The Cincinnati Reds defeated the Padres 4-3 on Sunday to clinch their seventh series win in their last eight tries. In that stretch, the Reds are 18-6 and have surged into a tie for first place in the NL Central with the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Reds have found different ways to win, a hallmark of great teams, and have made their “never give up” mentality the identity of the 2023 team. That was on full display throughout this series against the San Diego Padres at Great American Ballpark.
Graham Ashcraft showed a glimpse of his early-season self as he baffled the San Diego lineup all night. Ashcraft went 6 2/3 innings, giving up one run on three hits, two walks and seven strikeouts. He pitched well enough to win, but the Reds were tied 1-1 as he exited the game.
Padres’ starter Seth Lugo similarly stunted the Reds offense and went six shutout innings himself. Cincinnati was able to get to the San Diego bullpen and scratch across a run to take the lead into the ninth.
Fatigue finally caught up to Alexis Diaz. His perfect season was not going to last forever and he blew his first save of 2023 on Friday night.
Ian Gibaut gave up two runs in the top of the 10th inning, giving the Reds a 4-2 deficit. Down to their final out of the night, rookie Matt McLain then laced a two-run homerun to centerfield to tie it back up.
These Reds never give up.
Saturday’s game simply did not go the Reds’ way in any facet. Cincinnati dropped a blowout loss 12-5 as the overworked bullpen began to show some cracks in the armor.
Starter Brandon Williamson went five innings and gave up just one run against the talented Padres lineup. However, the depth of San Diego’s lineup proved to be too much for the bullpen. San Diego stars Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado combined for 10 runs batted in on five hits including three home runs.
Offensively, other than a Jonathan India grand slam in the seventh inning, the Reds were held uncharacteristically quiet. Five Reds went hitless on the night including TJ Friedl, Elly de la Cruz and Spencer Steer.
Sometimes, a game like Saturday’s can be used to refocus a team and a bounce back could be in order.
Cincinnati got another outstanding start from rookie Andrew Abbott to put them in position to take the rubber match 4-3. Abbott went 7 2/3 innings and gave up just one solo home run to Ha-Seong Kim on the last batter he faced.
Lucas Sims relieved Abbott and gave up another solo shot to Fernando Tatis Jr. which tied up the game. However, the game did not stay tied for long.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Tyler Stephenson pinch-hit for Joey Votto with two outs and one man on base. On the first pitch Stephenson saw, he smoked a ball just inside the right field foul pole to put the Reds ahead for good.
These Reds just never give up.
Diaz got back on track and nailed down his 23rd save of the season in the ninth to give the Reds the series victory.
The Reds travel to Washington D.C. for a four-game series against the Washington Nationals, which begins on Monday at 6:05 p.m. With a series in Milwaukee against the first-place Brewers up after that, the Reds need to continue their winning ways and take another series from an inferior team.
Winning three out of four games is difficult no matter the opponent — especially on the road. Yet, if the Reds want to stay afloat in the NL Central until Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo return from the injured list in August, winning a series like this is crucial.
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Featured image courtesy of Reds.com
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