The Reds left Great American Ball Park strewn with dirty laundry.
It was a dirty mess — an error by Elly De La Cruz that led to a first-inning unearned run, baserunning blunders by De La Cruz and third base coach J.R. House and a controversial batter interference call on Austin Hays.
Mix in a struggle bus pitching performance by Reds starter Nick Martinez and a pair of home runs by Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh and it added up to an ugly night for the Reds.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
The controversial call?
The Reds, down 5-0, scored three runs in the seventh to get back into the game. De La Cruz singled off third baseman Ben Williamson to start the eighth — a potential game-tying or go-ahead inning.
With two strikes on Hays, De La Cruz broke for second and had it stolen. But on his swing follow-through, Hays got in the way of catcher Raleigh’s throw. Umpire Chris Segal immediately called interference and De La Cruz was called out.
Instead of a runner on second with one out, there were two outs and nobody on.
“Because of the situation of the game, I wanted to go out there and yell. And he (Segal) gave me a good explanation,” said Francona. “And I appreciated it.
“He said, ‘I know it sucks because Elly was safe easily, but he (Raleigh) had to alter his throw because his (Hays) body came across the plate,’” Francona added. “As much as I didn’t want to agree, he gave me a good explanation. It hurts in that part of the game, but I do respect the way he handled it.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
It all started on a negative note for the Reds on the game’s first pitch. Shortstop De La Cruz booted a routine grounder off the bat of Julio Rodriguez, De La Cruz’s fourth error this season.
Martinez threw a wild pitch and Rodriguez scored on Randy Arozarena’s two-out double. 1-0.
Seattle’s pesky Dylan Moore doubled with one out in the second and scored on Williamson’s single. 2-0.
Moore singled with one out in the fourth, his fifth hit in the first two games of the series, stole second and scored on J.P. Crawford’s two-out single. 3-0.
Raleigh homered in the fifth. 4-0. Raleigh homered again in the seventh off Taylor Rogers. 5-0.
So the Mariners scored one run in five different innings.
“They one’d us to death tonight,” said Francona. “Normally, when you stay away from a crooked number, you have a chance to win...like we did. They kept getting one.”
Seattle starter Bryson Miller was untouchable. He retired the first eight, six via strikeouts. He went five innings and gave up no runs and three hits while striking out eight.
But he had to leave after five with arm stiffness.
He features eight different pitches in his quiver. For example, Hays faced five pitches in his first at bat - sinker, slider, cutter, sweeper and splitter. Miller also throws a knuckle curve, a change-up and a four-seam fastball.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
On this night, he baffled the Reds mostly with the four-seamer while throwing 51 strikes during his 78-pitch night.
“His fastball was definitely getting by a lot of our guys,” said Francona. “That gave us some trouble.”
The mistakes?
Jose Trevino was on second with two outs in the third when TJ Friedl singled sharply to right. Third base coach House waved the not-so-fleet Trevino homeward and Luke Raley threw him out easily at home.
De La Cruz walked with one out in the fourth and stole second, putting him in scoring position. But not so wisely he broke early to try to steal third and was caught in a rundown.
Hays then singled and De La Cruz easily could have scored from second. It was not a banner night for De La Cruz.
Seattle manager Dan Wilson, the former Reds No. 1 draft pick as a catcher, brought in Troy Taylor, just off the injured list, to protect the 5-0 lead in the seventh.
He gave up three straight hits — a single by Gavin Lux, a single by Spencer Steer (0 for 19 at the time) and a two-run double by Christian Encarnacion Strand (4 for 42 at the time).
Carlos Vargas replaced Taylor and with one out Trevino singled home the third run of the inning.
When Friedl singled the Reds had runners on third and first with one out, down two runs.
But Matt McLain hit into an inning-ending double play.
“You got first and third with McLain up, I’ll take that,” said Francona. “I was happy with the way we battled back.”
Martinez is 0-3 with a 6.00 earned run average, but Francona hasn’t lost confidence.
“A couple of mistakes he really paid for,” said Francona. “I think he’s OK. I know his numbers aren’t where they will be, but he is going to be OK. He knows what he’s doing, his stuff is good...it’ll be OK.”
About the Author