The Cincinnati Reds defense made a series of blunders on the same play in the bottom of the 9th inning to blow the lead. 10 minutes later the Atlanta Braves picked up a walk-off win in the bottom of the 10th inning to take a 2-0 series lead.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (18-19) | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| Atlanta Braves (17-18) | 2 | 8 | 0 |
| W: Iglesias (2-2) L: Richardson (0-1) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
Cincinnati started the game out well as TJ Friedl singled and Matt McLain was hit by a pitch, and then with one out they executed a double steal. But the Reds weren’t able to capitalize as a strikeout and a ground out ended the inning.
In the bottom of the 2nd inning it was Atlanta putting the pressure on. With two outs Sean Murphy singled on a blooper into shallow left field and then the Reds may have caught a break when Eli White’s line drive down the left field line bounced into the stands for a ground-rule double that kept Murphy from attempting to score on the play. Michael Harris II would strike out to strand both runners and keep the game scoreless.
The Reds would get two men on with two outs in the top of the 3rd, but once again they were unable to push a run across the plate. Atlanta would get two runners on in their half of the 4th inning, but Andrew Abbott picked up back-to-back strikeouts to strand them.
Cincinnati turned the game over to Graham Ashcraft to begin the 6th inning and he retired the side in order to keep the game knotted up at 0-0. In the top of the 7th inning Austin Wynns crushed a ball to lead off against Chris Sale and it landed on top of the wall, but it bounced back in play and went for a double. Jacob Hurtubise took over on the bases for Wynns, but Sale recorded outs against the next two hitters. The 2024 Cy Young Award winner walked TJ Friedl with two outs, though, and the Braves made a pitching change to bring in Pierce Johnson. He got the job done, striking out Matt McLain to strand both runners.
Ashcraft returned for the 7th and ran into trouble as he walked Ozzie Albies to begin the inning and then gave up a single that moved the runner up to third base. That was all for Ashcraft as the Reds went to the bullpen to bring in Tony Santillan. He got a grounder to third base to begin his outing and Albies broke for home, but Santiago Espinal made the catch and fired to the plate where Albies was eventually caught in a rundown and tagged out. A line out to center followed, but then Santillan walked Nick Allen to load the bases with two outs. Alex Verdugo then hit a grounder to first base where Spencer Steer made a nice play on the ball and cruised to the bag to end the inning and keep the game scoreless.
Elly De La Cruz led off the 8th inning with a single and then stole second base. Tyler Stephenson would strike out, bringing Santiago Espinal to the plate. He came through, lacing a single over shortstop and into left field to score De La Cruz for the first run of the game and put his team in front.
Tony Santillan returned to the mound for the bottom of the 8th inning. Austin Riley would lead off with a single. Marcell Ozuna put a scare into the Reds with a fly ball that was caught just in front of the wall in right field, and then Santillan picked up back-to-back strikeouts to send the game to the 9th.
Cincinnati couldn’t add to their lead in the top of the inning. They called on Emilio Pagan for the bottom of the frame, looking to get through the bottom of the lineup and seal the win. The inning didn’t get out to a great start as Pagan walked Sean Murphy in a 7-pitch battle. Atlanta then went to the bench to bring in former Red Stuart Fairchild to pinch run. Eli White failed to get a bunt down twice before striking out and failing to move the runner into scoring position.
Michael Harris II then lined a ball down the right field line. Jake Fraley fielded it and threw towards second base. McLain caught it and seemed confused for a second before realizing he needed to throw the ball to the plate, where Fairchild beat the tag by a matter of inches to tie the game up. A grounder to second moved the winning run to third base, but Alex Verdugo flew out to center to end the inning and send the game into extra innings.
Cincinnati couldn’t cash in on their free runner in the top of the 10th inning. The Reds brought in Lyon Richardson from the bullpen to start the 10th inning and they intentionally walked Austin Riley to face Marcell Ozuna. He ended the game with a line drive single into the left field corner as the Braves walked it off for a 2-1 win.
Key Moment of the Game
In the bottom of the 9th when Jake Fraley threw the ball towards second base and Matt McLain seemed unaware that Stuart Fairchild had been sent to the plate. The throw going to the wrong spot and causing McLain to hesitate before throwing home allowed Fairchild to score the tying run instead of being thrown out.
Notes Worth Noting
Elly De La Cruz and Austin Wynns both had two hits in the game. TJ Friedl went 1-3 but also added two walks.
Andrew Abbott’s 5.0 shutout innings lowered his ERA on the season to 2.25. He also racked up eight strikeouts and walked no one in his outing.
The two teams combined to go 2-for-22 with runners in scoring position in the game.
Tyler Stephenson went 0-5 with five strikeouts. The Reds as a team had 17 strikeouts in the game.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs Atlanta Braves
Wednesday, May 7th, 7:15pm ET
Hunter Greene (4-2, 2.53 ERA) vs Grant Holmes (2-2, 4.24 ERA)
I will save you the time of listening to the postgame…just rerun what you have heard over & over this season: ” Their pitcher was unhittable …..he was hitting all his spots…couldn’t do anything with him” maybe when it keeps happening over & over…maybe it you not always him
Disappointing performance by Pagan. That’s a game when the team and offense is struggling you hope the veteran closer comes in and dominates putting it away.
Maybe it’s a slump but this team has been disappointing basically since Hays got hurt.
I did notice Friedl I think is getting on base a little more recently doing a decent job leading off getting on base so that is a positive.
Why was Fraley throwing towards 2nd by the way on the 9th inning tying run play? I just saw the highlight and saw Mclain hesitated but didn’t understand why the throw was going to him anyway.
and why did Pagan follow up his swing strike change up with another (to Harris). When he was ready to throw the next pitch I said don’t throw another change up, well………
Good baseball game.
Not for me
??? Results matter
Back in the groove. No offense and lots of strikeouts. Pagan is not the long term answer as our closer but I’m not sure we have one at this point in our organization. Phew. Ty Steve 0-5 with 5 K’s as our cleanup hitter. Benson would be proud.
Pagan will be a FA, so, no, he’s not in the long term plans.
Honestly, I am over Ty Steph. That said, there are tons of great catchers out there. Why in the world is Ty Steph batting any higher than 8th???
Why can’t the Reds find hitters or train hitters to work on NOT striking out? Most of the past 30 years, we’ve been a fairly K heavy hitting team.
The 1990 Reds were mostly the opposite and why they won it all. Most of the lineup were tough outs, put the ball in play, took some walks, etc.
Frustrating. The strike zone is shrinking and we’re K’ing like a bunch of overmatched AA call ups.
There AREN’T a ton of great catchers…I meant to say. I’d like to see them move on from Ty Steph though.
A little slack for Stephenson–his hitting in particular–might be in order. He was injured and has had a handful of MLB at bats this season.
I always love the swings of emotions following a particular game. Stephenson entered last night with an OPS+ over 200. After the five-K games, he’s still seven points above average. But he’s 20 plate appearances into his season. How could you have seen enough to be “over” any player in 20 PAs? Sorry, this just comes across as the ultimate “hot take.”
Reds went 16-13 before entered in a losses spiral that took them to reach 20-30 record when May ended last year. It seems to me this 2025 Reds team has started to do the same at this moment…Hope I am wrong…
Reds having really bad time , the offense not working, the defense does miscues , the pitching is good but when it is the rival clutch sometimes make bad located pitches that have to pay …really tough moment.. Cubs , Cards and Brewers are winning every game each…Unbelievable
Meanwhile in Louisville…..
https://www.milb.com/gameday/storm-chasers-vs-bats/2025/05/06/781067/final/box
Hinds had a double and a homer in 4 PAs. He raised his seasonal triple slash to .281/.343/.554 and even with 1K dropped his K Rate under 29%.
It was a tough night for Benson with 3Ks, but he did have a walk and run scored. I’m not a psychologist, but I think it has to weigh on a guy like Benson to be passed over twice in a week when a different LH hitting guy was called up to play OF. Hopefully, he can quickly get back on the horse he’s been on most of the year at AAA.
A few days ago I started keeping track of Hinds K% rate after his last 10 games and now up to his last 14 games. If I looked at it correctly his K% rate for those last 14 games is 24.5%. I can live with that. Considering the current state of the Reds offense I’m now officially in the camp that says bring him up for Dunn, bench Fraley, and stick him in RF for the foreseeable future. That along with the return of Hays in a few days for Hurtubise could inject some much needed fire into this team. What exactly do we have to lose anyway? As far as the International Leagues goes Hinds is 5th in HR with 8, third in RBI with 32, and 5th in SB with 12. DON’T BRING HIM UP IF YOU DON’T INTEND ON HIM PLAYING FULL TIME. Here are his stats. You can check out of course his splits etc.
https://www.milb.com/player/rece-hinds-677956?stats=splits-r-hitting-mlb&year=2025
We’ve seen this before. starts out lights out, then, AVG.
A very small part from Doug’s updated write up tonight on the Reds minor leagues. It’s a lot of info for just $4 a month if you don’t have a subscription.
“Rece Hinds has homered in three straight games. Since April 26th he’s hitting .366/.409/.780 in 10 games played. In that time he’s doubled three times, tripled once, and hit four home runs”.
Hinds is HOT. We NEED hot hitters.
Amen Melvin. ‘Nuff said about Hinds. The decision to call up Hurtubise to bridge over to Austin Hays anticipated return speaks volumes about the mindset of the Reds front office
Tyler Stephenson had an easy swipe tag to win the game for the Reds in the 9th to prevent the Braves from scoring. McLain delayed it, but the tag was really easy to make for Stephenson there. The runner was still 5-6 feet away when Stephenson had the ball in his glove. He caught the ball with his arm and glove extended as far away from the plate as possible. This was his first mistake as that kept the glove far away and didn’t let the ball travel farther towards the plate. Then Stephenson made no effort at all to move his glove towards the runner and towards the plate. Easy out there to swing the glove and arm and hit the runner’s arm or head. It looks like Stephenson just frankly let the Braves win with no effort on any kind of tag at all. I watched it over again on replay, literally does not attempt to get the glove closer to the runner hardly at all. He had to have seen the runner coming considering his body was faced right at the runner. Stephenson blunder there seems much bigger than McLain, as McLain threw a really perfect throw ahead of the runner.
Trevino was catching.
LOL
That was not the catcher’s fault; it was the fault of the guy in right for throwing it to 2B instead of home. He deserves to be demoted. Time to bring up Hinds and see what he’s got before making a trade.
Absolutely on Fraley.
Nope. Fraley threw to the right base to keep the force intact. The problem was that apparently no one was yelling 4 to McLain….that hesitation gifted Stu a handful of extra steps which made the difference.
MBS is correct and you are completely wrong on this one Sultan. That throw has to go through the cutoff man to home, which is the first basemen. This is baseball 101…little league stuff…unbelievable that a major leaguer, Fraley, makes that decision there.
DW…Exactly
As I have said all night, I just don’t understand how Dunn and Hurtubise are on this team. I might add Fraley to that list as well. However the biggest problem is the guys that we thought we could count on Mclain, Steer, Stephenson and even EDLC, sure he had two hits tonight but both were on the infield. For a 3rd place hitter he sure isn’t driving the ball. As it stands now he is no All Star in my book.
When an entire offense goes south, why does nobody suggest that the hitting coaches are culpable? The regression of formerly good hitters is apparent. Good coaches might help some players return to productivity.
Well, we’ve seen the entire offense go south for 3 years running, different hitting coaches. We have the wrong players on the big league roster.
We need the GM to cull out the high K hitters over the next two years, save for maybe those that CAN make hard contact when they hit the ball (EDLC, McClain).
I assume the hitting will start to heat up a bit, but a hot Reds team is still inconsistent due to the inability to STOP from flailing at borderline or off-plate pitches.
This is the second extra inning game I can remember where our extra runner at second base didn’t even move. If I personally had any expectations for the new manager it is in situations like that one. That runner has to score.
Where are the fundamentals. Maybe the players are the bigger issue.
The players are definitely the bigger issue. Tito has his work cut out for him in a major way. Good luck, Tito.
Oh, it’s on the players now. the players and the guy who acquired said players.
The Reds just don’t do the little things correctly, often. They seem to lack doing the fundamental things in key situations, which lead to losses instead of wins. Time and time again, there is failure to make productive outs by moving runners over, not hitting cut off men, throwing to the wrong base and making too many outs on the basepaths. If we had a team full of Espinals, we’d have a lot more wins. He has a low strikeout rate with just as many walks as strikeouts and rarely has an unproductive at bat, especially with men on base. He’s also very solid defensively, no matter what position he’s playing. Key hit offensively today and key play on defense by getting the runner out in a rundown between 3rd and home and not letting the back runner advance to 3rd on the play. Too often for the Reds, it’s the little things that lead to losses that could have been wins.
IMHO, Espy has been the brightest spot on this team offensively. He plays good D, too.
I don’t see how Do It All Espinal doesn’t play on a regular basis SOMEWHERE at this point. Tito likes him so I kind of think he will. I DOUBT it will be at DH as another manager we know used to do. His defense is too valuable.
I think probably 3B regularly especially if Marte doesn’t start hitting again regularly. I hope Marte does but not sure he will. I think Espinal should be in the everyday lineup though. I think hitting 2nd, move Mclain down in the order somewhere until he potentially starts hitting again.
Espinal can be in the rotation of position players giving guys a day off when needed and that’s how he can stay in the lineup. For right now while Marte is out it could very well be 3B as you said Jeremiah. Lux has to get ABs too somewhere. Lux, as far as what I’ve seen, is not nearly as bad defensively as some think and that goes for his arm too.
Espinal had the one and only RBI and is batting .333. It’s elementary he needs to be playing every day. Taking the place of any sub .200 hitting player is just so basic.
Lux, Trevino, Marte really struggling hitting the last 6-8 days or so statistically. Blake Dunn 0 for his last 15 with 10 strikeouts. He’s really struggling . Really only Espinal and De La Cruz hitting recently, Steer ok in some sense, Fraley getting on base a little. I thought Friedl was doing better but looking at his stats not too good either the last week or so.
The whole team hitting wise just seems to go south for periods of time. Not sure where it’s all heading offensive wise. Stephenson coming back I’m afraid may have cut down a bit on Trevino’s momentum. If Stephenson is another Steer situation where he doesn’t hit for a month you’d have to start questioning a bit the front office moves the Reds are making.
This is still not a fundamentally sound team.
Yep, this. ^^^^
You gotta give a little credit where it’s due: Chris Sale has a long track record of excellent pitching performance. Reds might be scuffling a bit, but trying to hit his high 90s FB and 20mph-less slider combo is not a good recipe for breaking out of your hitting funk.
Why we used to have experienced human editors and proofreaders:
He ended the game with a line drive into the left field single into corner as the Braves walked it off for a 2-1 win.
Pobody’s Nerfect.
But I’ll tell ya what – if you’re willing to pay to hire a an experienced editor and proofreader, which probably would run you about $75,000 a year, let me know. We’ll figure out a way for you to do so.
McClain absolutely screwed up. he’s the cutoff man, so why is he lining up with second base? Once he caught the ball, why does he hesitate before throwing home?
These are little league mistakes. Send him to Louisville and have him think his poor play over. Fraley too.
Accountability matters. We hear about it, but they keep doing the same dumb things.
Absolutely correct. People keep saying it Fraley’s fault. The fault is on McClain for not being lined up with home plate. Fraley is throwing to the cutoff man. The infield should be yelling to McClain to throw home. You can blame Fraley all you want it’s not his responsibility to line up the cutoff man. I love McClain but that is fundamental 101. If he’s lined up right Fairchild is out by 2 steps. Same stuff as last year that costs tis team.
The first basemen is the cutoff man to home. Fraley screwed up. McLain is getting lined up as the cutoff man to third base, in case the ball goes to the wall and Fairchild easily scores. That is baseball 101. That is why McLain hesitated…he was surprised by the throw coming into him.
@DW – Correct again. Maybe this is why some never made it past Little League. The 1st baseman is the cutoff for home on balls to RF and CF.
Yeah I thought in that case the right fielder just kind of launches it towards the first baseman and he’s supposed to be there ready to fire on home. I wonder was Steer in the right place on the play?
A frustrating ‘head case’ type loss. It’s the 9th. inning and you’re leading 1-0. With a runner on first and a base hit to rightfield, Fraley throws to second base instead of home plate to cut off the tying run. Until the Reds get an everyday outstanding right fielder with a rifle arm and a shutdown closer, I don’t see this team as competitive in the NLC come September. The Reds have some talent, but they don’t seem to have a leader.
It’s not Fraley’s fault. He’s throwing to the cutoff man. That is all on McClain. I played shortstop my whole life. The outfielder throws to where the cutoff man is lined up. The whole infield should be yelling to throw home.
Yep. Communication was not there.
Cutoff from RF to home is the 1st baseman. Fraley threw to the wrong person, which is why Fairchild was waved home.
Again, the cut-off man is the 1st baseman.
Yep, I played 2B in little league, first thing I learned is 1st baseman is the cutoff man for RF if runners in scoring position. I.E. RF throughs to 1st baseman who should be lined up between the RF position and home plate. IF no one in scoring position then the cutoff man is 2B for any plays to 2B or 3B (if no runners on or runner on 1st, unless RF back to infield, i.e. ball to the wall, then again cutoff is now 1B to keep runner on 1st from scoring).
I had cleted, but my wife said that McLain was over towards first base when Fraley threw. If that is the case, does it matter whether it was MM or Steer who caught it? My guess is that McLain has a better arm, so had he not delayed, they would likely have gotten the guy at the plate.
I’m going to say this 1 more time. Fraley comes up throwing to the cutoff man which is McClain. Steer should be yelling to McClain where the throw is going. Fraley is not coming in on the ball and throwing a runner out from second where steer would be the cutoff in the infield. He is near the warning track which is why McClain should be out there getting the throw and steer should be yelling him where to throw. Steer is not the cutoff man. He cuts balls on plays at the plate not when fraley is running away from the play that’s why you have a second baseman and a shortstop. I’ve played the position my whole life high school and college. So tell me I do not know fundamentals, whoever keeps saying fraley is wrong, no you are wrong.
The cutoff man is 1B Randoux, even little leaguers learn this. RF cutoff is ALWAYS 1B if runners on base. Fraley has to choose which cutoff to throw to, but any RF knows to throw to the 1B in that situation.
Now, that said, even after Fraley’s mistake, it seems the Catcher was not yelling at McClain to throw to home, that or McClain couldn’t hear it (wouldn’t be surprising, crowd cheering). So you’re partially correct.
@ Michael E. No the first baseman is not always the cutoff man. If there is s runner on 1st and it is an extra base hit, the 2nd baseman goes out as the cutoff man and the first baseman is behind the second baseman as the second cutoff man if the throw is offline. The first baseman does not run to the outfield to get a relay throw. I don’t know what planet you guys are on but you are dead wrong. Look it up. There are tandem relays on extra basehits that doesn’t involve the first baseman as the front cutoff man. I don’t need a refresher course because I know I’m right. Even McClain admitted after the game he was in the wrong spot.
@Randoux – You are most certainly incorrect. If the ball goes to the wall and there is no play at the plate, then the 2B goes out to be the relay guy for a play at 2nd/3rd, with the SS being the backup relay guy.
In this case there was a play at the plate, the ball didn’t go to the wall, so the throw should go to Steer towards the plate. The reason the 3rd base coach sent Fairchild, is because Fraley threw it to the wrong person…not towards the real cutoff man Steer, towards the plate.
I liked Wynns at 1B. I hope Marte is okay but wont try to “rush” his recovery, if ya know what I mean.
Don’t see it mentioned here but apparently in the postgame, Tito said Marte is going to be evaluated today to see what is going on with his “side”.
Turns out he had been having intermittent side pain since being hit by a pitch at Louisville, and it flared Tuesday during BP.
Yeah I heard that. Interesting that the Bats play at 11 a.m. today. Who or who’s not in the lineup may tell us something.
Ivan Johnson would bring a lot of the same package as Callahan plus being a switch hitter. For several weeks his OPS was in the same vicinity as Calllihan’s but he has been slumping a bit lately. However Tuesday he had a grand salami.
They would need a 40 man slot for him, but Callihan is not going to be in game shape within 60 days and could be moved to the 60 day IL
Excuse my spelling. On a tablet soft keyboard with very aggressive auto check and change
Bats lineup for midday.Wednesday game has just posted on X. Hinds is not in it. Benson is.
Hinds has been in the lineup EVERY GAME that I know of playing CF and hitting 4th. That’s very interesting to say the least wouldn’t you say?
Bats broadcast just said this is only the second time Hinds was not in the starting lineup but that one game he did get in to. Said nothing about him not being there. Maybe they don’t know. lol Taking a HOT hitter out of the lineup would probably not be a good idea.
Habits manifest themselves when the pressure is on. The game moves fast (even baseball) and players have to fall on their habits. Bad habits are broken and good habits are formed with practice. Perfect practice. Repeatedly. Over and over and over and over again. These guys have been playing baseball a long time. Most of these guys have been in the Reds organization for a good while and most of them have had more than one manager and several different coaches. Just. Sayin.
bingo. From top to bottom, this organization is a disaster. Just look at the W/L records at every level,
you get what you put up with. Ownership doesn’t care a lick.
One thing that I havent been able to help but notice is that not many, if any of our young players have done much winning at all professionally even prior to hitting the Bigs. Maybe MiLB isnt about winning, but that still says something to me.
Perhaps an organizational mindset that pitchers pitch, hitters hit, and whatever happens on the bases and in the field between times is just filler till the next chance to pitch or hit?
WLW booth was talking about Steer’s role in the 9th inning to be shouting out to MattyMc what to do. A second’s hesitation likely cost the run.
*HEAVY SIGH*
Still running on STINK. FISH. POT!!!
One can properly trace the problem back to Fraley.
Why is he throwing to 2b?
He can’t make the throw to home?
Fraley’s low baseball IQ shows up time and again.
Well past time to move on.
And time to change the focus on drafting infielders and hoping to convert them to outfielders.
The hit was a SINGLE, not a double. Fraley threw to the right base to keep the force in order. The fault squarely falls on whomever didn’t watch Fairchild and communicate to McLain.
I agree with you Sultan. Fraley was throwing to the cutoff man in hopes of keeping the winning run out of scoring position because there was no anticipation of the man from first coming all the way around to score on a ball fielded short of the track. And if the Reds infield had been alert either Stu would have gone back to third or been out by 20 feet at home.
First, Fraley hit the cutoff man. I don’t think McLain was standing in the best position, but either way that’s not on Fraley.
Second, “low baseball IQ” – seriously??
The low baseball IQ is most of the people on this site. Fraley threw to the right person. It was Steer and others who never bothered to let McLain know Fairchild was going home. Even Cowboy called it out but yet you all seem to know everything from your couch. This site is getting worse and worse everyday.
When I saw the play live my first reaction was Fraley was trying to keep another runner from scoring position throwing to 2B thinking that there was probably no way there was a play at the plate. It seems as though Fairchild trying to score from that hit all the way from 1B caught everyone off guard so lack of alertness/communication was the problem.
I can’t believe how many people here don’t know that the cutoff from right field (and center field) to home is the 1st baseman. The 2nd baseman covers 2nd in case the batter is going to 2nd. Steer can either cut to home, cut to 2nd, or hold the ball if nobody is advancing.
Once the 3rd base coach saw Fraley’s throw not going towards the plate, he was free to send Fairchild home.
1st baseman IS the cutoff man to home for sure. The confusion came as to where to throw the ball. lol One thing for sure a runner on 1B should never be able to score on a hit like that.
With you VA, RF cutoff man if runner has a chance to go home is ALWAYS the 1B lined up between RF and home plate. ALWAYS. ALWAYS. I am scratching my head over these comments. On any given hit to RF, there are usually TWO cutoff options, the 1B and the 2B. If you’re conceding the run, you throw it to 2B, but in this case, obviously were shouldn’t have been so Fraley made a mistake. Second mistake was apparently no one hollering to throw home (usually hollering 4 or home).
One of my favorite phrases from an NBA color analyst I often listen to is to “know your personnel.” What he means is that it is important for defensive players to adjust their mindset to the skillset of the offensive players.
There is no excuse for Fraley to have not anticipated Stuart Fairchild would be a threat to score from 1B on a double. He’s a former teammate with raw speed in the lower 90th percentile. He’s on a major league team primarily because he is fast. The Braves used him as a pinch runner because he is fast.
One more note, from reading the comments, some of you didn’t watch the play or didn’t watch closely. Harris arrived at 2B as the ball arrived to McLain … it was a double all the way. In a 1-0 ballgame, the priority has to be preserving the lead. Fraley ran a long way to stop the ball. Harris is a top 80 percentile runner. Again, know your personnel.
I guess I missed it being a double all the way. If that’s the case the ball should have definitely gone towards home with the first baseman being the cutoff. I don’t remember it being that deep in the outfield.
I just went back and watched it again. The ball was hit in the RF corner. Both McLain and Steer should have been lined up with the outfielder and home plate. Neither one was in the correct position. McLain started to go there but changed his mind and lined up towards 2B. That was a mistake. EDLC had 2B bag covered anyway. Steer should have been lined up in the infield and McLain in the outfield grass. McLain being where he was may have confused Fraley but one might argue that Fraley could have at least thrown towards Steer who was standing near the 1B bag. The whole thing was just a mess. Wrong positioning and no communication.
@Melvin, good summation … that play was a mess and at a critical point in the game.
All is not lost! We have a true ACE pitching today.
There’s no point in blaming the pitching. Sure, Pagan gave it up, but it’s hard to win games 1 – 0. We need to generate more offense, plain and simple.
Hopefully Hays is back on Friday, and Marte is feeling better.
1) Friedl (CF), 2) Espinal (LF), 3) EDLC (SS)
4) Hays (RF), 5) Lux (1B), 6) McLain (2B)
7) Marte (3B), 8) Stephenson (DH), 9) Trevino (C)
C Wynns, INF Steer
OF Fraley, OF Benson
McLain needs some sort of a move to jolt him back. Espinal has been too productive to not be a starter at this time. Benson up over Dunn to give us some LH pop off the bench.
The thing that got me upset with Pagan is he walked the first batter AGAIN. And that guy is the one who scored the run that tied the game. Reds still have a huge hole with closer. In as such they do not have one They crossed their fingers and hoped diaz might return to dominate form and we all saw how that turned out Hope does not win many ball games.
Getting a new closer isn’t as easy as most seem to think. Diaz clearly isn’t even the Diaz of last year, but even in spring people were ready to cast him away.
I think Ashcraft is our future closer, but he’s also very valuable in his current role.
“AGAIN”
Pagan’s walk rate is in the top 22 percent among MLB pitchers. His WHIP is 0.61, which is elite. Look, I was hoping the Reds would go out and sign Tanner Scott as a free agent this offseason, but the reality is that Pagan has been fine. Poor defensive execution cost the Reds the game last night. Walking the leadoff hitter didn’t help, but it’s hardly been the trend.
P.S. Luis Mey could eventually fill that role.
I gotta admit, I lost a little respect for McLain after listening to his post game interview. Took very little responsibility. That was an opportunity to identify himself as a leader and he missed it.
I’d like a show of hands, if all of these guys were I. Right field last night and went hitless on the night, which one do you trust to make the proper throw in that 9th inning scenario last night?
– Fraley
– Dunn
– hurtibese
– Benson
– Hinds.
We lose too many games due to defensive and base running lapses. With our pitching this year, we can win with better defense.
I think the Seattle Mariners made a am baseball move by picking up Leodys Taveras off waivers from the Rangers.
*smart baseball move
If you have played infield you know that McLain’s hesitancy to throw home was because his fellow infielders did not communicate or communicate loud enough.
EXACTLY. The cutoff man, with his back to the infield cannot know where the throw needs to go. It’s on the other infielders to be yelling that to him, as loud as possible.
That’s probably on Steer, who hasn’t played much 1B… but at the same time, that’s pretty basic to know, isn’t it? Yell to help your cutoff man know where to turn and throw? We even try to do this on my old-guys slo-pitch softball team.
I agree, but was instructed many times its on the catcher as that is the only player that can see the whole play in front of them to make a call. The 1B likely has his back to C and 3B, for a period of time, as he awaits the throw from RF as the cutoff to home plate.
I agree though, SOMEONE, even if the Reds don’t use the catcher, should have been clearly yelling 4, home, Ace, whatever the call is for home plate. If they were, and they might have been then McClain either got confused or didn’t hear it over crowd noise. Sometimes we as humans here something normally clear, but it confuses us. it’s possible that someone did yell the correct call, but McClain’s brain didn’t process it clearly in that moment. Usually (at least for me) you have a plan in your mind each at bat. Like, ball hit to right outfield, I am cutoff for 2B/3B plays. Ball hit to left outfield, I am covering 2B.
Steer is then to be thinking, ball hit to right outfield, I am primary cutoff for play at home plate, lineup with RF and listen for call from catcher (cut, let it through, if cut which base, 3b/2b/hold it). If hit to center or right field, I am likely backing up the cutoff man on any overthrow (over EDLCs or McClains head lets say).
McClain has bobbled multiple balls and has been horrible at the plate. Even his outs are low velocity . Definitely not hitting the ball hard. Fraley for the past two years has just been trying to put the ball in play and is now mostly a singles hitter. Steer is not a 1B but really has no other position that he does play well. Dunn is not a major league ball player and Stephenson looks lost against any breaking ball . Marte and Hayes and Lux carried the offense so the last few games we cannot score with this AAAA line up
Cannot hurt to bring up Rodriguez (yes skip AAA) and Hinds at this point. They cannot be worse than what we have and will help our defense. Stewart should be at AAA.
On a positive note it seems as if Burns and Petty will help us at some point so time to trade Martinez for an OF
Play Espinal every day.
I can’t help but notice this team plays remarkably similar to the team Bell coached for the last few years.
Well, they are pretty much the same players.
I would not say the whole organization is a disaster, but I would say the whole organization is pretty mediocre.
The Reds are cold now, and the Braves are hot. I think they (the Reds) will find a way to lose today and lose tomorrow. At the end of the day (that is, the end of the season), the Reds will end up around .500 or a little better. Probably at least 10 or 15 games behind the Cubs.
They will not have Martinez next year, and will likely not have Hays.
In the next 30-60 days, Management will have to think about if they are competitive this year, or falling out of it (just pretenders). If not good enough, they have to think of what needs to be done to make the team better for 2026.
No organization is not a disaster but they don’t have the depth (not spending money) if a starter goes down (which they do quite often) to have decent backups. The problem was, is and will continue to be our team salary is ranked 21st out of 30 in spending. That’s six spots from being league AVERAGE. McClain is taking longer than hoped coming back from his injury. He was to be our second best hitter and a rival for our best hitter Elly. Spencer Steer not bouncing back from his injury. Candelario seems to no longer be able to hit a baseball. Hays is out for second time this year. Just when Marte was FINALLY getting his stroke back he is now out. CES we had high hopes for but he did not hit and now is on the IL. IMO with the team we currently have and how they are preforming we should not expect them to win and be pleasantly surprised when they do. When (if ever) we get back to full strength (hopefully in time) then we can realistically hope to challenge for the playoffs.
McLain made a mistake. It happens. Fairchild’s speed put pressure in the Red’s defense and they choked. As far as Mclain’s offense is concerned, we need to remember he is coming off major surgery. It will take a while for him to get back to where he was in 2023. He can’t get better on the bench.
The bigger issue is why can’t the Reds ever
advance a ghost runner?
Every time they go into extra innings I assume they are going to lose.
They’re strikeout machines, thats why. Yes, could bunt, but I’d guess only a couple of them are good bunters.
We need some .300 hitters or at least .280 that don’t k in the triple digit range, even if it means leading the league in doubles, but coming up near last in HRs.
Reds roster is not built for GABP.The Braves have 4 or 5 guys that will hit 25 homers or more and play in a big park.Those same guys may hit 35 or more playing at GABP.Reds biggest asset is team speed but you can’t steal first base.When this team gets it that homers will come sometimes just by accident and just go the other way or just put the ball in play as they do when they are going good then and only then will they become consistent major league hitters.I get it that Sale is good and when you face him and other good pitchers you have to move runners over go the other way or cut down on your swing to score against them.Last night they struck out 17 times and with the ghost runner on second with no outs your 3 and 4 strike out on 6 pitches when none of them being over 94 mph.That can not happen but it did and the game is over cause you knew the Braves would score.Reds are not home run hitters so they must put the ball in play and run.In the first inning a ground ball gets a run and in the 10th two ground balls probably scores a run.Striking out does nothing.Reds have no depth and no margin for error against anybody not named the Rockies.
Reds have chosen to go in the direction they are going and it may work out or it may not.The direction is will MM return to his 2023 numbers and its the same in regards to Friedl and Fraley.Will the often hurt CES ever stay on the field and if he does will he produce enough to get the job at first and now it appears Marte is favoring an injury he sustained at Louisville.Hays of course has hit when he played but the Reds knew his history when they signed him.This is way way way to many balls to juggle at one time but if it was my money and my team I would try Hinds and Benson over Friedl and Fraley today.Benson had a really good 2023 just like they did so why not give him a shot and we know about Hinds and his power.Reds have to do something to generate some offense IMO some how and some way.I send down our 4th and 5th outfielder today and bring them up.Waiting on all these players to start to hit or come off the IL is just not a plan at all
I agree some blame may lay on Steer’s shoulders, but most of the blame has to be on McLain. He should know the score, who’s running….. etc. Even if he throws home right away the runner who hit the ball won’t advance past second unless it’s a bad throw from McLain. He has to know he has to throw home right away
The blame starts with Fraley … if he threw to the proper cutoff man, the Reds likely would have nabbed Fairchild at the plate. Everything after that decision was a team trying to recover from his mistake.
@tj. 100% right. Fraley is not in charge of lining up the relay. The infielders are and McClain’s play was at home plate as the tying run. Steer should be behind him telling the play is at home. Fraley didn’t throw to the wrong cutoff man because there is only 1 cutoff man and that is McClain not steer on an extra base hit. If it was a single then steer becomes the cutoff man but apparently I have no idea what I’m talking about.
The center fielder should also have been directing the throw toward the plate, not toward second base.
Hinds is not in the lineup in AAA today
I suspect marte goes to IL today with Hinds called up and Espinal a regular at third with lux spelling hays in LF and DH friday
Hurtubuise goes back friday to AAA
Yeah. Jim and I were talking about that. I hope if Hinds does come up that he’s in the lineup on regular basis. It may be for Dunn instead of Marte.
@ Melvin, Thanks for rewatching the play from last night. You just proved my point that I have been yelling about all day. It was a double all the way and McClain is the cutoff man and steer is in the infield lining him up as the 2nd cutoff man in the infield. Thank you because people keep telling me I have no baseball IQ. I played shortstop my whole life and coached, McClain was always the cutoff man on that play not the first baseman.
Just finished watching the Bats. Hinds did not show up in any part of the game so he may be on his way to Atlanta.
If McLain, not Steer, is the cut-off man for a play going to the plate, then why was he near second base and not lined up with the plate? Fraley’s choice was either Steer or McLain, but it’s McLain’s job to be in the correct position, right? Clearly, he wasn’t. The shortstop had second base covered on the play to prevent an advance of the runner on first. To me, this one is on McLain – out of alignment and hesitating on the throw. Who was vocally directing things on the infield? Who in the outfield? Lack of fundamentals, including poor communication. (Feel free to correct me if Steer was the cut-off man. That puts the problem back on Fraley/Steer.) If I’m in center field, and I played that position, I’m screaming to throw the ball toward home, not toward second base.
Still waiting for evidence of those 5-10 wins predicted for Tito over DB’s record.
When Stephenson was called up I posted that the Reds really needed another 0.100 hitter in the lineup. After Stephenson’s double in his first AB, some poster called me out, wondering where I was. I did respond saying I didn’t think 4-5 ABs was an adequate sample size.
BTW, what is Stephenson hitting presently as the Reds enter the third game of the Atlanta series?
People want Benson banned from ever being called up again because he had 4 Ks in his one game appearance so far. Where does that put TySteve after his masterful 5 K performance last night. Maybe a visit to the Arizona leagues?
Marte to the IL
Hinds is called up
That’s 6 weeks minimum so it next man up but if Hinds is up he must play against all lefties and righties.
Seem to have the same problem as last year, call Hinds up but play Fraley, who’s done nothing. I don’t care who is pitching. You can’t platoon a young right handed bat they just won’t get enough at bats.