The Cincinnati Reds used a position player to pitch in the game and that should tell you just how badly things went, but if it doesn’t how about this – Two touchdowns from Joe Burrow would have only tied the game up. The Brewers were unrelenting as they put up 18 runs in a victory that sent Cincinnati to a league worst 3-21 start on Wednesday night.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (3-21) |
4 | 7 | 2 |
| Milwaukee Brewers (17-8) | 18 | 17 | 0 |
| W: Peralta (1-1) L: Gutierrez (0-5) |
|||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
The Offense
Cincinnati got out to an early lead in the 1st. Brandon Drury singled and moved up to second base when Tommy Pham walked. Mike Moustakas followed with a single to make it 1-0 and Colin Moran came through with a sacrifice fly as the Reds got out to a 2-0 lead.
TJ Friedl would hit a 1-out triple in the top of the 5th and score on a sacrifice fly by Brandon Drury to cut into the Milwaukee lead and make it 6-3. Cincinnati would threaten in the top of the 6th after Mike Moustakas singled and Colin Moran walked to put two on with no outs, but a pitching change brought in Trevor Gott and he got out of the inning for the Brewers unscathed as they held their 7-3 lead.
In the top of the 9th, trailing 18-3, Alejo Lopez singled to lead off the inning and he scored on a Matt Reynolds double to make it 18-4. That’s where the game ended. Mercilessly.
The Pitching
After being given a 2-0 lead in the top of the 1st, Vladimir Gutierrez gave up a leadoff homer to Kolten Wong and then another run when Andrew McCutchen singled in Christian Yelich to tie the game up. That is where the game remained until the 3rd inning, and that’s where things fell apart. Gutierrez hit Willy Adames to lead off the inning and then walked Yelich on four pitches. Andrew McCutchen singled to load the bases to bring up Rowdy Tellez and two pitches and 453 feet later it was a grand slam and Milwaukee led 6-2.
Gutierrez remained in the game until he gave up a single with one out in the 5th and was replaced by Dauri Moreta. He would walk the first batter and then give up a single to load the bases. Victor Caratini then hit a sacrifice fly that made it 7-3. The next inning Moreta got the first two outs before walking Andrew McCutchen and then giving up a 2-run homer to Rowdy Tellez – his second of the game, making it a 9-3 ballgame.
Buck Farmer took over with two outs in the 6th, and returned for the 7th inning. He allowed the first three batters to reach before getting two outs and getting close to getting out of the jam. But Christian Yelich singled in two runs and then Hunter Strickland took over and immediately allowed a 2-run double to Andrew McCutchen to make it a 13-3 game.
Lucas Sims began the 8th inning and it was just more of the same. A walk, single, and a walk loaded the bases. A ground out made it 14-4, and a strikeout followed to record the second out of the inning. But then back-to-back walks made it 15-4 before the Reds went to position player Matt Reynolds to pitch. He gave up an RBI single to McCutchen and then Rowdy Tellez missed his third homer of the year by a matter of feet as he doubled in two more runs off of the wall to make it an 18-3 game. That would be all the Brewers would get, but it was more than they ever would need.
Key Moment of the Game
With the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the 3rd inning Rowdy Tellez hit a ball a nautical mile off of the wall beyond the center field fence for a grand slam, breaking what was a 2-2 tie and giving the Brewers a 6-2 lead.
Notes Worth Noting
Everything was bad. All of it.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs Milwaukee Brewers
Thursday May 5th, 1:40pm ET
Hunter Greene (1-3, 6.00 ERA) vs Adrian Houser (2-2, 2.53 ERA)
I kind of see the league unraveling a little bit this year. you have the pirates losing 21-0 and now the reds going 3-21. the gap between the good and bad teams seems like it is getting so wide that the league is starting to lose some legitimacy. i would hope this would bring about some change.
But what could you change that would make the reds better? Again, having the same money to spend as the dodgers wouldn’t change the fundamental issues at play here. I think it was tex Schram who said you can’t legislate intelligence. The reds aren’t a smart team, whose owners main businesses have tanked apparently, so the reds are their only source of income. What could the league change to solve that?
Yep. Exactly, just not well run or smart in their decisions. Several teams have shown it’s not the money that makes them competitive, it’s their decision making and vision for their organization. Going to have get out from Bob’s leadership if we have any hope for the future of Red’s baseball.
This is all very predictable. The new CBA made things worse, not better for small market teams. As a result, you are exactly right … the gap between team based on market size is growing.
However, the more immediate problem accounting for COVID losses. Small market teams just don’t have the revenue streams to absorb short-term losses like the larger market teams do. Also, remember the Reds entered COVID with record high payroll–COVID hit them at the worst possible time.
This doesn’t excuse a lot of the mistakes they’ve made–the inability to stick with a strategy goes back a long way. The PR disaster on our home opening day was an egregious, unforced error. But the deck is increasingly stacked against the smaller market teams at a time where other leagues are becoming increasingly more competitive.
https://media.giphy.com/media/l0IynvPneUpb7SnBe/giphy.gif
+1,000
This is the point where this turned from a sports blog into a S&M dungeon of pain. The new mascot should be the Gimp from Pulp Fiction
haha. good one Indy
Lol, +1
Don’t worry, as soon as a few wins come along…
The Cleveland Spider jokes will stip
The Pirates are going to kill us. Sad part is we were up 2-0.
“Two touchdowns from Joe Burrow would have only tied the game up.”
I doubt it would tie the game.
No offense, but Bell would go for two before trusting this team in overtime.
Concerned Bell left starter in too long. Uh .. never mind
How much longer does it get to go on before someone on this team is held accountable?
The next closest team in wins to us has 5 more wins than us. It would take this team probably 2 months to get just tied with them. I can honestly say from all perspectives of this team. The Cincinnati Reds are now the worst team in baseball and I don’t see it getting better anytime soon.
Someone could have been fired on Monday. Yet the team continues to struggle without anyone in the organization recognizing there is a problem.
I do feel Phil Castellini’s comments on opening day has made ownership less likely to admit they are wrong and make immediate changes.
The number of Reds fans showing of this weekend to the Reds play the Pirates maybe result in low attendance, at least at GABP.
Ownership is whistling past the grave yard and are hoping things will improve drastically once the team gets healthy. The problem is that even when the team is healthy they are not likely to play much better. It’s just a terrible roster.
It would be in the teams long term interest both in terms of maintaining their fan base and improving the quality of play by announcing
1. Starting tomorrow they are going all in with a youth movement. They are calling up the best young players in their system and cutting those players who won’t likely be here for the team’s next window.
2. They will be slashing ticket prices 50% for the remainder of this season. We will not charges you major league prices until we can field a major league team.
3. Set forth a plan to make this team competitive again by 2026. I realize they won’t be competitive by then, but the statement will at least assure the fans, that winning really is their goal.
This will give the fan base something to look forward to the rest of this season and buy them a little goodwill with their customers who were offended by Phil’s remarks last month.
If they don’t do these things, they are going to be looking at crowds less than 5,000 per game at GABP.
I realize the Reds won’t do any of the things I just mentioned. But it would buy the Reds sometime until they can come up with an actual plan.
Well said!!
Accountability? Firing all–or almost all–of the players would do it, but what happens then? An objective look at the current active roster tells us almost all we need to know. The rest of what we need to know is: Who assembled the roster? Krall, I guess, but do we really think that he would have chosen these players if he’d actually had more resources to work with?
Phil C. is the one who should be most vulnerable. He’s the CEO’s son, so don’t expect him to be dismissed publicly.
I’m not sure Krall had a ton to say about how this roster was constructed, but he certainly doesn’t look too good right now.
Bell … how many nights does he actually get to shape a lineup? Our starting pitching is overmatched, night after night. This one fact would make any manager look bad.
The injuries/illness have been unbelievable. The Reds need to take a hard look at their strength and conditioning approach. The team won’t improve unless it gets a lot more healthy.
Change needs to happen at the very top of the organization. If it happens at all, it will likely be behind the scenes or in the next offseason.
There are 7 National League teams over .500. Four of the seven are in the National League West.
Que Milton
+1000
Milton ran away. Even he is to embarrassed to show his face.
first nonimportant pitcher home game put the entire 25 man roster on the covid outbreak list. sign 25 Bengals to play the game. cant be any worse
.125 winning percentage. In 162 games, that’s 20.25 wins. I would not bet on the Reds winning more than 36 games. That’s my over-under.
This team is epically bad. We are witnessing history, folks!
Until IL stops piling up there’s no way this team will be able to turn things right. Until then it’ll be just a matter of playing bench and minor league players. Losses will continue adding up, and even tougher losses as last night, so buckle up and enjoy the ride.
I don’t think most of them are even hurt. Who’s in a hurry to play for this team?
It would be great if thousands of fans showed up at the gates of GABP this weekend but not go inside. Have signs that read “Where else can I go Phil? Not here!!”.
Injuries or not, 3-21 and no-one fired. Unbelievable. This will be a year we all will remember. Kind of like we remember 911 or Pearl Harbor…. to a lesser degree of course.
I think It is evident, the owners do not dare to fire anyone because they know that it is their fault.
Thousands and thousands of Reds fans should show up at GABP this weekend and not buy tickets or go inside the ballpark. Carry signs that read “Where else can we go Phil? Not here!!”
That’s actually a good idea. If it weren’t for the 1500 mile round trip, I’d do it.
Remember George Costanza’s crazy statement to NBC executives on Seinfeld, “it’s a show about nothing. Nothing happens.” The reply, “something happens.” George says, “NO ! Nothing happens.” I wonder WHY this comic scene came to mind this morning.
The crazy thing is, for as awful as the Reds hitters are.
Even if Barrero hit the heck out of the ball in AAA, he will still be placed behind Farmer, Drury, Moose, Reynolds, and Moran on the depth chart.
+100
Maybe we should wait and see whether he hits at AAA and then, if he does, whether he’s placed behind all of those guys on the depth chart.
History (last season) strongly suggests Barrro would be behind those guys regardless. When he was brought up to MLB his OPS slash line was .380/.539/.919 and that was good enough to get him a seat at the far end of the bench.
Recall that Barrero was sent down to make room for a still much less than 100% Moustakis whose bumbling defense and nonexistent offense played a key role in the Reds dropping 2 of 3 to the Marlins in Miami in what became the kickoff of the Reds 2021 demise.
Novel idea to see if he performs first!
That’s true, Jm, but last year’s situation bears little resemblance to this year’s: Last year, the Reds, when Barerro came up–were still somewhat in contention. This year…well, we all know about this year. Last year there was something to lose and this year there isn’t. And he had limited chances to bat, but didn’t do well, so it’s not a foregone conclusion that he should automatically start.
@Jim
I agree. I’m confident in saying a new manager plays Barrero. Under the current circumstances it’s crazy not to.
To go from a competitive team last year to this. Unreal.
I’ll always be a diehard reds fan but I really find little enjoyment in watching this team play. Ownerships off season was brutal and it is playing out on the field. I can’t root for another team and will not watch or go to any games until ownership takes some positive steps to repair the damage they created. If I’m David Bell I’m hoping they fire me so I can collect my contract and explore other options. This is a dumpster fire and the Home of Baseball and it’s fans deserve much better. See you guys down the road. This will be my last post until action is taken. Coming here venting is not enjoyable. Stay healthy and safe fellow fans.
I know you bag on ownership, but there is so accountability on the players here, as well. Coaches, too. We can cite replacement level players as much as we want; however, they are professionals. Execution and planning are poor. I know it may be off limits to say anything critical of players and Derek Johnson…
Dont worry, yall. Luis Castillo is coming back.
Vlad the Impaled was bad at the end of last season, bad in spring training, and absolutely horrendous (8.86 ERA, 2.02 WHIP) so far this year. The Reds are obviously the ONLY team he would still be pitching for.
I’ll add this speaks to Derrick Johnson’s decline. The issue with Gutierrez’s delivery are easy to identify. He lands with a soft lead leg and never posts up on it at any point in his delivery. Yes every pitcher has his own unique nuances but one of the core things you see with MLB pitchers is they all land with a solid lead leg and rather have a slight bend or fully extend the knee/leg as the ball is released. Vladimir lands with a soft lead leg and his knee collapses so it stands to reason he’s having control issues.
I admit didn’t read most comments, however know from previous post most are die hard fans such as myself.
I don’t have cable or anything to watch reds on a daily basis. I know of 2 games well Bells decision has cost them a win.
In saying that when you get rid of player’s and bring in guys past their prime, this is what happens. Say what you will, however Suarez, Winker Barnhart, Miley, Gray, and Garrett are better than those who replaced them. Not building a bullpen has hurt as well. I still say not having a set bullpen hurts as well.
We know Bell isn’t the main problem, it is a organizational issue. Not sure this made any sense today as I am just flabbergasted. Lol
While I agree Bell isn’t the main issue and it’s easy to scapegoat him for much larger organizational incompetence he’s also clearly not part of the solution either.
It has been pointed out before, but you don’t know because you don’t know that a different decision would have been any better.
Kudos to Doug for watching that dumpster fire and providing the write up.
FC Cincy has more wins than the Reds and will be capturing the casual fan looking for an entertaining way to spend what little disposable income they may have left after paying $4.15 for gas.
Attendance this weekend will set a record for new lows. Maybe someone could toss a black cat out on the field?
Toss the cat while standing under a ladder.
Don’t forget to knock down the ladder on a row of mirrors!
I was disappointed when I checked out last evening. I was gutted when I saw this “bludgeoning” (right term, Doug) on checking the score today. Words absolutely fail.
We need a picture or GIF of Mr. Redlegs falling into a coma after hitting a wall or something similar. This is what MLB life-support looks like.
What’s so frustrating is to take a look to all pitchers FO has either traded or let go over the past two years or so. I can remember: Gausman, Disco, Wood, Gray, Miley, Iglesias, Bradley, Lorenzen, Givens and Garrett, that’s quite a list.
Wow, that’s an excellent point. That’s the start of quite a nice pitching staff there!
This is a mixed bag though.
Miley has yet to throw a pitch in regular season (elbow) and supposedly will make a rehab start tonight (May 5) but is perhaps a month from MLB even if all goes well.
Disco is on IL (ankle) after making 3 starts (6+ ERA).
Gray is on rehab (hamstring) after making 2 starts (5.68 ERA)
Wood is getting by.
Lorenzen has been very good as a starter for the Angels (3.04 ERA in 4 starts)
The relief guys are all treading water or better but Garrett is still walking as many guys as he strikes out (just under 1 an inning of each) which will lead to pain sooner or later.
Perspective is kind of a big deal. Thanks for digging up and posting those details.
Cionel Perez is doing great in Baltimore.
Once again actual data get in the way of a ‘good’ theory.
Start with a weakened roster, then put 15 players on the IL, including India, Senzel, Votto and Naquin and this is what you get. Then, for reasons I cannot fathom, run out starters who aren’t major league competitive – primarily Gutierrez and Sanmartin – and this is what you get. I have been calling for Santillan in the rotation since last summer and I’m hoping he gets his chances soon. As bad as this offense has been, it will get much better with better health. But if the rotation doesn’t improve the wins won’t follow. I’d like to see Castillo, Mahle, Greene, Lodolo and Santillan healthy and pitching every five days. I know injuries and Covid lists aren’t Nick Krall or David Bell’s fault, but do we have to compound bad luck with poor decisions? Sheesh. I’m looking forward to the return of Votto, India, Senzel, Naquin, Castillo and Lodolo. In the meantime, just wow.
SELL THE TEAM BOB. THEN THE LITTLE BRAT GOES, KRALL GOES, BELL GOES.
START OVER. I have watched every single game since moving back here 5 years ago. No more. I’d rather watch reruns of Dr. Pimple Popper. Extreme sadness
I hope they have reached rock bottom but, I am afraid the worst is yet to come if that’s possible. I would like to see Ashcraft get a shot he has to be better than Vlad or San Martin. I don’t think either one of them are, or ever will be, competent major league pitchers.
As for Bell, I know it isn’t all his fault and I like the way he stands behind his players but, despite that he still needs to be fired to give this team a re-boot. Let’s face it he is a dead man walking there is no way he comes back next year. I think it would be best for all concerned, including Bell, to rip the band aid off right now.
I agree Bell needs to walk the plank for the transgressions of all. I don’t think I have ever seen a Reds team so consistently find ways to be inept in every facet of the game. Bell’s fault or not, regardless of whether anyone else could do better given the hand to be played, it comes with the job for the manager to be jettisoned.
And at this point, I wouldn’t bet the 1st dollar in my pocket that though he would never admit it in public, Bell himself would probably be at the least relieved to be relieved and perhaps even welcome it.
Bell quote in this morning’s Enquirer:
“Tonight may have been the most I’ve really wanted to win a game in quite a long time,” Bell said. “Right before the game, we found out about losing a couple players. This team, it was amazing to me as I walked around the clubhouse, we rolled with it and used it as energy to go out and do it together and compete and do everything we could to win a game.”
“Tonight may have been the most I’ve really wanted to win a game in quite a long time,” Bell said. “Right before the game, we found out about losing a couple players. This team, it was amazing to me as I walked around the clubhouse, we rolled with it and used it as energy to go out and do it together and compete and do everything we could to win a game.”
Absorb those comments from your manager. This is not a Little League game except for the 18-4 score. Oh, good grief Charlie Brown.
Oops, sorry DD.
Considering the players available to him, what should he have said? Would it help at all to yell at them? Throw them under the bus in his comments?
“Tonight may have been the most I’ve really wanted to win a game in quite a long time,” Bell said.
You’re dead last in the major leagues by a good margin. When are you going to want to win every game just as much as the other for crying out loud?
Boy I hope any fans that show up this weekend all bring paper bags—they can’t kick everyone out, you know? Sometimes a good public shaming is the best way to elicit change. Picketing outside the stadium would get the attention of the local media.
All that said, this team isn’t as bad as their record if they had any semblance of health. Then again, show me another franchise who consistently fail to keep their players on the field as much as the Reds. Time to clean house there while also making wholesale changes to Bell’s laissez faire spring trainings. This is yet another year where the team wasn’t prepared physically and competitively for April. This lack of preparation is why a bad week can snowball into a bad month or more.
Boy are you right, that sounds like a little league manager and that is why he needs to go. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry when I read these comments. Either way, I really feel sorry for Bell because he must live in some alternate universe where these guys are making millions yet being treated like 10 year olds.
A huge blowout and DB couldn’t find an opportunity to let Dawson or Almora get into the game. What a waste.
Did they make it for the game?
See below, they were shown on TV in uniform in the dugout I think it was during the bottom of the 8th, or at the earliest, bottom of 7th,
I think it was very late into the game when they got there, FWIW. But yeah, if they were on hand in time, why not just send Almora on to play outfield when they brought Reynolds in to pitch versus the Little League shuffle of almost half the players on the field
For those who missed this exciting episode> Reynolds came from RF to pitcher (Sims exited). Moran moved from 1B to 3B with Drury moving from 3B to 2B, and Lopez from 2B to RF. Finally, Stephenson came into the game at 1B, As nearly as could be determined this also resulted in the Reds losing their DH (Moustakis) with Stephenson taking that spot in the batting order.
I’ll bet there are guys who have managed for years in the AL and never “lost” their DH which Bell has managed to do twice inside of 2 weeks. It just goes to show where there is an unfettered will to micromanage, a way can be found.
Forgot they were having to get to Milwaukee. DB probably didn’t know who they were; he was busy figuring out how to get Reynolds to the mound.
@doc>> Bell missed his calling. He should be a football coordinator matching wits with his opposing number on every play trying to get the last shift in as the play clock clicks down. 😉
Both players played 9 innings for Louisville in their AAA game at Indianapolis earlier in the day. They clearly weren’t available to start the game and would have been hard pressed to stretch/warmup for use even late in the game. Really hard to call this a wasted opportunity.
Those guys were coming to the major leagues. I think it’s safe to say they were pumped and ready to play under any circumstances.
3-21. You’re not coming back from that. Who cares what your record is in the end. Only way you’re putting butts in the seats is if you start the youth movement now.. Get the kids in the lineup and start evaluating. The sooner the better. Leave Pham in the lineup hoping to get something for him at the deadline. Lopez, Friedl and Dawson need to play every day. As soon as Schrock, India, Senzel and Barrero come back, start them. Get Cedrola up here and play him. Find somebody to play first and play him against lefties . Sorry Votto but you won’t be on the team in 2 years. Let’s get Ashcraft up here as well. Give the fans a reason to watch. I have no reason to watch Moose reynolds and Moran play every day.
His team loses 18-4 and David Bell is impressed with his team’s character. What does that even mean?
When you run out of excuses talk about your team’s “character”
He literally has nothing else to talk about. There was nothing good about anything the team did last night. 18-4, a crushing defeat. Burned up the bull-pen.
And tonight, what are their odds of winning?
Bell has to say …something. And there was nothing really to talk about when your team loses by 14 runs. “We all wanted to win!!” Would it have been better to say the dugout was a morgue and nobody wanted to go out and play the game last night?
Yes, this team is epically bad, and getting worse. They have lost confidence in themselves as pitchers/players in the Major Leagues. I don’t know what you can do to fix this. This is really not about “Big market/small market” economics. This is about how the team is run, and how the team is led, or not led. They don’t even look professional out there.
The Castellini’s will not fire Bell quite yet, because they will have to pay his contract out, which they cleverly signed to an extension last year. And Barry Larkin would have to be crazy to take over this team, now. Is Jim Riggleman available? Another smart, smart move by the smartest owners in baseball. The people that own this team must be mighty proud of how well the did to fix everything in the off-season.
Lastly, this may be it. The Reds’ might have hit bottom last night.
Yeah, what does character even mean in this context? I mean, you show up and punch the clock…..we all do it for a fraction of what these guys get paid, what’s noble about that? Would not having character mean you lose 25-4? This is simply more evidence that the collegial clubhouse atmosphere this franchise fosters has zero correlation with playing winning baseball.
Nick’s edge and whatever Sonny did with the pitchers is missing, that’s for sure. I believe eventually it is coming with India and Stephenson on the position side once they are fully established. My bet on the pitching side is Mr Greene if stays healthy and gets established. He seems like a guy that knows he was born on 3rd but knows you need to work your butt off to get home.
I wonder, how many of our pitching staff have actually shown improvement since Derek Johnson was hired? How does a pitching coach keep a job when the staff for which he has primary responsibility gets torched night after night?
For that matter, how many of our hitters get better since our hitting coaches were hired? They made a mess of Senzel in short order.
I start the clean out not with Krall, but with pitching and hitting coaches, and Bell as collateral damage. Krall didn’t hire any of these guys. Our staff couldn’t be much worse if left on their own. Hunter Greene reaches MLB widely bally-hoo’d as having the most effortless 100+ mph delivery even after TJ surgery, and within four games is topping out at what, 96, 97. Anybody know who coached Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson? They never lost their FB.
Bauer won the Cy Young, a first for a Red’s pitcher.
I heard they wanted Greene to switch to a 2 seamer instead of a 4 seamer. The 2 seamer moves more, but isn’t as fast.
i’ve made several posts about DJ, and how the pitchers that get here get worse, while the ones that leave have gotten better. Bauer was a driveline guy and did his own thing.
I think the Reds marketing has their next promotion all figured out:
“Come to GABP! Where home runs and scoring are actually up 20%”
disclaimer: 96% of it is the other team
Is there a Cincinnati reporter that ever questions the moves made by the front office or the manager?
I beleive we call that kind of non-reporting Fake News!
I think C.Trent (The Athletic) has done a good job of presenting an alternate reality to the one put forth by the Reds. He got Scott Boras to say on the record that he personally called Big Bob to make sure the Reds were aware Castellanos had an interest in returning to the Reds.