The bats went silent, the pitching fooled few, and the Reds dropped another to the Padres.
The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game
Devin Mesoraco launched yet another dinger, and while his 15th of the season was merely a solo shot in the 9th inning of an otherwise disappointing game, it was the single biggest hit from a Cincinnati Reds hitter all evening. Mes finished 2 for 4 with that dinger and that RBI, and that was more than enough to take home the JNMHSotG award for the game.
Honorable Mentions are due to: Billy Hamilton, who went 2 for 5 with a double and his 35th stolen base; Todd Frazier, who went 1 for 4 with an RBI single, a walk, and a stolen base (his 13th); and Zack Cozart, who went 2 for 3 with a run scored.
Key Plays
- Mike Leake was rarely sharp in his outing in his hometown of San Diego, and the Padres managed to smack him around for 11 hits in his 5.2 IP. Seth Smith launched a solo dinger to lead off the Bottom of the 1st, and consecutive singles from Alexi Amarista, Irving Falu, and pitcher Ian Kennedy plated another in the Bottom of the 2nd. Reds trailed, 2-0.
- The good guys got one back in the Top of the 3rd, however, thanks to some productive small ball. Cozart reached on an infield single, and ended up on 3B after a pair of ground outs. He then scored on a single from Frazier to CF. Reds trailed, 2-1.
- The wheels fell off from there, unfortunately. Chase Headley followed a leadoff double from Smith with an RBI single in the Bottom of the 5th, and the bullpen then got rocked in the Bottom of the 7th. Logan Ondrusek started the inning and promptly allowed a Smith single and a 2-run dinger to Carlos Quentin. J.J. Hoover was brought on after Ondrusek allowed another walk and a single, but an RBI single by Cameron Maybin and a Joey Votto error at 1B allowed another two runs to score. Reds trailed, 7-1.
- Carlos Contreras was tasked with pitching the Bottom of the 8th, and a hit, walk, wild pitch, and sac-fly cost him a run, too. Mesoraco's blast was all that was left, and that was that. Reds lose, 8-2.
Source: FanGraphs
- Todd Frazier is on pace to steal 25 bags this year, and he's got a very legitimate shot and a 30/30 season. There are currently two players in all of baseball slugging over .500 with at least 13 steals: Todd Frazier and Carlos Gomez. There are only four players in all of baseball slugging .500 with at least 10 steals: Frazier, Gomez, Andrew McCutchen, and Mike Trout. You sure know how to keep nice company, Todd.
- This loss means the Reds have lost their first series in their last 8, a stretch that saw them win 6 and split 1.
- A 7-3 road trip sounds infinitely more awesome than a 6-4 road trip, so that's what is at stake when Johnny Cueto takes the mound in the third game of the series and final game of the road trip on Wednesday afternoon. Someone remind the Reds to bring their bats this time.
- Strummin' tunes.
