Athletics blow out the Reds as pitching struggles early

It’s just spring training, everyone says to themselves after looking at what happened today to the Cincinnati Reds in a 13-1 loss. The Sacramento Athletics got on the board early, and they did so with two big innings and they never looked back as they clobbered the Reds at Hohokam Stadium on Friday afternoon.

The Highlights

It was a routine start to the game for Hunter Greene, who fired off a 1-2-3 inning in the 1st that featured a strikeout and two groundouts. In the top of the 2nd inning the Reds got on the board with a 2-out rally that started with a triple by Benson. He came in to score when Blake Dunn followed up with a single.

A two-out triple and run for @_thekidbilly_?? pic.twitter.com/OQlJ4bT7bI

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) February 28, 2025

Greene took the mound in the 2nd with a lead and got a pop up to begin the inning. An infield single followed before a ground out left him with two outs and one on. That’s when things spiraled for him. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases before Jacob Wilson drove in two runs with a single to give the Athletics the lead. Lawrence Butler then followed up with a 3-run homer that made it 5-1. A strikeout would end the inning.

Brent Suter took over for Cincinnati in the 3rd inning and things did not get any better for the Reds. Before the inning was over he had allowed three singles, two doubles, and a walk that led to another 5-run inning and saw the home team grab a 10-1 lead.

After Tony Santillan tossed a shutout 4th inning, Jose Acuna entered the game for the 5th and immediately gave up a home run to Zack Gelof that extended his team’s lead. He would return for the 6th and give up a 2-run home run that wrapped up the scoring for the day and capped off a 13-1 win.

You can see the box score for the game here.

News and Notes

The Reds only had seven hits on the day. Jacob Hurtubise had two of those hits, going 2-2 with a triple. He’s 5-6 with a double, triple, walk, three runs, and two steals this spring.

Connor Phillips pitched the final two innings for Cincinnati on the day, allowing a single in his outing while striking out two.

Saturday’s Game

Brady Singer will get his second start of the spring tomorrow. Nick Martinez, Taylor Rogers, Lyon Richardson, Ian Gibaut, Lenny Torres Jr., and Luis Mey are also scheduled to pitch.