Reds vs San Diego Padres Series Recap
That Chair Had a Family!
Frustration reached a boiling point in the Reds win against the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night. Injuries have plagued this team up to this point and last night was no exception. On the second pitch of the at bat, Reds Outfielder Jake Fraley took a 92 mile per hour fastball to his right hand. He would stay in the game to run the bases, but he would exit at the end of the half inning. Reds Manager David Bell, after walking back into the dugout after talking to home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt in between innings, would take all of his frustration out on a chair in the Reds dugout.
The team has had their share of hand injuries this season. 13 out of the 22 Reds’ hit by pitches this season have been either on the arm or hand, with Christian Encarnacion-Strand and TJ Friedl having missed extended amounts of time with hand injuries. David Bell explained his frustration post game saying “I don’t like to see our guys get hit—it messes with their career. It affects our team, but mostly it affects these individuals who are just trying to stay healthy and stay on the field.”
On a positive note, Left-handed pitcher Andrew Abbott has been dealing this season for Cincinnati. In the month of May, Abbott has been on fire with an ERA of 1.88 with 16 K’s and just 4 BB’s in 4 starts. Last night, Abbott would go 7 innings, allowing just 4 hits and striking out 2.
In the 2nd inning, Jonathan India would score on an error off a fly ball by Jacob Hurtubise to left field. India would roll off of home plate hopping up and limping towards the dugout, but he would remain in the game. Elly De La Cruz would follow up with an RBI double, scoring Will Benson. That would be all the runs the Reds would need. Fernando Cruz would pitch a scoreless 8th, striking out 2. Closer Alexis Diaz forced a groundball double play to cap off a scoreless 9th, giving the Reds a 2-0 victory.
WP: Andrew Abbott (3-4 2.68 ERA)
LP: Joe Musgrove (3-4 5.93 ERA)
SV: Alexis Díaz (8)
BOX SCORE STANDOUTS:
Andrew Abbott: 7IP 2K’s 4H
Elly De La Cruz: 2-4 RBI
Fernando Cruz: 1IP 2K
Could this win be a spark for the Cincinnati Reds? It has been a miserable month of May for the club, this being only their 4th win this month. The offense is still a concern. The Reds had 3 hits Tuesday, with none coming after 2nd inning.
Wednesday night, the Reds square off against righty Micheal King (3-4, 4.31 ERA, 29K’s)
Game 2
Padres even up the series 1-1
The Padres would jump to an early advantage in the top of the 1st inning. Newly acquired second baseman, Luis Arraez would homer to right field. The bottom of the inning would see Jeimer Candelario retaliate and hit a fence scraping home run to right, tying the game at 1.
The Reds defense, or lack there of, would be the story of the game. In the top of the 4th inning, Jonathan India would decide to throw home, instead of taking the sure out at first on a routine ground ball to second. That would score Jurickson Profar, giving the Padres a 2-1 lead. Fernando Tatis Jr would follow and hit an RBI single to right, giving the Padres a 3-1 lead.
Top 5, Profar would hit an RBI double. Tatis Jr would score making it a 4-1 game. Jake Cronenworth would follow with an RBI single, scoring Profar making it a 5-1 game. Reds starter Nick Martinez would only pitch 4.2 innings, giving up 5 earned runs on 8 hits and striking out 2. Brent Suter would pitch 1 inning giving up 1 run on 4 hits. The Padres would go on to score 2 more runs in the 6th to take a 7-1 lead.
Tyler Stephenson would hit a 2 RBI double in the bottom of the 6th inning cutting the tally down to 7-3 and that’s where the score would stay.
The Padres win 7-3 evening up the series 1-1. The Reds hope to end their 7 series losing streak with a win on Thursday.
WP: Michael King (4-4)
LP Nick Martinez (1-3)
BOX SCORE STANDOUTS:
Jeimer Candelario: 2-4 RBI, 2R
Tyler Stephenson: 1-4 2B, 2 RBI
The Reds will face Matt Waldron (2-5 5.00 ERA) on Thursday afternoon with Frankie Montas(2-3 4.37 ERA) looking to rebound from his last start vs the Dodgers.
Game 3:
The Reds look to put an end to their 7 series losing streak on Thursday. In the top of the 1st inning Manny Machado would hit a double to right field scoring Tatis, but an errant throw from right fielder Nick Martini would allow Jurickson Profar to score from 2nd. The Padres lead 2-0. Jeimer Candelario has been heating up in May after an abysmal April. Bottom 1 Candelario would hit an RBI triple, scoring Jacob Hurtubise following a stolen base. Reds trail 2-1. Candelario would later be thrown out trying to steal home on a double steal attempt, ending the inning. Montas would struggle in the 1st and 2nd inning but would later settle down. In the bottom of the 2nd, Jacob Hurtubise would get his first career RBI on a line drive single with the bases loaded. Elly De La Cruz would later be thrown out at home off a check swing bunt from Candelario, ending the inning score 4-2.
Bottom of the 6th, Nick Martini would hit a game tying 2 run home run. The score would remain tied and go into extra innings. Top of the 10th, with runners on 1st and 3rd, Fernando Tatis Jr would hit an RBI double scoring 1 pushing Luis Arraez to 3rd. Jake Cronenworth lifted a sac fly to right/center, scoring Arraez, giving the Padres a 6-4 lead. On that play, Nick Martini and Stuart Fairchild nearly collided as it seemed Martini was unaware of Fairchild’s presence, making it easier for Arraez to score. The Reds would go scoreless in the bottom of the 10th and the Padres would go on to win 6-4.
The Reds’ series losing streak extends to 8, as they have not won a series since April 21st vs the LA Angels. Reds starter Frankie Montas would go 6 innings, allowing 4 earned runs off 9 hits.
BOX SCORE STANDOUTS:
Jacob Hurtubise: 1-2 RBI, R, SB
Nick Martini: 2-4 2R HR
Fernando Cruz: 1IP, 3K
Alexis Diaz: 1IP 2K
The Dodgers roll into Great American Ball Park on Friday for a three game series as Cincinnati looks to put an end to a horrid month of May. The Reds sit at 20-30 and the Dodgers are 33-19. Cincinnati are losers 17 of their last 21 games. The Dodgers probable for Friday’s game is James Paxton. Paxton has pitched 3 consecutive quality starts, all Dodgers wins.
Reds Probable: Graham Ashcraft (3-3 4.25 ERA)
Dodgers Probable: James Paxton (5-0 2.84 ERA)
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