Reds Take 2 from Padres, Is the Pitching Situation Looking Up?
Issue #8: Matt McLain is the best rookie in baseball, but Spencer Steer is the best rookie on the Reds. Make sense?
Photo Credits @Reds on twitter
The Reds have won 7 of their last 8 series! The only series loss in that span is to the Braves, who are probably the best team in baseball. Certainly they are the best team in baseball right now. This is a longer issue for whatever reason, so I’ll keep the intro quick. The Reds did what they should do against a struggling team - that is, make the struggles worse by beating them in a series. It’s what good teams do to… less good teams.
There’s a new section that will be a highlight for a player during a game or series. They will be called the Lil Red Machines.Â
Song of the Day
Padres @ Reds Recap
Series Notes
Jonathan India is starting to look like himself again. He is still adjusting to batting third in the lineup, but it does look like he is slowly turning the corner. Tyler Stephenson is also looking like the player we got to know in 2021, putting together good at bats and balanced swings.
The Reds scored 16 runs in this series. Of those 16 runs, 14 were batted in with two outs.Â
Joey Votto played his 2000th game as a Red this weekend.
Alexis Diaz now has 23 saves.
Andrew Abbot has a 1.21 ERA in six big-league starts. That’s second lowest for any pitcher in the Modern Era behind only Tom Browning.
Friday 6/30
Reds 7 - 5 Padres
Lil Red Machines:
Graham Ashcraft; 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 7 K, 3 H, 2 BB
Spencer Steer;Â 2-3, 1 HR, 2 BB, 2 RBI, 1 R
Tyler Stephenson; 2-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R
Graham Ashcraft is back. If that jinxes it, I’m sorry. He threw 6.2 innings, struck out 7 Padres, and allowed only 1 run. This is a lineup that has struggled in 2023, going against every pre-season prediction for a roster full of star-caliber players. Fernando Tatis Jr., Juan Soto, and Manny Machado — Ashcraft was able to make the turn after his rocky start going against a team full of league-proven talent. Maybe I’m convincing myself, but I think it looked like a sign of much better pitching ahead from Ashcraft. First his breaking pitches were going where he placed and moving exactly how he intended. He induced a lot of weak ground balls and fly-outs. Second, his demeanor on the mound was comfortable and confident. He was composed in between pitches. The game was running on his rhythm. Â
Scoring
Top 6th: Trent Grisham homered to left field to break the scoreless tie.Â
Bottom 6th: The Reds come to bat, and both India and McLain strike out. Elly De La Cruz hits a routine fly ball to left-center field that Grisham loses in the sun, and Elly reaches second base on the error. Jake Fraley ties the game with a sneaky golf-shot into the no-mans-land that is short right center field. Elly is quick enough to score standing. 1-1
Bottom 7th: Tyler Stephenson hit a no-doubter to left field on a sweet swing and put the Reds up by one. 2-1 Reds.
Top 9th: Alexis Diaz comes in to pitch for Cincinnati, and gives up a hit and a bunt-hit. Two sac-flies later and the Padres score a run to tie.Â
Bottom 9th: The Reds fail to respond, we go into extras. 2-2
Top 10th: Ian Gibaut gives up the ghost-runner run on a Tatis Jr. single to left field, and another on a Juan Soto double to left field. 2-4 Padres.Â
Bottom 10th: Luke Maile and TJ Friedl both put the ball in play but are out. Matt McLain gets down to his final strike before hitting a line-drive home run to center field. He’s been going yard dead center like a day-job lately. And picking up side-shifts coming up clutch. Game tied 4-4.
Top 11th: Gary Sanchez scored the ghost runner from second base on a high-bouncing ball that went all the way to short center field. India probably could have fielded it, but it would have been a tough play. 4-5 Padres.Â
Bottom 11th: Elly De La Cruz responds by doubling to right field, scoring India. Kevin Newman moved Elly to third on a sacrifice, and Elly De La Cruz was called out at the plate after Nick Senzel hit a grounder and he tried to come home. He was blocked from touching the plate by an inch, or two at most. It was a strange play, some bad luck for Elly and good baseball by Xander Bogaerts and Gary Sanchez. Two outs. Spencer Steer comes to the plate and tattoos the second deck of left field onto the baseball for a walkoff home run! Reds win 7-5.
After the walkoff, Will Benson and Elly De La Cruz combined for what may be the most well executed gatorade bath of all time. It’s beautiful. Usually would-be-drenchers bite off more than they can chew with a full cooler, but Elly and Benson both come in at 6-foot-5. They aren’t getting manhandled by a measly 100 pounds of water.
Photo Credit @Reds on twitter
It was good to see the offense pick Alexis Diaz up after he gave up a lead - they haven’t had to deal with that situation often as a team, but the offense didn’t break stride.
Saturday 7/1
Reds 5 - 12 Padres
Lil Red Machines:
Matt McLain; 2-4, 2 2B, 1 BB, 1 RBI, 1 R
Jonathan India; 1-3, 1 HR, 1 BB, 4 RBI, 1 R
Brandon Williamson had a nice start, but the Reds’ bullpen had a rare off day and gave up 11 runs after the 5th inning. Not worth giving a full run-down for such a blowout, but Jonathan India did hit a grand slam in the bottom of the 7th inning that made me believe the team was going to pull out some magic against a huge gap.
Sunday 7/2
Reds 4 - 3 Padres
Lil Red Machines:
Andrew Abbot; 7.2 IP, 1 ER, 12 K, 4 H, 1 BB
Spencer Steer; 2-3, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 RBI, 1 R
Tyler Stephenson; 1-1, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Andrew Abbot is the real deal. He punched out a career high 12 batters and threw a career high (and season high for Reds pitching) 7.2 innings. He looked incredibly strong through 101 pitches, exiting the game in the 8th inning after a Ha-Song Kim homer in the 8th inning. He received a well-deserved standing ovation for an incredible start.
We also got to see Stuart Fairchild back up on the big league roster! I was glad to see him - he was performing well when he got sent back to Triple A due to roster-crunch.
Scoring
Bottom 4th: Joey Votto gets hit by an inside fastball. Spencer Steer gets a middle-middle fastball and takes it halfway up the upper deck in left field. He is locked in right now, and I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him take a bad swing. 2-0
Top 8th: Ha Seong Kim and Fernando Tatis Jr. go back-to-back off of Andrew Abbot and Lucas Sims, tying the game 2-2.
Bottom 8th: Stuart Fairchild pinch-hit for Jake Fraley and worked a walk after looking at two strikes to start his at-bat. Tyler Stephenson also pinch-hit for Joey Votto and hit an opposite-field home run to show some fortitude put the Reds up 4-2.
Top 9th: Alexis Diaz gives up one run on a Jake Cronenworth RBI double to the left-center gap, but is able to hold on and get the win!
Looking Ahead
The Reds start a four game set today at 6:05 against the Nationals in Washington D.C. The Reds need to take care of business this week and head into their series against the Brewers with their huge momentum fully intact.Â
The Nationals are still early in their rebuild after trading Juan Soto to the Padres last year. They are 34-39, last in the AL East. The Reds need to make the most of this series as the Brewers and Cubs enter a four game set this week as well. Big implications for the NL Central in the final week before the break.
Luke Weaver goes tonight, and I am curious to see if newly-reinstated Derek Law could possibly serve as an opener to pitch the first inning. I’d like to see them try at least once as we’ve seen Weaver’s first inning struggles plenty this year.