Another week is in the book for our Cincinnati Reds, and it was a strange one. We saw our squad post back-to-back shutouts, blow MULTIPLE early leads (again), and we were also on the receiving end of a no-hitter, which I refuse to talk about anymore for the rest of this article. Let’s dig into some of the highlights (and lowlights) from this past week, what the Reds and individual players can do better, and the schedule for this upcoming week.
Monday, May 6th-Reds 12 Giants 4
The Cincinnati Reds defeated the Giants to split the series with them at Great American Ballpark. The Reds split the series despite averaging 9.25 runs a game, which ultimately tells you just how shitty and unlucky it is being a fan of this team. DeSclafani picked up the win by going 6 innings and giving up three earned runs and four runs total. My lord and savior, Nick Senzel, solo homered in his first two at-bats of the game and then struck out his next three at-bats. Joey Votto and Eugenio Suarez each posted a two-hit game, and one of Suarez’ hits was a two RBI blast in the 1st.
The biggest highlight from this game was probably the Reds’ MLB record that they set in the 6th inning.
Tuesday, May 7th-Reds 0 A’s 2
Tyler Mahle only gave up one run through 6 innings of work. That’s all I’m saying about this game.
Wednesday, May 8th-Reds 4 A’s 5
The Reds got off to a 4-2 lead through 2 innings, but the offense slowed down and wasn’t able to produce anymore. The A’s tied it up in the 5th, and no one scored again until Stephen Piscotty’s walk-off homer in the 13th off of Robert Stephenson.
Senzel and Peraza posted two-hit games, and rookie Josh VanMeter was able to collect his first MLB hit.
But despite all of this, the Reds lose and sealed the series loss.
Thursday, May 9th-Reds 3 A’s 0
Cincy avoids the sweep and it’s all thanks to the solid outing we got from Tanner Roark. Roark threw 6 innings of shutout baseball and let Amir Garrett and David Hernandez combine to throw the next two innings before Raisel Iglesias picked up his 7th save of the season. It was a pretty boring game in all honesty, because there wasn’t any action after Derek Dietrich’s two run blast in the 1st Suarez’ solo shot in the 3rd. The main thing here though is we avoided the sweep.
Friday, May 10th-Reds 7 Giants 0
We scored 4 in the 2nd and 3 in the 9th. Other than that, this was another pretty boring game. My sweet baby boy and 2019 NL Cy Young Winner Luis Castillo struck out 11 in 6 innings of shutout baseball. Senzel picked up his first career triple to drive in two runs and Suarez hit a ground rule double to score another run, but the Cincinnati Reds basically played small ball this game by driving in three RBI singles.
Zach Duke, Michael Lorenzen, and Wandy Peralta all made relief appearances in the shutout.
Saturday, May 11th-Reds 5 Giants 4
Cincy jumped out to a 3-1 lead after the 1st inning, but the Giants took the lead after a three-run 4th inning, which led to Anthony DeSclafani’s early exit. Suarez’ solo shot in the 5th tied it up for us, and the Reds regained the lead in the 7th thanks to a Dietrich bloop single.
Amir Garrett picked up his second win of the season and Raisel Iglesias recorded his 8th save.
Sunday, May 12th-Reds 5 Giants 6
This was probably the biggest headache game of the week. With a chance to sweep the series, the Reds shit down their leg and pissed everyone off.
Tyler Mahle took a 4-2 lead into the 6th inning. Then Brandon Belt happened.
Cincinnati regained the lead in the 8th thanks to an RBI walk by Barnhart. But this was the only run that the Reds would score in the 8th despite having the bases loaded with no outs. Stupid,
The Giants capitalized on Cincy’s missed opportunity with a lead-off single by Evan Longoria and then Pablo Sandoval doubled to move Longoria to third. After a Williamson groundout scored Longoria, Kevin Pillar singled to score Sandoval. Bingo Bango Bongo, the Red’s lose and don’t get the sweep.
In a week where the Reds could’ve easily gone 6-1, they instead finish 4-3. A typical week as a Cincinnati sports fan, where shit isn’t THAT bad but it could always be better.
Who am I kidding? This life is miserable.
The Cincinnati Reds return home for a two series home stand. Unfortunately, we have to play the Cubs and the Dodgers. This is our first time playing the Cubs this season, and our second series against the Dodgers (lost series 1-3 in LA). The Reds will have an off day to start the week, and we’ll see Tanner Roark kick us off against our divisional foe on Tuesday May 14th, against Kyle Hendricks.
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