Nick Senzel’s RBI single in the 5th inning was the only hit that the Cincinnati Reds could get on Saturday afternoon. Still, they had an opportunity to win the game up in the bottom of the 9th, but a fly ball to the warning track was caught to end the game and left the bases loaded.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Braves (46-33) |
4 | 7 | 0 |
| Cincinnati Reds (26-51) |
1 | 1 | 0 |
| W: Strider (4-2) L: Mahle (3-7) SV: Smith (4) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
The Offense
Cincinnati didn’t have a hit through the first four innings of the game. Kyle Farmer led off the 5th inning and was hit in the hand by a 100 MPH fastball. Farmer exited the game. So did manager David Bell after he was ejected when he came out to talk to the umpire. He went from zero to 100 with a quickness.
David Bell gets tossed! pic.twitter.com/yTRvNkILC4
— Bally Sports Cincinnati (@BallySportsCIN) July 2, 2022
Following the ejection, Matt Reynolds ran for Kyle Farmer and he moved up to second base on a wild pitch. Two outs later he came around to score when Nick Senzel broke up Spencer Strider’s no-hit bid with a single into center that cut the Braves lead in half and made it a 2-1 ballgame.
Trailing 4-1 entering the bottom of the 9th the Reds got back-to-back 1-out walks from Tommy Pham and Joey Votto to bring the tying run to the plate. Matt Reynolds lined out, leaving the game up to pinch hitter Donovan Solano. He didn’t quite get the job done, but it wasn’t on him as Will Smith hit him on an 0-2 pitch to load the bases. Albert Almora Jr. gave the fans a second of hope, but his fly ball on the first pitch he saw died on the edge of the warning track to end the game as the Reds managed just one hit in a 4-1 loss.
The Pitching
Tyler Mahle gave up a leadoff homer in the 2nd inning to Austin Riley and saw Atlanta jump out to a 1-0 lead. The next three batters followed by reachingon a single, walk, and a hit by pitch. The Reds then caught a break when Orlando Arcia tried to check his swing in a 3-ball count and a delayed appeal to the first base umpire led Adam Duvall to trot towards second base believing that Arcia had just walked. The problem as that it was called a strike, and after Mahle got the ball back he fired to first and picked off Duvall who was attempting to get back to first. The free out may have been big as the Braves wouldn’t score again that inning.
Austin Riley led the way as the Braves tacked on another run in the 4th inning after walking and moving around the bases on a double and two more walks as Tyler Mahle continued to struggle to throw strikes. He would get out of the inning with just the one run.
After Mahle pitched a shutout 5th inning, David Bell went to the bullpen and called on Art Warren for the 6th and he came through, getting the Braves out in order. But Bell opted to press his luck and bring him back out for the 7th. After retiring Michael Harris II to begin the inning, he walked Ronald Acuna Jr. and gave up a single to Dansby Swanson before being replaced by Reiver Sanmartin. He’d give up two runs, allowing one on a ground out and another on a double before getting out of the inning as Atlanta stretched their lead to 4-1. Dauri Moreta and Ross Detwiler both tossed a shutout inning to follow, holding the Braves lead to three runs.
Notes Worth Noting
The loss was the 10th straight at Great American Ball Park for the Reds.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Atlanta Braves vs Cincinnati Reds
Sunday July 3rd, 1:40pm ET
Charlie Morton (4-3, 4.73 ERA) vs Luis Castillo (3-4, 3.32 ERA)
Was Adam Duvall taken out because of his base running gaf or was he injured? If it was the former you’d never see a Red manager do that.
Does anyone think any players speak up in the clubhouse? Or does no one on this team really give two craps?
Probably had more to do with him getting hit by a pitch.
Got into the game late but I must have missed the hologram of Bob Gibson pitching today. A one hitter, 16 strike outs, and the ability of a rookie pitcher to land Farmer with a 100 mph retaliatory hit. It’s good to see Bell regain some of his hyperbolic 2019 form even if it seems pointless. However, if Farmer is out for 6 weeks, then the loss is perhaps the worst thing that can happen to the team now. The boat is losing its anchors and it’s buoyancy simultaneously. Make the trades Bull and then let the Captain go down with the ship Banana Bob!
That was not a retaliatory HBP. It just looked like it got away from him. That rookie was dealing.
Checked from time to time but it was pretty much as we expected.Reds didn’t compete at the plate obviously and Mahle battled.Hope Framer is ok but maybe Barrero gets the call now.Fans need to look at some video on him at short.Great range and arm and if he hits 200 its a win for this year at least.If we can watch Moose and Joey around 200 we can watch this guy or at least I can.
Makes two of us. He hits .200 then the Reds are ahead of the game.
Yes, the lineup should be made for the future. This season went down the drain long ago.
Of course.Should we expect more from him then we are getting from the 2 vets?Yeah he needs to be hitting better but so what?Look at the Bucs they got hammered yesterday and go right back to work today and win.Its baseball its a young man’s game its meant to be fun for players and fans a like.Reds are a losing franchise that needs an influx of young players.Why not Fairchild or Barrero or Santana or this kid at single a or this first base man in AA.What does it hurt?More losses?So what?
What does it hurt? Votto, Farmer, and Moose’s feelings. And watching Bell these last 3 1/2 years, he has a preference for older players, even guys who were never more than mediocre.
Reynolds will be starting. Bell loves his journeymen.
Votto and Moustakas has a little more right to hit .200 than a rookie. Barrero only hits .200 in the minors. He hasn’t proved himself to be a hitter anywhere.
Barrero hit .303 with a .921 OPS in 2021. He’s not bounced back to that level following his surgery. However, Moose and Votto established veterans making $40+ million between them. In my view they have far less of a right to hit .200 vs. a rookie still learning to hit at the major league level.
Votto has already more than earned his salary.
It’s easy to sit back and say bench Joey Votto or as someone mentioned earlier this week to bat him 9th to humiliate him in hopes it will force him to retire.
If you treat a loyal, franchise player like Votto like dirt on the way out, it won’t go unnoticed by players like India or Stephenson who you might want to extend some day. It won’t go unnoticed by free agents you want to attract some day.
The Reds are 25 games under .500 do you really think benching Joey Votto is going to matter?
I have criticized Bob Castellini, Phil Castellini, Nick Krall and David Bell, but I give them all credit for not treating Joey Votto the classless way some in this forum would chose to treat him.
Didn’t watch the game (thankfully), but am confused — if Bell was ejected in the bottom of the 5th, then how is the following possible?
“After Mahle pitched a shutout 5th inning, David Bell went to the bullpen and called on Art Warren for the 6th and he came through, getting the Braves out in order. But Bell opted to press his luck and bring him back out for the 7th.”
Bell took a page from Bobby Valentine and was wearing a disguise.
Ha! I remember that. Classic.
I have officially lost interest in this team and this season. Perhaps beyond.
Infield defense and offense is beyond horrific and with the bullpen is why this is the worst team in baseball.
Hope Farmer is ok but hes not a SS. Another bad SS play on an easy 1-6-3 DP
Votto is hitting .210 and just not competitive
Nor is Moose.
Moose, Votto, and Farmer are being paid $44 million and worst infield in baseball.
There was no error by Farmer on the 1-6-3.
The double play was turned.
If Spencer Strider was a spider, he would’ve made the Reds eat their curds and whey.
Yikes. Reds have fallen to 25 under .500. Looks like things have not been going good since I last checked in.
100 losses seems more and more likely now.
More like can they avoid 110 or more losses.
Most bad Red teams had just enough talent to avoid 100 losses. This one does not.
Realistically does anyone seriously see 2023 being much if any better?
I just don’t see it. If they package Moose with either Castillo or Mahle. And I’m not convinced they won’t. They will be basically giving them away. Because the return will not be good.
I don’t see things getting any better in 2023, 2024 or 2025. I actually don’t see the team getting any better as long as Castellini owns the team, Nick Krall is the General Manager and David Bell and his entire coaching staff remain in place.
This team needs a complete overhaul, but it must start with whoever is making such poor personnel decisions.
It obvious Nick Krall doesn’t know what he is doing but I blame the guy who hired and retains him.
I mean has anyone seen Bob Castellini lately? Is he even coherent these days? I’m not making a joke. I wonder if he is still healthy and even knows what is going on. I haven’t seen him for some time.
If this team is not any better in 2023, 2024, and 2025, then bringing Greene up this year was a mistake. Reds would only have Greene for two years in which they are competitive. Could have had him for at least 3 or 4 competitive years.
1 hit wow this team is rolling now. Wait this sounds somewhat familiar.
Wait we never can hit against the Braves it seems like.
The Reds are now 25 games under .500. I predicted they would win 3 games of this 10 game home stand. I was obviously being wildly optimistic.
Worst Reds weak in my lifetime. It’s hard to believe they don’t have the worst record in baseball. The Oakland A’s currently have that honor. But, I promise you, Oakland will see the post-season long before our beloved Redlegs.
Nothing to see her, people. Just keep moving.
“Sometimes I stay inside…because it’s just too peopley out there”
(I just saw this on an advertisement for a t-shirt…lol)
Yogi, “nobody goes anymore because it’s to crowded “.
I agree with Votto4life’s comments. The Castellini family has not made good ownership decisions. The St. Louis Cardinals owners have been much smarter. They seem to be competitive on a regular basis. Their market size is ranked 19th according to one internet site. The Reds were ranked 25th. This is not that much higher. Look at what the Tampa Bay owners have done in their small market. I do not like the work of the GM as well. Nice guy. I hope he turns things around because he does not seem to be going anywhere because Castellini loves his work. I am easier on Bell, although many are much more critical. Bell is a real nice guy. Love his optimism. That said, I think a new manager is needed because it just is not going right on the field.
Moose threw a fit after being lifted for a pinch hitter. I don’t know how to really take that. I am glad to see he still cares, but how can he get upset with Freddie for lifting him while he is hitting .220. Overall though, I guess I am happy the game still matters to these guys. With the exception of Phil Castellini, I don’t dislike anyone involved with the team. I just wished they would do better.
I also wish all of you were on a Bengals blog. I will miss reading your comments during the off-season.
Nick Krall?
Where did you hear MM threw a fit?
It is on Twitter and some other places. MM apparently walked along the dugout railing on the field side and threw his helmet down into the dugout then walked the length of the dugout in what appeared to be an agitated state and exited down the tunnel.
Maybe if Moose actually stopped striking out or his trademark of popping out. These veterans stink and need to be told they are sitting for younger players.
Sorry, but you will never see me on a Bengals blog. I even have the words Bengals and NFL blocked on my Twitter timeline to keep that stuff from cluttering it up. I was born and raised a Browns fan before the Bengals existed and never felt the urge to convert. When the original Browns flew the coop to Baltimore, I quit the NFL and have never looked back or regretted it.
You find me on Twitter (@jn_walkerjr), or commenting about the BlueJackets or Ohio State Football on The Athletic. I’ve not found a dedicated blog for either of those teams I am as comfortable with as I am here.
Jim – I understand. I, too, grew up in Dayton before the Bengals’ existence. Loved the Browns. My Dad and I had a great time watching Ken Coleman and Warren Lahr call the games. I worshipped Jim Brown, Paul Warfield, Gary Collins, Dr. Frank Ryan, etc. I would say most of my childhold, elementary school friends slowly migrated to the Bengals. I held firm. UNTIL … the 1980 hit that Thom Darden put on Pat McInally of the Bengals. The cheapest shot I had ever seen to that point. The fact that Darden went to Michigan did not help matters. I truly thought Darden may have killed him. It was towards the end of the second quarter and I spent the entire half worrying about McInally. He then returns in the 2nd half and I found myself rooting for HIM. He then catches a TD pass and I found myself happy. The Browns ended up winning the game and I felt an injustice had been done. Literally, from that point on, I became a Bengal fan.
It is a shame you missed this past Bengals run. It was as much fun as I have had as a fan in years. The Bengals win over KC was as thrilling for me as the Buckeyes taking out Alabama in the Sugar Bowl back in the first CFP. Joe Burrow, if he stays healthy, will be a franchise-defining player for Cincinnati. And it seems the Blackburns have learned from some of Mike’s mistakes.
The hit:
The Reds were awful and it was interesting, then they play really well and it was kind of fun for about a month there, you felt proud that they became respectable and represented the city well, and just didn’t completely give up. But now when the reality hits that there’s not much to play for , and if they trade Castillo and Mahle etc. it could go back to that beginning of the season feel of being overmatched every night.
It’d be nice to see Barrero, India, Stephenson, Lodolo, Greene, Diaz all healthy for a couple months and see what you have.
Reds home game? Guess what, season 4 Part 2 of Stranger Things dropped!
We can all watch that and cheer up a bit! 😉
This season is such a dumpster fire that Titanic would be inspiring. At least their “Rose” lived on, ours has to keep begging to be let back in to to upside world
In the Reds last 7 regular full seasons (taking out 2020) they have finished an average of 24 games out of first place. I’m a fairly optimistic fan, but you look at the history, and the Reds really aren’t even competing for the most part at all for the division the last 7 years. Even last year’s team which was a winning team, finished 12 games out, double digits out. I’m curious to see between Cincy, Pittsburgh and Chicago which team rebuilds successfully or faster.
You know, maybe Bell will perfect the skill of getting tossed such that he can exit each game in the 1st inning. Maybe some of the players will follow suit and, due to a lack of personnel, games are forfeited by the 4th inning. That accomplishes what MLB wants which is shorter games and reduces the pain of watching for the 100 people who show up. A win/win!
This team is not a ML baseball team. It is an expansion team. As the team’s ‘talent; returns, and adjusts, this is a sinking ship
Naquin did not start or play in the AAA game Saturday. I wonder if he will be in Cincy and activated for Sunday’s game.
X-rays of Kyle Farmer’s hand and wrist did not indicate a fracture. However, speculation is that he will be out of the lineup at least a couple of days. FWIW or not in relation to the Farmer situation, Jose Barrero also did not play Saturday at AAA. However, Barrero was also not in the original starting lineup released before the incident with Farmer in Cincinnati
Don’t worry Jim. Reynolds will be at short. Bell loves those journeymen.
Yes, if they don’t make a move on Farmer or Garcia (or play him today), they will be short 2 position bench players and have no contingency coverage at catcher. If nothing else, option a reliever who wouldn’t be available today anyway and get Okey or Kolozsvary up. Both of them are on the 40 man roster and could be safely optioned back down later this week if/ when Stephenson is ready to be activated.
Castillo threw 123 pitches and now he’s coming back on 4 days rest. I hoped he’d atleast get an extra day. TJS alert if you know the Reds and the combination of their decision making and their luck. I just don’t know why they’d even risk their best asset at this point?
Weren’t they just talking of a 6-man rotation? Why in the world would they pitch Castillo on 4 days rest? SMDH
Moose being upset is a good thing but he will not get the rope Joey will get and he should not.Moose appears to be overweight and his bat and everything else is slow.Thats on him to fix.
He pitched Tuesday the 28th so he’s on normal rest pitching again Sunday, but I agree it’d be nice if he had an extra day.
4 days off is normal rest. 5 man rotation.
Aramis Garcia has not played since Wednesday when he suffered a finger injury on his left hand. His unavailability left Farmer as the apparent backup/ emergency catcher. With Farmer now apparently out for (at least) Sunday, the Reds appear to be between a rock and hard place with their catching. They have two 40 man roster catchers at AAA (Okey and Kolozsvary), both optionable.
Article looking at potential packages for a Castillo trade: https://yanksgoyard.com/2022/07/02/yankees-rumors-luis-castillo-trade-packages-reds/
Thank you Magi this is really the only Reds related story I care about at the moment.
As most of us Red’s fans await an organizational shakeup, it reminds me of the, not so long ago, tormented, anxious days of manager Bryan Price.
It really is the most intriguing thing about this season. Personally, I don’t think they can/will fire Bell, not just because he’s family, but, who would explain it? Seriously? Who is there? Phil can’t show his face, they’d be crazy to let krall start talking and big bob is about to join your great grandma in hospice. No matter what you think of him, bell is the only one who’s shown the basic ability to produce basic baseball team speak in public.
The situation is reaching a point where change may be forced upon them. Would Brantley or Larkin come down from the booth to the dugout as interim manager with the attached understanding they weren’t interested beyond getting the team to the finish line in one piece this year? If not one of them, perhaps someone like Eric Davis would come in on the same terms?
Benavides could run the coaching staff and handle most of the day to day tasks while the “celebrity” interim focused on building a positive winning attitude moving forward both in the dugout and with the public.
If they whack Bell, they’ll promote Benavides as “interim”. What changes?
I like the idea of Brantley or Larkin as interim or regular manager of the Reds. They both know the game and are highly respected. With two upcoming trips to New York, they each would be good spokesmen for change in Cincinnati and able to handle the usual eager NY media.
Seemed like the ump had a really quick trigger. I understand Bell being upset. At least he stayed and got his money’s worth.
There are supposedly certain words, phrases, and references which are considered automatic ejection territory. I have no idea what they are and they would probably get deleted if I typed them here anyway 😉 Nonetheless, Bell must have rolled out one or more of them in quick order Saturday.
Thetes a hilarious jom boy breakdown of the time castellanos and bell got run i think in philly last year
You could read lips in slow motion and bell was funny and yes- theres words that get u run ASAP
Apparently he got tossed because he was arguing balls and strikes. Apparently that’s an automatic ejection? If so, the umpires need to be a lot, lot better at calling balls and strikes if they’re not allowed to be argued. Imagine being bad at your job and getting to toss others out for calling you out on that.
Moose being upset is a good thing but he will not get the rope Joey will get and he should not.Moose appears to be overweight and his bat and everything else is slow.Thats on him to fix.
I did not see Mahle’s post game comments on Saturday; however, it was reported he said the players were starting to feel the strain of the season and the losing. Moose’s actions were probably reflective of that. And I sometimes wonder what the talk and mood is among the bullpen crew. Ditto the level of Bell’s performance on the field, his second ejection this week.
The All Star break is still 2 full weeks away. The team might be fortunate to avoid a historical meltdown before then.
When you couple a mightily struggling Reds team with defensive shifts it becomes very hard to watch. When they fall behind and the starting pitcher exits before the 6th inning begins, I am also exiting for the first time in 60 years. It’s no fun watching the relief corps burn down while the Reds hitters hit line drives into outs and very few good defensive plays!
Reds are on pace to lose 107 games. I think that’s light. What will it take for Joey to say I can’t take it anymore? Next year will be no different. They will lose another 100. If he requests a trade I’m not sure anybody would take him. Even If the Reds eat most of the contract.
Could a AAA team have gone out and managed to get struck out less than 16 times, and gotten at least one hit? I believe it could have. With those numbers, it’s likely they are just trying to get their at-bats over with. No drive. No spirit. Just SOFT paycheck players.
Senzel wouldn’t start on any other roster in the Majors. That could be said about several of them.
Can’t score runs so keep rolling out the same darn lineup every stinkin’ time. I’ve had it with Bell. Not all his fault but my gawd, this is getting worse by the day so do nothing? Maybe change it up just a little? Come on.
Right now that Stephenson is out I am not sure one player on this team would start on several teams in this league including India. He is having a sophomore slump right now. I am concerned that some of the attitudes are rubbing off on him. He seemed to have more fire when he was on the disabled list. I don’t know how Moose could be upset, just look at his stats. This may become a Votto issue where players who aren’t playing look at him and wonder why he is. I know he has a lot of positive history but, under the current circumstances I can understand how others might feel. I think the only thing this team can do is trade all their assets and cut those they can’t get rid of. I realize they have to keep Votto but they need to cut back his playing time and encourage him to call it a career after this year. They also need an entire new coaching staff, this one has lost control of the team and that is becoming more obvious with every passing day. Bell’s laid back approach is not working. GO YOUNG PERIOD.
Not saying Votto’s been good overall, up to this point he’s been below average offensively. His typical slow start was exasperated by a truncated ST and then injury list.
With that said, he’s actually hit well since returning from injury on May 20th. From May 20-July 2nd he’s put up a slash line of .269/.368/.522/.890 which is very good production.
Even with his overall line still being drug down by a very poor start, he’s still 4th on the team (qualified hitters) in OPS/OPS+ behind Drury, Pham, and Farmer. The next player isn’t really that close. He’s still hitting better than young “core” players like India and Senzel. He’s out hitting veterans like Moose and Almora.
So I think we can save it on the “how others might feel” scenarios. Votto’s not been good overall, but he’s come back strong, and is pretty far from the “problem” with this offense.
He still ranks 29 out of 30 first baseman and .269 is not what a potential Hall of Fame player should be satisfied with. If you watch the games you would see that a high percentage of his production is coming when it no longer matters, home run vs Cubs the other day.
Did I say he’s satisfied with it? We all know Joey will continue to work and tweak things to become the best he can be at this point. And what does his HOF status have to do with anything? People age and decline. It literally happens to every single person who’s played baseball. He’s not who he was when he was 29, it happens.
But his slash line since returning is really good. Don’t just site BA, which is the poorest marker of offensive success tied to many things hitters cannot control. His .890 OPS during that stretch is really really good. That OPS would rank 16th overall in all of baseball between Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts.
So his production is top 20 in baseball since May 20th, but you’re worried if he should be playing over Aramis Garcia, Matt Reynolds, and Colin Moran?
Maybe you should stop watching the games, if this is your take, because you’ve obviously misunderstood what you have seen.
I said this 2 years ago or longer.Who could start on any other major league team?Yet the team continues to play the same old guys minus what they sent out in Wink/Suarez and of course Casty and Shogo.It is what it is until it isn’t so we play on.Can’t tell you about Senzel or Barrero or Fairchild or Santana or anybody else that has not been given a chance over an extended period of time.Throw in Naquin or Aquino.What I do know about is Farmer and Pham and Joey and Solano and Moose because we see them every day and they will not get any better.I watched some of the Phils/Braves and the Phils maybe worse then us as far as high priced and aging players but they have a kid that hits leadoff that was at 147 and slugging 190 or so and yet the 2 games I saw he played and battled.Think it was Moniak.Think that would happen in Cincy for any length of time?Worse of all is the Reds won’t play the young guys but they won’t trade or release them.Now why is that?Its because they may turn out to be a good player when given a legit chance.Somebody mentioned the young lefty Perez that we had who is now with Baltimore.Reds jerked him around back and forth so much he probably thought he was the bus driver.Reds need a complete overall from top to bottom.Clueless comes to mind as far as how to construct a major league team.Guys that may leave via trade just really don’t know how good it will be to actually get out of this mess in Cincy.
Some of India’s recent play on the diamond may be a hangover from the injury that kept him out of the lineup for most of the first half of the season. On the other hand, the N.L. ROY could be negatively affected by the current situation.
Lineups out and its the old guys 2,3,4,5 with Joey and Moose back to back at 4 and 5.This old guy is gone but will check back to see how India,Senzel and the young catcher fare when they hit.Morton is laughing already but hey why not.
game is free today on mlb.com gameday.