Reds Take 2 of 3 from the Orioles, City Connect Laundry on Friday
Issue #7: Andrew Abbott is the Stopper, TJ Friedl and Will Benson Take Their Turns Powering the Rally Reds
Another series win! The Reds have won 6 of their last 8 series for a June record of 17-9. Taking 2 of 3 from the Baltimore Orioles, who are 48-31 and the first wild card team in the American League, feels like a big moment in this season. I don’t think many people before the season had this series circled as play-off implication baseball, but here we are in June and they are two of the best young teams in the league.
I was glad that while playing two good teams in the Braves and the Orioles that the team didn’t dwell on the loss of the win streak. As I think about it now, it shouldn’t surprise me. The team rallies when they are down in games, and it makes sense that a couple losses in a row wouldn’t crumble morale. Not when Matt McLain and TJ Friedl have anything to say about it.
The Reds have 29 comeback wins this season. Wednesday night was the 29th, and it gave them the MLB lead in the category over, you guessed it, the Baltimore Orioles. This is a test well-passed in my mind.
Song of the Day
Reds @ Orioles Recap
Monday 6/26
Reds 3 - 10 Orioles
Standouts:
Spencer Steer 3-3, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 R
In the Reds’ third straight loss, the deficiency in the starting pitching department made itself apparent. Brandon Williamson pitched two innings and gave up 3 runs on 2 hits and 4 walks. Maybe he can get a pass because it rained absurdly hard for a good bit before the delay was called. The game resumed two hours later and the Orioles offense came out hot.
They scored at least one run on every pitcher the Reds brought from the bullpen. Fernando Cruz gave up 1, Eduardo Salazar gave up 3, and Jake Wong gave up 3 in his major league debut. The bullpen has been great all year, but if the starters don’t start pitching 5 innings more regularly, the arms available from the pen will get burnt out. Performances like this will become more common.
All of the Reds runs were Spencer Steer RBI, who refuses to cool down. He had an RBI single in the first inning and a two-run blast in the 6th inning. He’s currently hitting .282 with an .861 OPS and 12 home runs. I think it really speaks to the offensive talent that he’s probably the fourth or fifth player you think of when you think of the Reds. He also has learned two new positions this year, playing 52 games at first base and more recently 7 in left field. He has been serviceable in left and was really getting the hang of first before Joey came back. He is an impressive player, and one you should watch closely.
He won’t get the same national coverage as Elly, but he is at this moment in time performing much more consistently and dependably. Its worth mentioning that he stole 8 bases in the month of June and has a big butt. The last part is irrelevant but its what Tabby noticed first about him, so maybe it’s worth including.
Tuesday 6/27
Reds 3 - 1 Orioles
Standouts:
Andrew Abbot 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 8 K, 3 BB
TJ Friedl 2-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 R
Matt McLain 2-4, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 R
Andrew Abbot continued his dominance on the mound in this game. He held the Orioles explosive offense to 1 run in his 6 innings pitched and collected his fourth win in 5 starts. He is currently crucial to a shambles of a rotation that the Reds are forced to run out each week. Through 5 starts, he has a 1.21 ERA.
The only run that the Orioles scored came on a sac fly in the second inning. Abbot stayed steady through four more innings and passed the baton to Lucas Sims, Buck Farmer, and Alexis Diaz to close the door on the Orioles offense.
The Reds offense on this night was made up entirely two guys: Matt McLain and TJ Friedl. In the 4th inning Friedl led it off with a beautiful bunt single(his league-leading 8th bunt hit) down the third base line, and McLain immediately doubled off the wall in dead center and scored Friedl from first. In the 6th inning McLain homered to center field, and then Friedl homered in the 8th to give the Reds a nice cushion for Alexis Diaz who secured his 22nd save of the season.
Wednesday 6/28
Reds 11 - 7 Orioles
Standouts:
TJ Friedl 3-5, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1SB, 3 R, 1 BB
Will Benson 3-5, 1 2B, 1 3B, 3 RBI, 3 R, 1 SB
Buckle in. Lots of runs here. I’ll keep it brief and point some things out at the end.
The Reds scored 3 in the top of the first off of Baltimore Pitcher Kyle Gibson. Elly De La Cruz singled and scored TJ Friedl from second after Friedl legged out an infield single and stole his 13th base. Jake Fraley singled and scored India from third, and Elly went first-to-third. Joey Votto collected an RBI fielders choice when Elly scored from third on a grounder to second. Fraley was out at second but Votto hustled to prevent the double play.
The Orioles responded in the bottom of the inning by scoring 4 runs off of Luke Weaver. Cedric Mullins scored on a Ryan O’Hearn single. The Orioles loaded the bases and Gunnar Henderson - one of the high-caliber rookies - cleared them with a triple into left center.
Will Benson lead off the top of the 2nd with a hard double down the right field line. TJ Friedl scored him from second with a soft single off the diving second baseman’s glove. McLain singled to right and then took second when TJ Friedl drew a throw going to third base. India joined the fielder’s choice RBI club with a groundout to short that scored Friedl. McLain went to third on an Elly ground out and then scored when Jake Fraley singled.
The score stayed 6-4 until the 8th. McLain, now with an RBI fielder’s choice as well, scored Benson from third on a bobbled ground out to first base.
In the bottom of the inning Buck Farmer gave up the three tying runs on an RBI double and a two-run homer blasted to right field. 7-7. Both teams failed to score in the 9th, although the Reds had a very good chance after Elly reached on an infield single, stole second, and went to third on a wild Nick Senzel line-drive-bunt over the pitcher’s head.
In the top of the 10th inning, Will Benson showed bunt on the first pitch, and then smashed a triple (Willy Beamin’, baby!) onto the warning track in right field, scoring Kevin Newman as the extra inning “ghost-runner” from second base. TJ Friedl yakked a homer to right field on a full count. I don’t think “yakked” is a word but it feels right for what he did.
Fernando Cruz gave up a single then struck out the side to end the game and give the Reds a series win against a very good team’s powerful offense.
A couple notes about this game:
David Bell needs to start using an opener with Luke Weaver. He gives up runs in the first inning of every start, and then usually locks it down after that. I think he could eat a lot more innings effectively if he simply didn’t have to pitch in the first.
Will Benson continued his STELLAR month. In June he is batting .351 with a 1.093 OPS with 4 homers, 2 doubles, 2 triples, and 5 stolen bases.
It took place on Brandon Phillips’ birthday.
Looking Ahead
The Reds get to bring out the City Connect jerseys again as they head back to Great American Ballpark for a series against the San Diego Padres. The Brewers won against the Mets on Thursday, meaning the Reds and Brewers go into the weekend each at 43-38 and tied for the NL Central Division.
The Padres are 37-44 and despite their outstandingly expensive star-studded roster are not currently a playoff team. They will into the weekend on a five-game losing streak desperate for wins. Manny Machado is embarrassed and the vibes are bad in Slam Diego right now.
With the players the Padres have, their offense is capable of turning it on any time, especially against a patchwork pitching rotation like the Reds’. I do think the Reds have a definite advantage in momentum (nice analysis, huh?) and when they inevitably come back any time the Padres take the lead, I think it’s likely that the already-fragile morale will crumble.
Ha-Seong Kim is a player to watch on San Diego. He is usually good for at least one incredible defensive play made easy per series. Often it’s more.
Andrew Abbot goes for the Reds against Seth Lugo on Friday night, so if you only watch one this weekend, that is the one to keep an eye on.
I’ll leave you with a picture from @Reds on twitter showcasing Matt McLain. The kid has been incredibly dependable in big moments from the first game he played.
