The Cincinnati Reds evened up their series in Baltimore with a 3-1 victory at Camden Yards on Tuesday. Cincinnati battled through a second consecutive night where weather delayed the contest for their first win in four days.
The Reds snapped a mild three-game skid coming off of their red-hot 12-game winning streak. Rookie starter Andrew Abbott turned in yet another quality start, and the Reds needed every bit of it.
Pitching
Abbott went six innings in 106 pitches, giving up just two hits, three walks and one run while striking out eight Orioles. He has been the Reds’ best pitcher since his debut on June 5 and his heroics were never more necessary than Tuesday night. Once Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo get healthy, the starting rotation will be in a really solid place. And if Graham Ashcraft can return to his early season form? Look out, National League.
The bullpen was steady once again on Tuesday night. Reliever Lucas Sims pitched the seventh inning and threw a scoreless one. Sims did walk two men, but struck out another and was able to work around the free passes to put up a zero.
Buck Farmer continued his solid season as he tossed a scoreless eighth inning. Farmer’s lone blemish was a double off the bat of Orioles third baseman Gunnar Henderson, who Farmer stranded one batter later.
To put the final nail in the coffin, Alexis Diaz came in and did what he has all season: win. Diaz made it interesting by hitting a batter and walking another, but he held on for his 22nd save in as many tries in 2023.
On the bump tomorrow is Luke Weaver as he faces off against Baltimore veteran Kyle Gibson.
Hitting
A 3-1 ballgame does not figure to feature too much offense. For most of the Reds’ lineup, Tuesday was a night to forget. Cincinnati had five hits as a team and four of them came from the first two slots in the batting order.
TJ Friedl singled and then hit a solo home run in the eighth inning from the leadoff spot. Friedl’s on-deck batter, Matt McLain had himself a good night at the plate as well. McLain had an RBI double in the fourth inning and a go-ahead solo home run in the sixth inning.
Other than McLain and Friedl, the only other Red to record a hit was Will Benson who singled in the fifth inning. Elly de la Cruz, Jonathan India, Joey Votto and many other all went hitless on the night and struck out a combined five times between the three of them. It was de la Cruz’s third consecutive hitless game as his skid has coincided with the Reds’ slight stumble.
The Rubber Match
Luke Weaver takes on Kyle Gibson in what should be an exciting matchup to decide the series on Wednesday. Weaver has notoriously got off to a bad start in many games this season, so the over may be in play if you are the gambling type. The over/under is currently set at 9.5, according to Caesar’s Sportsbook.
The latest prospect to be promoted by the Orioles, Jordan Westburg, has been off to a great start to his MLB career. In his first two games, both against the Reds, Westburg is 3-7 with one RBI and two walks. Westburg has been a tough out in this series and will likely continue that way in the series finale. Weaver will surely have his work cut out for him against the plethora of young of talent the Orioles have to offer.
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Featured image courtesy of Reds.com
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