The Cincinnati Reds got out to an early lead and at one point led 7-1, but the Mets stormed back late and made it a close one. Alexis Diaz came out of the bullpen in the 8th inning and finished out the game as Cincinnati defeated New York 7-6 in the series opener.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York Mets (17-19) |
6 | 7 | 0 |
| Cincinnati Reds (15-20) | 7 | 10 | 0 |
| W: Weaver (1-2) L: Peterson (1-5) SV: Diaz (7) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
In the top of the 1st inning Stuart Fairchild flashed the leather and the hops as he made a leaping catch against the wall in foul territory down the left field line to help Luke Weaver get through a perfect frame. In the bottom of the inning the offense went to work as Nick Senzel doubled and came around to score on a single up the middle from Tyler Stephenson to put Cincinnati up 1-0.
Cincinnati started out the second inning with a walk from Kevin Newman and a single by TJ Friedl, who then stole second base. The Reds would add a run on a ground out by Jonathan India and then another one when Nick Senzel picked up his second hit of the day, making it 3-0.
Luke Weaver was cruising for the first eight outs of the game, but the ninth batter he faced was Francisco Alvarez and he crushed a solo home run into right-center to put the Mets on the board. After another scoreless inning for Weaver, the Reds made it 4-1 with back-to-back 1-out doubles from Luke Maile and Jonathan India. That was enough to lead to a pitching change for New York, turning to Stephen Nogosek to enter the game with India standing on second base. He got out of the jam, keeping it a 3-run deficit for the Mets.
The Reds got to Nogosek in the bottom of the 5th inning. Wil Myers singled and then in one of the stranger plays you’ll see – Kevin Newman hit a soft liner up the middle with Myers running and as he slid to the bag his hand hit the glove of Francisco Lindor who was trying to catch the ball, knocking the glove away just enough that the ball fell in for an infield hit. Buck Showalter came out to argue the play and was eventually ejected. TJ Friedl then followed up with a 2-run triple to make it 6-1. Friedl then scored on a sacrifice fly from Jonathan India to pad the lead a little bit more.
New York got one of those runs back quickly in the top of the 6th. Francisco Alvarez must really like what he sees from Luke Weaver because he hit his second homer of the day – another solo blast – into the seats in left field to lead off the inning. The Mets got another solo homer off of Weaver in the 7th, this time off of the bat of Pete Alonso and it cut the Reds lead to 7-3.
Weaver would walk the next batter and that would be the final one he’d face on the night as Derek Law was called on to enter the game. An infield single followed as a soft bouncer in the infield confused Law and Spencer Steer enough that the flip to Law at first was a bit off target and led to runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs in the inning. A walk to Daniel Vogelbach loaded the bases, but the Reds traded two outs for a run on a Mark Canha grounder to shortstop. Another ground out followed and the Reds escaped the top of the 7th holding onto a 7-4 lead.
Derek Law was replaced by Alex Young in the top of the 8th inning and things went south in a hurry. He hit Brandon Nimmo to lead off the inning and then gave up an upper deck home run to Francisco Lindor that cut the Reds lead to one run. After getting Jeff McNeil to fly out the Reds went to the bullpen again, bringing in Lucas Sims. He would walk Pete Alonso to start his outing before getting a line out for out number two of the inning. Starling Marte singled into center, putting runners on 1st and 2nd.
That was all David Bell wanted to see and he made another walk to the mound to call on Alexis Diaz to enter from the bullpen. He walked Daniel Vogelbach to load the bases, but Diaz came through with a strikeout of pinch hitter Luis Guillorme to end the inning and hold the 1-run lead. Diaz returned for the 9th inning and made quick and easy work of the Mets, picking up two called strikeouts before getting Francisco Lindor to ground out on the first pitch he saw to pick up the save.
Key Moment of the Game
In the top of the 8th inning when Alexis Diaz entered the game with the tying and go-ahead runs on base and he got out of the jam before returning for a perfect 9th inning to seal the win.
Notes Worth Noting
TJ Friedl continues to rake. With two more hits on the night he raised is line on the year to .325/.370/.496.
Alexis Diaz picked up his 7th save on the night. He also lowered his ERA to 2.19 on the season and now has 24 strikeouts and just four walks in 12.1 innings this year. Diaz hasn’t allowed an earned run since April 8th.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
New York Mets vs Cincinnati Reds
Wednesday May 10th, 6:40pm ET
Justin Verlander (0-1, 3.60 ERA) vs Hunter Greene (0-2, 3.74 ERA)
Can Elly come out to play with big boys now?
“TJ Friedl continues to rake. With two more hits on the night he raised is line on the year to .325/.370/.496.”
What do you think JB? 🙂
That dude is Legit!
😀
Well Weaver had a nice outing considering what he has done for us thus far this season.
The bullpen was pretty shaky tonight, but these guys have done a nice job overall this season.
Diaz just knows how to get it done.
Reds Win! That’s all that matters in the end.
Not sure why Friedl batting 8th. Reds won so it doesn’t really matter but it makes no sense to bat your best hitter 8th in the lineup.
He’s left handed. Bell’s instinct was of course to start an all right-handed lineup, and somehow he fought it off and allowed Friedl to sneak in at the bottom. That was VERY hard for Bell to do, and we need to congratulate him for being so brave. Baby steps…
+10,000 and a big 😀 from me
Friedl’s splits: now .300 vs lefties.
The Mighty Newman: .242 vs lefties.
Barerro: sub sub Mendoza vs lefties.
I think that is the right viewpoint. Baby steps for David Bell to deviate from the Lefty-righty paradigm.
At least Friedl was in the lineup. And yes, he did contribute a lot.
The guy can apparently hit. 😉
Weaver gave up 4 runs in six innings. Not exactly a Cy Young outing. But better than the last three starts by the young bucks.
Alex Young got touched for a 2-run dinger by Lindor, on a pitch that almost looked like it was out of the zone.
I think this Lindor guy can hit, too.
It ended up being kind of an ugly win, but a win, nonetheless.
Kudos Reds. Let’s bring it home tomorrow night, too.
As Lively appears to be taking Cessa’s place in the rotation, perhaps in a couple of weeks, Andrew Abbott will be taking Weaver’s place in the rotation.
Could be right, J. It’s worth noting that, batting eighth, Friedl was in the middle of the action. India batting close behind him makes the eighth batter relevant.
Or an alternative theory is, expecting little from Myers, Newman, and Maile, batting Friedl 8th gives him a chance to get back to the top of the lineup with a runner on. Neither theory is great, but we will take the wins when they come, though the Reds nearly fulfilled my prediction of finding a way to lose.
Or an alternative theory is, expecting little from Myers, Newman, and Maile, batting Friedl 8th gives him a chance to get back to the top of the lineup with a runner on. Neither theory is great, but we will take the wins when they come, though the Reds nearly fulfilled my prediction of finding a way to lose.
One of Bell’s weirder tinkers was when he loaded the 7-8-9 with better hitters.
IIRC correctly he only did it once or twice.
With the DH, having someone with a good OBP ahead of India isn’t a bad strategy.
India drove in 3 runs this evening.
If Fraley does work his way out of his extended slump and Senzel keeps hitting, then there should be some flexibility there where to place Friedl in the lineup.
I mean I can see where the Reds are coming from with Abbott. Not saying I agree but I think with only 3 AAA starts they are afraid of promoting him to soon to the big leagues. They probably want to see a few more starts in AAA vectored promoting. I think he’ll get promoted shortly after the all star break.
No matter if a lefthanded or righthanded pitcher is starting, the top of the lineup should be:
2B India
CF Friedl
3B Senzel
We could get into a debate about how to arrange the rest of the lineup, but I’d like to see Bell stick with those 3 at the top. And definitely, NEVER bat Friedl 8th again. He’s your best hitter, get him as many ABs as possible.
Well, that’s another of those theories. 😉
Get your best hitters the maximum number of At Bats in a season by batting them at the top of the line-up. So crazy…IT JUST MIGHT WORK!
I do have an intuitive feeling that Jose Barrero is going to get demoted to AAA and they will call up Matt McClain to play SS most days. And then, I don’t know if Barrero will get many starts at SS, because I think they will start EDLC their in AAA ball. Or…maybe EDLC plays a lot of 3rd base now.
You’re making way too much sense! Silly Wabbit!
Brewers just lost to the Dodgers and the Pirates got trounced by the Rockies! Things are tightening up in the NL Central!
Cards are starting to put it together though
Surprise! Surprise! 🙂
As a fan of any team, you can count on the Cardinals. They don’t stay down too long. Although, it took them a long while, 1881 to 1926, to win their first Championship, since then they’ve won eleven.
Friedl was a key again tonight, but I disagree with the “batting order doesn’t matter” analytics. One extra at bat for Friedl vs., say, Newman, could mean the difference between a win and a loss. Frustrating to see Friedl slotted 8th. But at least he played, and the bullpen hung on. Go Reds!
I think the analysis shows that batting order matters, but not as much as most–older, like me–fans think. Friedl at eighth was virtually a second lead-off man and it worked. As Harry points out, there’s a certain amount of logic in having strong hitters in the bottom third of the batting order. I’ll also be surprised if Friedl stays at eighth, particularly if he continues to hit lefties well.
I assume he was 8th because the starter was a lefty, but I absolutely believe that more at bats for your best (or hottest) hitters matters. Does it matter if you’re best on base guy and your best power hitter bat 2nd and 3rd, or 3rd and 2nd? Probably not. But does it matter if your best hitter gets 50 fewer at bats over the course of a season batting 8th instead of 3rd? I believe it does. Another Reds lineup head scratcher.
What you’re saying jibes with my memory of the analysis, CFD3000. Friedl is having a breakout year while getting limited at bats against lefties, so I wonder if, in line with J’s comment, Bell gave him a start at a lower-pressure position in the order. It worked. If that is the explanation, we might see it again again, especially against a more formidable lefty. I would certainly like to see him get more chances against lefties, but note that it’s possible that his success is at least partly due to his being used in situations that allow him the best chance of success. Lefty/righty splits are a real thing and I doubt that many teams ignore them.
Congrats to red legs. Weaver pitched well against a good lineup. India sure is having a season
There is still room on the TJ friedl train if anyone is interested. He makes things happen. Should be leading off or batting 2nd – regardless who pitches.
I like the Reds top of the batting order with Friedl batting second along with India and Senzel. The Reds currently do lack the homerun punch, but they’re getting runners on base and led by the top three in the batting order doing better in getting runners across the plate. I encourage the manager to play those who are producing and use substitution only where needed. Knowing you’re place in the lineup can bring a team together.
EDLC with two bombs tonight now hitting .280. McClain with a couple of hits including his 10th home run of the season.
ELDC hit three bombs!
To be clear, one bomb was actually a missile. The best part of the game may have been his walks. Plate discipline is the main thing he needs to improve.
Oh wow, I must have misread the box score. Thanks BK!
One was a double off the fence.
Typically, Mets would be thrilled to see a box score with a save for Diaz.
I liked the line-up with Friedl, India and Senzel back-to-back-to-back.
Agree, how about all three at the top of the order so they bat together four times instead of just three? Is that even allowed?
wasn’t sure 7 runs was going to be enough but this Diaz guy knows how to close it out. I give props to Bell. He went “all out” for this win.
I have been really pleased with Steer’s defense at first base. he made a couple of tough plays look routine. I am More confident with him at first than anyone else on the team not named Joey Votto. I say he should be our starting first basemen until Joey returns. although i would switch him and Friedl in the lineup.
Stephenson still looks uncomfortable up there. seems like he is really pressing. This is starting to get concerning to me as we will need him to produce if we are going to be competitive in the future
Agree with most of this. I would move Stephenson to full time catcher (except for when he needs a break). No more 1B.
That means one of our backup catchers would have to go.
While I understand the need to develop and give playing time to our young prospects. Part of me is tied to the fact that we are only 5 games behind in our division and 3.5 in the wildcard race.
My hope is Krall is beating the bushes for a starting pitcher and a corner outfield bat. I’d also like to see some movement on sorting some of our surplus of middle infielders maybe get a couple some playing time in the outfield. Don’t understand what they are waiting for unless they are thinking of trading a few to fill some holes.
I’m starting to feel the same way Jim. I had it in my head that 2024 was the year to go for it. This season was just about the youngsters.
But, we have a log jam in the infield. I’m for moving India to LF, and trading one of our many other infielders for a viable starting pitcher (with multiple years of control).
We add one legit starting pitcher and Abbott to our other three, bring up one or two of our hot hitting prospects, and we have an exciting team!
wkuchad: the team is exciting at times. playing hard and getting great performance from Friedl and India with other guys contributing, too. Two viable starting pitchers would certainly make things look different–better–but I’m not sure that any one of our prospects bring the return we want. Maybe EDLC would, but is that a wise move? India might, too, but he seems integral to the team. We know that Newman, Barrero, Senzel etc. wouldn’t get it done. I’m glad it’s not my job.
Agree with you GMR! I would not trade India or EDLC, and one of the others (by themselves) would likely not get a trade done. But…
Steer
India
Senzel
De La Cruz
McLain
Encarnacion-Strand
Barrero?
That’s seven players for four positions, maybe as early as the next month or two. That’s not even counting Marte, Arroyo, and Collier.
Agree there’s no chance I trade EDLC or India. I would think we have plenty of other ammunition besides these two to trade for a proven young starting pitcher (and have infield prospects left over).
I just think starting pitcher depth is our biggest weakness going into next year. One more #2 type pitcher (or at least with that potential) would be big. Right now, we’re just praying none of our big 3 goes on the IL. That’s not a good plan, especially for next year.
@WKU, I don’t think we have a logjam. Several players can handle multiple positions. Ideally, the Reds will have 9-10 players on the roster earning daily playing time. Players get fewer days off when injuries happen, but the Reds continue to field a strong lineup. Having another solid option or two at AAA is also a worthy goal. For example, 2023 opening roster could look like this from a position player standpoint:
Stephenson, C
CES, 1B
India, 3B/2B
McLain, 2B/SS
ELDC, SS
Friedl, OF
Senzel, OF/3B/2B
Steer, 3B/2B/1B/RF
Fraley, OF
Hopkins, OF (platoon with Fraley)
Robinson, C
Benson, OF
Votto, DH/1B (once he recovers, he may be just the right vet for the last roster spot)
AAA:
Fairchild, OF (just one option remaining, needs to stay w/Reds in ’23)
Barrero, SS (just one option remaining, needs to stay w/Reds in ’23)
Marte, 3B/SS
Ramos, OF
Siani, CF/PR
And I take your point, wkuchad, and agree. But it’s a conundrum.
I would contend that the 4 players in Louisville might be EXACTLY what could light the fuse for this team……and you don’t have to trade away prospects to do it.
But where do they play Sultan? You don’t bench Steer/India/Senzel in my opinion. I don’t like the time share for the prospects. So you either move players to the outfield, or trade from an area of strength to improve an area of weakness.
Who is your fourth? Chuckie Robinson or TJ Hopkins? Do I hear 5?!? 😉
The 40 man roster situation could hold them back from bringing the guys in a single wave. They’ll need 3 spots to bring 4 guys (Only EDLC is already on the 40 man). That will mean a 4 or even 3 man wave could be a one way move with no backing out since the guys moved off the 40 man to make way could well be lost to the organization.
An alternative would be to move Overton, SanMartin and somebody else (whose name starts with “V”?) to the 60 day IL list then option guys now on the active roster. Or, they could use some combination of DFA and 60 day IL moves.
Count me on for a wave plan; but, I’d probably do 2 now and 2 later. Right now it would be Chuckie and CES. I want to see McLain maintain into June since he is not on the 40 man and has never performed like e is now. By then hopefully, EDLC would be ready to come up with McLain.
Post trade deadline there should be a lineup and bench similar to the following imo
C – Stephenson
1B – Steer/Votto
2B – McLain
SS – De La Cruz
3B – Senzel
LF – India (doubt it happens until the offseason though. Until it does swap Senzel to the OF and shuffle the other infielders over with India back at 2B)
CF – Friedl
RF – Fraley
DH – CES/Votto
Bench – whoever doesn’t start out of Votto, Steer, CES
Bench – Maile or Casali but only 1
Bench – 1 of Fairchild or Hopkins to platoon with Fraley
Bench – Benson as 4th OF and another left handed bat. There’s so much positional versatility with De La Cruz, McLain, Senzel, and Steer that another infielder like Barrero isn’t needed up. Option him so he can continue getting everyday at bats.
I’m starting to think India needs to be in the 3 hole. He’s so good at driving in runs, but the back end of the lineup doesn’t produce enough opportunities for him. Move Senzel back to the leadoff. Also keep Friedl in the 2 hole no matter who’s on the mound.
Senzel has been absolutely crushing left-handed pitching. But he’s well below average vs righties, especially at getting on base. Now, no way I bench him vs righties (especially right now). But I like him lower in the lineup vs righties, and in that 2 to 4 spots vs lefties.
My Ideal line up: first base CES, 2nd base Mclain, 3rd base Senzel, Short stop EDLC, left field India, center Freidl, right field Hopkins, catcher Stephenson, DH Steer, Votto, Fraley. You can mix and positions as see fit.
India is good at driving in runs for sure, but he’s also the best lead-off hitter they’ve had in years.