The Detroit Tigers played long ball late on Sunday afternoon to help them rally and score six runs. That helped them avoid being swept in a 3-game series as they defeated the Cincinnati Reds 8-3 to wrap up the series in front of 31,377 fans at Great American Ball Park.
Detroit scored four runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth against Cincinnati relievers to turn around what had been a 3-2 Reds lead after the first six innings. Seven of the Tigers’ 12 hits went for extra bases, including three homers. But the Reds still won the three-game series, two games to one.
As this post went live, the Reds maintained their first-place standing by one-half game over the Chicago Cubs, whose game against the Los Angeles Dodgers just started out west. Pending the results of other games still underway, all teams in the National League Central Division are still at .500 or above.
The Offense
Reds’ hitters composite box-score line: 7-for-34 (.206), 2 walks, 7 strikeouts and the 3 runs scored.
Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the second inning:
DH Nate Lowe powered a solo shot against righthanded starter Keider Montero into the lower portion of the moon deck in right field, pulling the home team within a run at 2-1. It marked Lowe’s fourth homer in the three-game series, and third consecutive game with a long ball. It’s been a while since the Reds have had someone classified as a bench player who produced like that when given a shot to play every day.
Cincinnati missed a chance in the third when TJ Friedl reached third on a double to left-center and an error by centerfielder Matt Vierling. Matt McLain followed with a walk, but Elly De La Cruz struck out swinging and Sal Stewart flied out to right to end the inning.
In the fourth, with two out, JJ Bleday hit his first Cincinnati Reds and GABP homer, a solo shot, to tie the score at 2-2. It was his second consecutive impressive plate appearance, having started down in the count 0-2 his first time up and then patiently drawing a walk. Following the home run, his major-league OPS for 2026 was a gaudy 5.000.
A similar opportunity occurred in the fifth. Ke’Bryan Hayes led off with a triple to right field. With the infield in, Friedl hit one right at the second baseman for the first out. But Matt McLain came through, hitting a double to left to score Hayes for a 3-2 Reds lead. But De La Cruz struck out looking for the second out, and Stewart grounded out to end the inning.
No Reds hitter had more than one hit or one RBI in the game.
The Pitching
Cincinnati hurlers’ composite box-score line: 9 innings, 12 hits, 5 walks, 3 homers, and 6 earned runs among the 8 total.
Starter Rhett Lowder struggled with his control in the first inning. In the first inning with two outs and a runner on first, Lowder allowed a single and a walk to load the bases, followed by a double to right field by Kerry Carpenter to score two and give the Tigers the early 2-0 lead. Despite issuing just the one walk, Detroit hitters were patient while Lowder was running up the pitch count with pitches just outside the zone.
As the game progressed, so did Lowder’s effectiveness. He struck out the side in order in the third inning, followed by a scoreless fourth. His 30-pitch first inning contributed to his pitch count reaching 80 at the end of the fourth.
Ahead 3-2 in the top of the sixth inning:
Lefthander Brock Burke entered to replace Lowder, who allowed six hits, a walk and the two first-inning runs while striking out seven. The timing of the pitching change left Lowder in line to earn the win if the Tigers would not tie or take the lead before the end of the game. Burke surrendered a leadoff double to Spencer Torkelson, followed by consecutive one-out walks to Vierling and pinch-hitter Jahmai Jones. Catcher Jake Rogers struck out looking, and hot rookie Kevin McGonigle flied out to left-center to end the threat.
Sam Moll entered in the seventh. Leadoff batter Gleyber Torres reached on an error by Hayes, followed by a two-run homer to center by pinch-hitter Hao-Yu Lee to put Detroit ahead 4-3. An out later, Manager Terry Francona summoned righty Pierce Johnson, who surrendered a solo shot to Torkelson — his fifth straight game with a homer. Carpenter followed with a triple to right, and scored on a Vierling sacrifice fly, leaving the Reds down 6-3 after six and a half.
Jose Franco walked McGonigle with one out in the eighth, followed by a Torres blast to make it 8-3 Tigers. It was the 19th homer in a three-game series at Great American Ball Park, tying the all-time stadium record.
One fan’s thoughts
I was looking at some OPS-plus stats recently. They give an indication of how a hitter’s performance compares to an average hitter, with an OPS-plus score of 100 indicating the hypothetical average hitter. Spencer Steer prompted my interest in OPS-plus when I saw his number, which was very close to 100. (Prior to today’s game, it was 98.) I wondered, is Steer really considered the (nearly) average hitter?
For a bit of perspective, I grew up on baseball in the 1970s and 1980s, when a .250 average was considered average. Steer has a .242 career average, according to Baseball Reference, which says his career OPS-plus is 1o1. Really?
Yes, really. I checked, and the major league composite batting average this year is .241. I’m not as consumed with baseball stats as I was at a younger age, but that surprised me. From the Cincinnati standpoint, unsurprisingly, the team leaders in OPS-plus prior to today’s game were Stewart (175), De La Cruz (147) and Lowe (142). That indicates they are 75, 47 and 42 percent above major league average in hitting production, respectively. On the other end of the spectrum, Hayes was at -4, and Noelvi Marte at -7, indicating they are 104 and 107 percent below average, respectively.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Colorado Rockies at Cincinnati Reds
Tuesday, April 28, 6:40 p.m. ET
TBD vs. Chase Burns (2-1, 2.57 ERA)
