Reds Split with the Giants
Issue 11: India and Ashcraft back to form, Willy Beamin' and Andrew Abbot
And we’re back! Sorry for the extended absence - I went on vacation last weekend and, I’ll be honest, wasn’t supremely motivated to write about the Brewers 5 wins out of 6 games against the Reds. One good thing that came from the stretch against the Brewers was Graham Ashcroft’s seeming resurgence as an effective pitcher, and Brandon Williamson gaining an even stronger foothold in the rotation with more reliable starts.
On to things that happened more recently. The Reds split their four-game set with the Giants after losing the first two games. Although it would have been nice to gain something from the series, splitting against a very good Giants team is not anything to be too upset with, especially when they had to break a six-game skid to do so.Â
The pitching staff seems to be finding a rhythm. Brandon Williamson, Graham Ashcraft, and Andrew Abbot all threw at least 6 innings, and Abbot threw 8 innings of shutout baseball in his start Thursday. Seeing the offense getting back on it’s feet after a brutal stretch along with the pitching improvement gives me hope. The Reds sit only 2.5 games out of first place in the Central despite losing two series in a row to Milwaukee.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand was finally called up from Triple A, and looks to be following in the steps of McLain, Elly, Benson, and Andrew Abbot - performing well and looking like he belongs immediately.
Song of the Day
Giants @ Reds Recap
LIL’ RED MACHINES:
Andrew Abbot: 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 6 K, 2 BB
Jonathan India: 7—13, 1 HR, 2 2B, 2RBI, 2 R
Will Benson: 4–13, 2 HR, 2 2B, 1 SB, 6 RBI, 3 R
Monday 7/17
Giants 4 - 2 Reds
Brandon Williamson pitched a decent game, going 4 innings and only giving up 2 runs, but the Reds offense just could not get going. The two runs came off solo homers from India (who had a 3 hit day) and McLain. India’s 7 total bases on 3 hits for the day were an encouraging sign at least—hopefully signaling the end of his almost month-long slump.
Tuesday 7/18
Giants 11 - 10 Reds
Every batter in the Reds starting lineup got a hit in this game, but it wasn’t enough. Two notable events: Joey Votto hit his 350th career home run and Christian Encarnacion-Strand got his first MLB hit, a go-ahead 3 run homer in the 5th inning.
Luke Weaver threw only 2.2 innings, striking out 6 but giving up 4 runs. He looked set to have his best start yet but was forced to exit the game after a hard line drive hit him directly in the elbow. The bullpen had a rare shaky game, unable to stop the barrage of runs, and the Reds fell by only one run.
TJ Friedl had an amazing catch in the 8th inning that saved two runs to keep the Reds close, and although it didn’t end up mattering, it is certainly worth pointing out.
Wednesday 7/19
Giants 2 - 3 Reds
To protect myself from jinxing it, I won’t say that Graham Ashcraft is back quite yet, but he certainly has pitched well recently. In Wednesday’s game he threw 6 innings and only gave up 2 runs and 5 hits. He put himself in some tough spots early in the game, but was able to nut up and push through to avoid catastrophe.
All three of the Reds’ runs came on a home run from Will Benson’s home run in the 3rd inning. If you ask me, he’s without a doubt been best nine-hole hitter in the league for the past two months.Â
Thursday 7/20
Giants 1 - 5 Reds
Andrew Abbott, as the kids say these days, ‘twirled a gem’. He threw 8 innings, gave up 0 runs and only one hit. Against a real-deal offense no less. And an umpire behind the plate who refused to be consistent in his zone for either pitcher. He was able to pin the corner of the zone any time he wanted and got a ton of swing-and-miss.
Luke Maile had three hits, the first a two-run homer to put the Reds on the board. He grew up in Cincinnati rooting for the Reds, and he had a great night at the plate, both hitting and calling pitches.
Will Benson, Jonathan India, and CES contributed RBIs to the cause as well, and this was a fairly comfortable watch for Reds fans.
Last note: Elly de La Cruz threw the ball 99.5 mph from the outfield grass to home on an infield assist during this game. That broke his own record from just a couple days ago for hardest-thrown infield assist in the majors this year.
Looking Ahead
The Arizona Diamondbacks and Corbin Carroll come to Great American Ballpark this weekend— July is not an easy month for Cincy. The Diamondbacks are another young team with an explosive offense.
The Brewers play the Braves this weekend, so the Reds need to win the series and hopefully take advantage of some Milwaukee losses to start closing the 2.5 game gap in the standings. The Reds will get an opportunity to play the Brewers next week, so it would be good to go into that series within striking distance of the division.
The Diamondbacks, like the Reds, have only won two games since the all star break and are fighting to regain their previously held division lead.Â