6-2. That score held the rest of the way.
Notes Worth Noting
Cincinnati has led for a grand total of 15 minutes in the last eight games played.
Since Phil Castellini asked fans “where you gonna go?” on Opening Day, the Reds have lost 8 straight games by a combined score of 53-18, and the team owns the worst record in baseball at 2-10. pic.twitter.com/m97fJLTk61
— Brandon Saho (@BrandonSaho) April 20, 2022
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs San Diego Padres
Wednesday April 20th, 4:10pm ET
Vladimir Gutierrez (0-2, 5.40 ERA) vs MacKenzie Gore (0-0, 3.38 ERA)
You never, EVER use a catcher as a DH unless you are carrying three catchers on the roster. The Reds lost their DH in the very first inning. Just when I try to give Bell some love for managing a bad team this year, he makes this boneheaded move.
It’s good to remember that many people here have been castigating Bell for not using Stephenson at DH when he isn’t catching. It may be that Bell fully understands your correct point, but is hamstrung by the injuries and slow starts and is trying to field a competitive batting order.
Yes, but why would Bell wait to put two RHH catchers in a game vs a Curveball RHP like Musgrove? 3 games prior were all LH SPs which would have been ideal time to try it. Farmer is the emergency catcher, but of course the team is short bodies due to illness and injuries.
Just unreal how bad this season has started fm Ownership to the Front Office and to the Field
From what i see in today’s game of baseball you need 9 professional hitters (in their primes) to compete. (used to be 8 but now you need 9 because of the stupid dh). that’s what the Yankees, Dodgers, Redsox have. YES, pitching is important but it seems like every team has their stable of young arms that can throw hard and give you 5 good innings. And the reds are no exception.
let’s say our target year to compete again in 2024. right now i think we have 2 guys that will be professional hitters in their primes in 2024 and that is India and Stephenson. so we have to come up with 7 more hitters. That will be a tall task. i just don’t see a ton of talent in the minors right now. Maybe the Lopez kid may fit in that category. I have seen enough of Barrero and Friedl to mark them off the list. I have given up on Senzel and Aquino. I like Farmer but i think this is his prime right now.
the goal of this year is to determine what pitchers to keep and what pitchers to trade to try to get another hitter or 2. I Contend that all our young pitchers could be used at trade bait and that includes Greene and Lodolo. They are more easily replaceable than guys like Winker and Castelanos just because there are just so few good hitters in the league right now.
This is exactly what they are doing even though it unfortunately will probably lead to a few very lean years. However, the most important part is to assure that there is a GM and manager in place to make those trades and nurture that young talent. There is clearly neither at this point. People can nag about the injuries and “bad luck” but this is necessary to let everyone see what is really in the pipeline and what veterans can provide a stabilizing force to the team. If the cup seems rather empty at present, who should be surprised? Lastly, how about some praise finally for the much maligned Kyle Farmer. He is odds on your best hitter until Memorial Day at least.
Sure thing, I’d still add Senzel and Barrero to the list depending upon this year’s results, not given up on them just yet, but for sure there’re currently a bunch of useless guys in the roster. Them, plus Farmer, Naquin, Pham and eventually Solano and Shrock should be able to provide some offensive help.
also is it technically a lead if you score in the top of the first because the home team has not come to bat yet?
If you have more runs, then it is a “lead”
That’s kind of what a lead means.
Just like how in football, if the team with the ball first, scores a touchdown or field goal, they are said to have the “lead”, even if the other team hasn’t had the ball yet.
I want to see Milton back if this team loses 10 in a row!!
Poor Joey Votto having to go through this. It’s probably why he is doing terrible too.
Tommy Pham called Voit’s slide dirty and offered to fight him at a local gym. Maybe this is the spark they need?
Let’s do it on the field tomorrow, just like the old days. Put a well placed, 100 MPH fastball into Voit’s ribs and let’s get it on!
I’m thinking there will be some fur flying in Dego this afternoon. Voit probably shouldn’t dig in too comfortably. No question about it. The first pitch hits him. Hard.
Honestly, Pham seems like a hothead to me. I think his real beef is with the Padres front office.
I really don’t understand what the big deal is about using a catcher as a DH. How many times in a season does a catcher get hurt and have to be taken out of the game? If it does happen once in a great while and the pitcher has to hit we do remember what a pinch hitter is right? If any manager remembers what a double switch is it’s David Bell. The point being we can’t afford to not have TS in the lineup when not catching. I know he can spell Votto maybe from time to time but let’s face it, righty or lefty, no matter what the stats say (which don’t tell the whole story of course) Votto is still one of our best hitters on this roster so we need both of them, all hands on deck so to speak every game as much as possible. We can’t let a fear of one of our catchers getting hurt every 30-40 games or whatever possibly requiring a pitcher with an AB or two keep TS out of the lineup. Not only that but how many teams have a SS who can catch in an emergency. As woeful as our offense is, we can’t play the same strategy as other teams more talented with more depth. We need Tyler Stephenson. We need Joey Votto. We need both of them in the lineup. As I said yesterday I don’t know why David Bell thinks it’s okay to use Garcia as a DH but not TS. If that would have happened last night our #1 catcher would probably still be available.
Agreed.
As bad as this offense is, with guys like Pham, Drury, Moran, Aquino, Moose, etc getting tons of playing time, the Reds need to have Stephenson’s bat every day – either at catcher or DH.
Bring up a third catcher if you do this.
Exactly! Padres have been doing it all year, but of course if it was going to happen, it was going to happen to Cincy. As mentioned, Tyler is one of our best hitters and needs to b n the lineup almost everyday bc of that. Obviously, he can’t catch that many games so he’s either going to play 1st or DH. Again, Reds faced 3 LHP in a row prior to Musgrove last night. At least one of hose games would have been a good time to sit Joey or DH him, let Tyler play 1st and have Garcia catch. Garcia has a good power bat and needs to play vs LHP for sure.
Farmer is that guy.
Currently the Reds starting pitchers have a 6.62 ERA and a WHIP of 1.62
But I’m actually quite excited about the starting pitching, considering:
+They have both Castillo & Mahle thru 2023, and both are going to pitch well, and have the recent track record to back that up.
+Greene & Lodolo are going thru rookie growing pains, but have shown promise as young rookies.
+And as far as a 5th starter (Gutierrez, Sanmartin, Minor, etc) meh, it’s a 5th starter – they aren’t supposed to be good 😉
Castillo stinks. Might be the most overrated pitcher in baseball.
They’ll probably be traded qt the deadline
I want someone to believe in me like the Reds believe in Aquino!
Somebody would, Realist, if they had no other options. Same with me.
I believe in you realist
PTBNL I appreciate it man! Go Reds!
Realist, you had some very good posts three years ago. I still believe in you!! Lol
Three years ago for one month! What a month that was i thought, i was on my way to the pulitzer!
You was robbed.
This team has me even questioning the great Joey Votto’s competitive nature. Not based on his own performance because , I’m sure he’ll figure that part out, but based on the tolerance he seems to show for this level of ineptitude. Could he not have done more to demand competitive teams? I dont know, but I’m wondering.
I’ve always thought that. I don’t think he likes the pressure of playing in a bigger market? Listened to MLB BB Tonight last night as guys discussed how bringing Albert back to St. Louis has improved that clubs leadership and competitiveness.
Dumping his wife a few days after she had brain surgery. Some leadership.
I have wondered the same from time to time. Lately he has spoken his mind more in public and on the record but has he ever rattled cages in the front office
It’s time to don your paper sack with eye holes. Like the Saints were once the Aints and the Bucs were once the Yucks… the Reds are now the Dreads. If you are one of those glutton for punishment kinda fans that still insist on attending the upcoming home series against the Cardinals rather than boycotting… don’t forget your paper sacks, having half the ballpark wearing them will get on tv and send the best message to Bumbling Bob that we are NOT happy!
I just watched a major tank job with my Pacers. My Pacers sat half their team on some nights and purposely played with 1 center on the roster and still only managed to be the 5th worst team in the NBA.
I don’t think the Reds would have to go to such effort to be bottom feeders. Now I have to leave it to others on who to pick, but another Matt McLain wouldn’t be too bad. 141 career at-bats in the minors so far so multiply that out for a big league’s worth of at-bats and you get 48 doubles, 12 triples, 24 hrs, 88 walks, and 48 steals. Not too shabby))
I’m for Tommy Pham as their team leader! Somebody has to produce and keep the young guys playing hard as the Midwestern Orioles play out the string from Game 2)))). Seriously if he can hit .260-.270 and approach 20/20 with alot of walks then why not try to resign him for 2 more years.
Has this always been the rule with the DH? That if the DH has to play a position in the field you lose your DH? Since the NL hasn’t had it I’m not up to speed on all the quirks. But why can’t the DH move to a field position like any other fielder can move to another position? Seems like a dumb and unnecessary rule.
Yes.
I agree it is a dumb and unnecessary rule. We had a DH in HS Softball (along with a Defensive only player. You never lost your DH unless the Defensive only player batted for the DH, in which case the DO player batted in the DH spot the rest of the way and was no longer a DO but a two way player. I was surprised when this came up last night. Stupid rule.
Couldn’t Farmer had been used as the catcher to avoided losing the DH? I mean it is probably better to lose the DH I suppose since he hasn’t caught for awhile and all they need is for him to go down with an injury.
There are some decent hitting prospects in the minors, Mclain, De La Cruz, Allen and a few others. I agree they need to trade for some outfield help by using Castillo and or Mahle as Bait. that is why Krall needs to go before these trades are made.
Amen!
Don’t worry the Reds will be moving up, where else do they have to go. PC
I see what you did there.
The Voit slide was a cheap shot, if not actually “dirty ball”. He made no attempt to actually play within the spirit of the game and the hammer-lock with his elbow was targeted at TySteve’s noggin. I only hope he’s okay. It was a nasty collision.
Hard to watch our guys when they play in our time zone. To watch them flounder along on the West Coast is worse. I check the scores without much hope that we turned around and did something positive these days. But, where are we gonna go?
Glad Pham is turning things around. We may need that at some point, even if it is as a trade candidate.
From reading Farmer and Pham’s comments they both thought it was dirty too. We’ll see if the Reds show any spine as a team today. There’d better be a Padre taking one in the ribs to send a message. Otherwise the message will continue to be “we’ll roll over”.
Voit deliberately stayed outside the basepath and in Tyler’s line of vision, so a collision was baked into the cake. Add the fact that Voit’s right arm pushed thru after contact speaks to his intent. The league obviously didn’t see it that way so it’s up to the Reds to take care of their own, it is what it is.
Contrast Pham & Farmer’s comments on the slide with Bell’s “I didn’t have a problem with the slide” comment to reporters. Tell me again Bell is a leader the team actually supports? And seeing the comments throughout RLN that the Reds will be competitive in 2024 tells me that the Castellini’s have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. Stockholm Syndrome.
I hear you. When I first saw it I felt it was a dirty slide but The Cowboy was also stating on TV he felt there was nothing wrong with the slide. He knows more than me, but I still felt it was an intentional head shot.
Cowboy and Bell then agreed (unfortunately?)
p.s. I thought Bell was all about protecting his players…he got thrown out of a ton of games early in his tenure doing just that, then he basically gave Voit a pass on what very well could have been an intentional dirty play.
Doesn’t seem right. Can’t wait to hear Stephenson’s perspective. I really hope he is OK.
Voit is a repeat offender too. Apparently, according to Twitter, took out another C last week too during a collision at the plate.
There’s a rule against the catcher blocking home plate. How about a rule that the runner not go outside the basepath and not attack the catcher. How common is it for an attempting base stealer to have his arm in the air and pushing the opposing player’s head away at 2nd. or 3rd. base? Obviously, dirty play by Voit.
I was angry when I saw it, but then I thought back to one of my favorite slides into home ever, and it was Norm Charlton lighting up Mike Socia. Violence is apart of sports, maybe not golf, but if it was then maybe I’d watch golf. We have sanitized sports violence quite a bit, and it’s probably for the better. The Buster Posey rule helps mitigate impacts like this, but does not eliminate them. If you flip it, and it was Pham sliding in like that, we’d likely say it was a hard nosed play.
The slide itself? Yes. Voit’s use of his arms? Nope. I don’t see that as hard-nosed, simply dirty and he should be fined.
I’m not claiming a clean play, I’m saying that an impact at the plate is violent, so violence is inherent to the sport. Dirty and clean plays often depend on your perception. Right now there are probably few Padres fans saying it was dirty.
We’re fans, but the players themselves can use this as a galvanizing moment. If they come out today and out hustle, and push around the Padres, then maybe it will turn around a team that has been mailing it in. Pham is keyed into that sentiment, I can only imagine what he’s been saying away from the public.
So Mlb locks out players for 99 days and 1 major sticking pt was NO TANKING, yet A’s,Reds, Pirates all traded vets for lower salary and MLB owners dump all kinds of levels of minors, that help small market teams find more players to develop, they let this owner tank, with no repercussions, what a shame for the once great sport
I understand the point, but, the Reds added a decent amount of salary after the lockout. Pham, Minor, Moran, Drury, Solano. Lost Gray, Suarez and Winker
Going to be painful trying to sort it out for certain.
Need to develop some young position players and find veterans on 1-2 year deals. See Pham, no to deals like Moustakas.
Dirty slide? Illegal slide? I don’t think it was a Pete Rose/Fosse slide. If the throw had been to the infield side of the plate, Stephenson could have swept his glove across for the tag. With the ball coming in to the outside, he had to slide across the baseline and then lunge back to the plate, as Voit was sliding, with Stephenson’s head in Voits chest. I can imagine Voits unconscious reaction to put his arms up and push away. Could he have avoided it some way. Perhaps. He doesn’t strike as too agile. Pham willing to fight it out, and calls for rib-shots might help keep the team together in their current slump, but it won’t right the ship.
Pete didn’t slide (and it was an exhibition game, but that was Pete).
The elbow to the head is what got me riled up. Completely uncalled for.
It shows again why they should have picked up the option for Tucker Barnhart. The money wasted on Minor could have been used to give the Reds the best catching tandem in the sport. Instead of using Stephenson as 1B/DH/C he is forced to play 145 games at the most demanding position in the game, while developing as a hitter. It was just another very, very short sighted decision by the Red’s front office.
Speaking of Nick Krall, I now believe he was given a number by Bob and was basically told this is our budget, if you want to being any of your own players in then you will have to off set it but cutting payroll.
I think Nick was determined to make his mark on the team, even if he had to cut established players to do it. That is exactly what he did. Obviously this is conjecture on my part, but I see Nick Krall as a big part of our current woes. Nick Krall needs to be fired today.
If Krall’s idea of leaving his “mark” was to get rid of good players to then turn around and sign worse players to the same $, then that tells me all I need to know. But I already knew he was in over his head.
They still would only carry 2 catchers. And if both were in the game yesterday, the same “lose the DH” rule applies.
If Big Bob is to regain any respect from the fanbase and begin the rejuvenation of the Reds, the dismissal of Nick Krall must be the first step.
I second it. Fire Nick Krall. He is perhaps the worse General Manager in Reds history. Nice guy, but he has messed up this team. His actions also have enraged the fan base. Reds fans are very upset! He can make his living elsewhere.
Bo Jackson put catchers in the hospital. The throw also did Stephenson no favors by lining him up for a crash. Voit went a little over the top with his hands, but you pluck him in the ribs and both parties move on. That’s baseball or atleast it was? He could’ve hurt Tyler alot worse with a lowered shoulder at his size
One next result of the Posey rule may be that young catchers are Not learning to protect themselves in these situations. Scioscia or Bench would have most likely drilled Voit by going into him on their way to the ball
Yeah, can’t see Judge pulling off that move on Bench. Having now seen the video from numerous camera angles, there is no doubt in my mind that it was an intentional, dirty hit. One has to wonder how the review saw it any differently. And how Bell didn’t. And Farmer has exactly been the most radical, outspoken player in his career. That too says a lot.
Obviously Voit not Judge. My bad.
The Castellini Curse continues as we have lost every single game since the Nepotyst (sp) spoke in arrogance.