Andrew Abbot made his official spring training debut on Monday night under the lights in Goodyear. The left-hander threw the first three innings of the game before handing things over to Carson Spiers who pitched the remainder of the game. The Reds offense didn’t get the memo that there was a game tonight and managed just one hit as Cincinnati fell 3-0 to the Cleveland Guardians to rack up their 7th consecutive loss this spring.
The Highlights
Things didn’t start out great for Andrew Abbott as he walked Steven Kwan on six pitches. After a pop up, Cleveland got an infield single and then a 2-run double from Carlos Santana to take the lead. Abbott bounced back from there to strike out the next two batters. The lefty only allowed one more hit and no runs over the next two innings, throwing fewer pitches in those two innings combined than he had in the 1st.
Cincinnati got a walk from Blake Dunn in the top of the 1st inning but he was erased on a double play that followed. In the 2nd inning the Reds got their only hit of the game when Christian Encarnacion-Strand lined a double down the third base line. He would be stranded there. The next time the team had a baserunner was in the 7th when Jeimer Candelario walked, and like Dunn before him, he was wiped out on a double play that followed.
After Andrew Abbott completed his day, Cincinnati sent Carson Spiers to the mound and he was about as pitch efficient as one could be. The righty needed just 60 pitches to get through 5.0 innings as he gave up just one hit – a solo home run to Austin Hedges in the 7th inning – while striking out two batters.
The Reds would get one more runner on the night but it didn’t come in the way that they would have preferred. In the top of the 9th inning catcher Jose Trevino got plunked on the elbow. He threw his bat in frustration before trotting down to first base. He was replaced on the bases at that point, but generally seemed ok. Cincinnati went down in order from there as they dropped their 7th straight game, losing 3-0.
You can see the box score for the game here.
Game Notes
Andrew Abbott threw 48 pitches with 29 strikes. He averaged 91.5 MPH and topped out at 93.1 on the night.
Carson Spiers has a 2.70 ERA through 10.0 innings this spring. He’s given up just five hits to go along with four walks and has 10 strikeouts.
Tuesday’s Game
The Cincinnati Reds are back to afternoon games on Tuesday. They will play host to the Los Angeles Angels at Goodyear Ballpark at 4:05pm ET. Nick Lodolo, Nick Martinez, Lyon Richardson, and Tony Santillan are scheduled to pitch.
