The Cincinnati Reds clobbered three home runs in the 3rd inning as they built an early 7-0 lead and they never looked back as they swept the Tampa Bay Rays with a 10-5 victory on Sunday. The win was the 4th in a row for Cincinnati, the first 4-game winning streak since May 25th through May 28th when they took the final two games against the Cubs and the first two games against the Giants.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Rays (45-40) |
5 | 12 | 1 |
| Cincinnati Reds (32-54) |
10 | 14 | 0 |
| W: Lodolo (2-2) L: Baz (1-2) |
|||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
The Offense
Cincinnati’s offense was quiet in the first two innings, but they exploded for seven runs in the 3rd inning. Jonathan India, Tyler Stephenson, and Mike Moustakas all hit 2-run home runs in the inning. The homer from Moustakas was the 200th of his career.
Following the top of the 4th that saw the Rays score three runs of their own, the Reds offense went back to work. Doubles from Brandon Drury and Tyler Naquin along with singles from Tommy Pham and Donovan Solano got back those three runs as Cincinnati extended their lead to 10-3 after the 4th. That was the last time that Cincinnati would score as they’d managed just two hits the rest of the way. Fortunately they didn’t need to score again after building a big lead.
The Pitching
Nick Lodolo’s day didn’t begin as he hoped, giving up a double and a single to put runners on the corners with no outs. Lodolo clamped down and struck out the next two batters before getting a pop up to second base to end the inning with no damage done. In the third inning he gave up two singles, but on the second one Taylor Wells thought about going to second when Tyler Naquin bobbled the ball for a brief moment, but changed his mind. Naquin fired to first and Mike Moustakas made the tag as Wells dove back to the bag to end the inning.
After Cincinnati put up a 7-spot in the bottom of the 3rd inning, the Rays touched up Lodolo in the top of the 4th. Randy Arozarena led off with a home run. Two singles and a hit batter loaded up the bases later in the inning before Yandy Diaz singled in two more runs to make it a 7-3 game.
Arozarena was a thorn in Nick Lodolo’s side all day and he led off the 5th inning with a double. The lefty was able to escape the inning with no runs, though, getting the next three batters to fly out. That ended Lodolo’s day and Dauri Moreta took over for the 6th inning. He would hit the leadoff batter, but like Lodolo the inning before, he got the next three batters in order to hold the lead at 10-3. Moreta returned for the 7th and struck out all three batters he faced.
Joel Kuhnel took over for Cincinnati in the 8th inning and gave up two solo homers to watch the Reds lead cut to 10-5. Alexis Diaz entered the game in the 9th to try and lock down the win.
Notes Worth Noting
Vladimir Gutierrez is going to undergo Tommy John surgery and will miss the rest of the season and at least several months to begin the 2023 season.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs New York Yankees
Tuesday July 12th, 7:05pm ET
Graham Ashcraft (4-2, 4.35 ERA) vs Gerrit Cole (8-2, 3.26 ERA)
Sweeping a contender like the Rays is superifically most more better than what we’ve seen so much of this year.
Great to see Lodolo buckle down and finish 5. He’ll be fine.
Great week of baseball
Beat some good pitchers and good teams
Offense getting healthy and Tyler Stephenson is growing before our eyes.
Glad to see young pitchers competing and taking a punch and still bouncing back
Go reds!
6 game road trip to end “1st half ” of season. I would be happy with a 3-3 road trip. Of course a 6-0 road trip would just be awesome!!!
I read Dougs minor league reports but never watch games
Elly De La Cruz obviously all over everything. He stole 2 bases today including 3b and now has 28. Eric Davis was the best combination of power and speed I ve seen and guys who steal 2b and 3b same inning usually special speed
Elly has a 60 grade speed by reports but seems like maybe a 70? How fast is he?
Congrats All-Star Castillo! Drury not making it shouldn’t diminish his trade value.
Drury could be added still by the Managers if someone is injured or something like that.
Good for LC. He deserves the selection. Have a feeling this is his last one in a Redlegs uniform.
So am I allowed to say that this winning streak has occurred while Votto isn’t plugging up the 4-hole in the lineup?
5 of 7 without Votto – 71.4%. And though I think we’re nearing the end of Votto’s career, it’s mostly pure dumb luck. The Reds have had a couple of decent streaks this year that didn’t lead to anything. I suspect this is another one. Six games on the road against the Yankees and Cards will bring folks here back down to earth. And then the fire sale resumes. To put things in perspective, the Reds have already lost 54 and are still 22 games under .500. To even get to break even they have to win 49 of the remaining 76, 64.5% feasible but unlikely. Even winning 70 at this point requires them to go .500 (38-38). It’s a lost year and what happens over the next few weeks determines whether 2023 is lost. Place your bets.
Why be so negative. Why? 29-32 since the horrible start. When they play no credit. When they play bad fire bell.
Geesh dude
Some people just can’t enjoy the moment. They say big deal in a crappy year but I think true fans enjoy a win whenever ( diehyfan since 1961).
Win 1/2 the games over the next week and maybe I’ll change my view. But we’ve been down this road earlier this year. And yes, Bell is not the guy, never has been. And KevinH, it’s not negative, it’s realistic. I don’t get all pumped up when the Reds stumble into a couple of wins. It’s the sports equivalent of Stockholm Syndrome. Mediocrity is still pervasive on a club that top to bottom is not committed to winning and in many cases, seems completely indifferent to outcomes.
How is that percent “feasible”? 64.5% is what they have to win to get there. The word feasible is how likely it is. Lol.
There is really no such thing as “dumb luck” in baseball. Too many games are played and statistics ALWAYS win in the end.
The Reds are 22 games under .500, and there are some very sound reasons for that. They’re trying, and hamstrung (in part) by poor field management, but David Bell or anybody would look dumb with the talent the Reds have. Which does not mean that they have NO talent and will not win some games, because some games they WILL get good pitching and some games they WILL score runs. They just are not consistent.
Really good teams play well for long periods of time. The Reds can manage to play well for a week. They will frankly be stretched to win 2 games on this road trip. Not because they aren’t trying, but they don’t have the talent to win a lot of games against the Cardinals and the Yankees, on the road. These two teams have a lot more talent than the Reds.
The Reds have some talented YOUNG pitchers, but you cannot count on them every time they pitch. Some days good, some days lousy. They are not established major league pitchers, which the Reds will see all week on this roadtrip.
It is just as you say it is David.Talent always prevail over a long season.Reds have some talent but again how many of our guys would start on good teams like the Yanks or the Dodgers or the Braves?We need more young talent with upside just to compete within our own division.Throw the Astros in as another good team.Reds must not depend on older non productive players to get them there cause it ain’t going to happen.Long way to go but Reds do have some building blocks.
Luck, chance, randomness is an element of everything, sports included. If the sample size is sufficiently large, then yes, statistics wins in the end. In shorter runs, bad decisions/good decisions and random events affect outcomes. My point was that although the Reds are 5-2 without Votto and he is nearing the end of a great career, his absence is likely not causative. Hence, the dumb luck comment.
I think Votto can still contribute on a winning ball-club but it needs to be mainly as a DH. Its clear he is at the end of his career in the field and close to the end as a hitter.
The coaching staff shouldn’t have to defer to him and play him every day. He is being paid for past performance not current performance – and very good past performance it was. Guaranteed contracts for hitters past the age of 35 can be brutal, but it isn’t his fault.
So you want Votto to be limited to DH. Who’s playing first? Is Moose a better first baseman than Votto? If not Moose, who on this roster is a better first baseman?
Should be painfully apparent you can’t have starters batting as poorly as Votto this year.
Great win today with lots of guys contributing.Took a look at the Bats box score and Fairchild has an OPS of 1095 and yeah I know his history but teams are starting not to even pitch to him now and thats kinda unheard of in the minors.Maybe he gets a shot of 200 or more at bats after the deadline sorts some things out.
The Reds need to clear their ML roster of the older players, one way or another. They aren’t going to win anything, so might as well try to re-build for the future. Though, I doubt that is going to happen. So we are kind of stuck here.
But…that’s the way Top Management of the Reds think. I think Bell has been ordered to play Moustakas, not in hope of attracting a trade (who would be that dumb?), but because he is getting paid a lot of money, and they don’t want him catching splinters on the bench. Play him!!
Moose is owed 18 mil this year and next. He will be given every opportunity to get it turned around. That means playing him. If he gets hot they may be able to trade him. If not they may eat his 2023 salary possibly. When your team is not competitive this year playing him is the course of action they will take. As I said if he gets hot they may be able to move him and avoid paying him the entire amount. Him being in the line up is not Bell’s decision.
At this point, defense is beyond Moustakas. Use him, until he’s included in a trade, as an occasional DH or pinch hitter.
Awesome sweep by the boys in Red over a good AL East team! Bullpen pitched much better this series (except little hiccup today with a 7 run lead). Excellent starting pitching in all 3 games – which we’ve had before but difference this time is bullpen showed up. Would like to see some more consistent hitting up and down the lineup.
Donovan Solano is a professional hitter. He should have trade value. And Tyler Stephenson, what a future star! Need India and Senzel to keep coming along to form a strong young trio.
You know, if the Cards and Brewers beat each other up, and the Reds play plus .500 ball in the second half, anything is possible. Our division is the least tuff of the three. Of course, if the Cards pull off a 20 game win streak again….well!
Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. “Andy”
Great sweep. Can’t wait to see young Reds take on big bad Yankees, see if we can steal a win. Can’t wait to see what trades the reds will make.
Reds will continue to get better this year and it will be fun to watch the young pups grow. But the goals need to be reasonable. There is no chance for playoffs but we can catch the Cubs and Pirates. Moose and Votto are sunk costs and still have a role to play on the team and can contribute. But I would like to see their playing time reduced. If it was me I am moving Castillo. It is the right time. The Reds in the past always hold on to guys too long. Move Castillo now when you can get maximum return. He will not be here in 2024. If you don’t move him the Reds likely watch him become a free agent in a couple of years and get a comp draft pick like Bauer. I would also move Drury. He is playing great. Fantastic. His value is also at a max. How long will it be before he returns to earth and reverts back to his historical average? That is the most likely realistic outcome so move him now. Everyone else is debatable and depends on what someone is willing to give up for them. Play the young guys. Prepare for 2024.
Dury has made me a believer! My dad taught me a long time ago that if you want to be a consistent hitter you need a short compact swing and you need to be able to take the outside pitch and breaking pitches to right field. Drury has done that on a consistent level. That holds true at every level and becomes more important each level that you progress. Sometimes players need consistent opportunities to show what they can do it. The man has shown it. He can drive mistake and inside pitches. He hits the ball where it is pitched. Sign him to a three year extension and make him the everyday 3rd basemen!
I think I agree. Third base is open. Unless Castillo, Solano, Pham, or Mahle bring you a bona fide hitting 3rd baseman.
I think I agree, too, and given that Senzel, India and possibly Farmer could play third, I’d hope that the Reds would be focused on outfielders as a return for Castillo. Good outfielders.
Good series against an otherwise shaky defense and poor base running Rays. Now heading to the big apple to face the number one team in power rankings, 6 all-stars and 14-game 1st place leading marvelous Yankees, my goodness!
We have everything to gain and nothing to lose. Just have to keep their heads in Yankee Stadium…
Great weekend of baseball. The Rays are a tough team with good solid pitching. A 3-3 road trip would be a good way to close the first half of the season. I have mentioned it before and will again. Since their horrendous start the Reds are as of now 3 games under 500. at 29-32. While I realize this season is lost, what isn’t lost is this team’s competing and winning ball games.
Reds didn’t stumble into a couple of wins this week or weekend. They competed and won baseball games. Have a great Monday
With the impact that TS has on the lineup. clearly, should he not be batting third so as to get up in the first inning to maximize the potential ABs during any game?
All of the enthusiasm on this board after a few surprising wins are always gratifying to me. Shows the true baseball love for our reds and baseball in general and it’s especially welcoming to see younger fans keep hope alive.
A lot of us older fans-you know who you are and so do all of us— who fell in love with the big red machine era or just before, have a hard time feeling hopeful.
I still love my reds but I truly detest the owners’ group.
And I can’t help but see the futility of doing the same things that haven’t worked before over/for the past 17years.
The refusal to pull the plug on Walt Jocketty influence and the over reliance on the Bell family are the biggest examples, together with Bob’s meddling in player personnel decisions. They have lost any trust I ever had in them a number of years ago.
The current inability to work within modern baseball economics with proven leadership from other successful smaller market teams is just stubborn dumb and clueless. And poor Krall ain’t the answer, just yes man for the problem people listed above.
But the typical Reds fan has sadly emerged as an additional problem! Inexplicably accepting of this organization’s aversion to excellence and winning, but full of excuses and lately, just sheer disrespect and sneering arrogance from the main owners themselves.
Ultimately reds fans you get what you accept. You can blame the messengers like me or reach out on this board and the online enquirer and point out the emperors with no clothes.
It’s amazing what getting healthy plus good SP can do! Getting Naquin and Solano back has made a huge difference. Just an observation but this sure looks like Typer Stephenson’s team. He was held back last year because of Tucker but not now.
Need to be competitive vs the Yanks this week. Nothing to lose? If they lose by 7+ runs each night, that will be a huge bummer for the team and the fans.