Max Meyer was dominant for the Marlins on Monday night and struck out 14 Cincinnati hitters without allowing a run or a walk. The Reds fell behind 6-0 before breaking through against Miami’s bullpen, but it was too little and too late as the Marlins held on for a 6-3 win to open up the 3-game series in Florida.
Final
R
H
E
Cincinnati Reds (11-12)
3
8
0
Miami Marlins (10-12)
6
10
0
W: Meyer (2-2) L: Lodolo (2-2) SV: Tinoco (2)
Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread
Miami would get things started early by putting together a rally in the bottom of the 2nd inning as they picked up four singles, with the last two by Jesus Sanchez and Ronny Simon both bringing in a run as the Marlins grabbed a 2-0 lead.
On the other side of things, the Reds were wishing that they could have saved some of those runs from Sunday’s 24-2 win. Max Meyer was making the Cincinnati hitters look silly as he racked up strikeout after strikeout while keeping them off of the scoreboard. The Marlins offense would tack on another run in the bottom of the 5th when Eric Wagaman hit a solo home run to make it 3-0. Matt McLain came through with a leadoff single in the 6th and stole second base, but the next three hitters struck out as Meyer increased his total on the day to 14.
Nick Lodolo got the first batter in the bottom of the 6th to strike out, but then walked the next guy and gave up a single to put two men on. A pop up in foul territory led to the second out of the frame, but it would be the last of the day for Lodolo as Cincinnati called on Alexis Diaz to enter the game with runners on the corners. He got out of the jam with a shallow fly out to center.
Diaz would return to the mound in the 7th and ran into some trouble after giving up a 1-out single and hitting the next batter. A stolen base would put runners on the corners, but Diaz induced a weak grounder that he fielded and caught Eric Wagaman in no-man’s land and tossed to third where Noelvi Marte tagged him out. For the time being it seemed things could go in the right direction, but that moment was brief as four pitches later Kyle Stowers connected for an opposite field 3-run home run to make it a 6-0 ballgame.
The Reds offense no longer had to face Max Meyer anymore and in the 8th inning they finally got things going in the right direction against Tyler Phillips. A walk, wild pitch, single, and a ground out brought in the first run of the day for the Reds. Then Gavin Lux came through this his first home run of the season – a 2-run shot to center that made it 6-3.
After Emilio Pagan shut the Marlins down in order in the bottom of the 8th inning, Cincinnati’s offense got one more go at it to try and extend the game past the top of the 9th inning. They couldn’t do it as Jesus Tinoco needed 11 pitches to get three fly ball outs and hold on for a Marlins 6-3 victory.
Key Moment of the Game
Kyle Stower’s 3-run home run in the bottom of the 7th. While Miami never trailed in the game, that home run was pivotal as Cincinnati scored three runs in the next half-inning that would have left the game tied up without it.
Notes Worth Noting
Miami stole six bases in seven attempts on the night. Five of the steals came with Alexis Diaz on the mound.
The Reds batters struck out 14 times and walked zero times while facing starter Max Meyer. The Marlins relievers didn’t strike out a single batter and walked one. Spencer Steer and Noelvi Marte were the only two Reds hitters who didn’t strike out on the day.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs Miami Marlins
Tuesday, April 22, 6:40pm ET
Nick Martinez (0-3, 6.00 ERA) vs Edward Cabrera (0-1, 6.52 ERA)
