The Cincinnati Reds scored a single run in seven different innings as they pounded out 16 hits on Monday night to open the 3-game series in Cleveland. Jake Fraley had three of those hits and one of them happened to be a home run as he led the way as the Reds defeated the Guardians 7-4 to make it four wins in a row this season against Cleveland.
Final
R
H
E
Cincinnati Reds (34-33)
7
16
1
Cleveland Guardians (34-31)
4
7
3
W: Miley (1-0) L: Ortiz (3-7) SV: Pagan (16)
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Cincinnati would get things going with a 2-out rally in the top of the 2nd inning. Will Benson started things off with a walk and then moved to second base on a single by Santiago Espinal. Benson then scored on a single by Jake Fraley to put the Reds on top. The next inning they would tack on a run when TJ Friedl homered into right-center on a 98 MPH fastball.
Cleveland battled back in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Bo Naylor led off with an infield single and he took second base on an errant throw by Christian Encarnacion-Strand that was behind Wade Miley who was trying to cover first on the play. He came around to score on a single by Angel Martinez. Jose Ramirez would then drive in a run with a single of his own that tied the game up. Carlos Santana would give the Guardians the lead with another single that plated a run with two outs.
The Reds half of the 4th inning started out with a single from Will Benson, but he was erased on the bases when Santiago Espinal grounded into a double play. That was important because Jake Fraley followed up with a home run that tied the game up at 3-3. Cincinnati grabbed the lead in the top of the 5th inning on a sacrifice fly by Christian Encarnacion-Strand that score TJ Friedl.
In the 6th inning the Reds would score for the 4th consecutive inning. Jake Fraley picked up a 1-out single and proceeded to steal second base to get himself into scoring position. Gavin Lux then cashed in with a 2-out RBI single to extend Cincinnati’s lead to 5-3.
After allowing three runs on five hits, four walks, and a hit batter in 5.0 innings, Wade Miley exited the game and handed things over to Ian Gibaut and the bullpen for the 6th inning. He fired off a shutout inning and then the Reds offense went right back to work. Christian Encarnacion-Strand began the inning with a single and he appeared to be attempting a steal on a full count and the throw down went into center on what turned out to be ball four, and he took third on the play as Tyler Stephenson walked. Will Benson then came through with an RBI single as Cincinnati scored a single run for the sixth consecutive inning to make it 6-3.
Graham Ashcraft came out of the bullpen for the Reds in the 7th. He ran into trouble against Bo Naylor, who led off the inning with a home run to cut the lead to 6-4. Ashcraft would walk two batters in the inning, but wiggled his way out of that jam with a ground out that stranded both runners. Tony Santillan took over for him in the 8th and fired a 1-2-3 inning with a little help from Matt McLain on the final out as he made a diving catch on a line drive.
The top of the 9th began with Tyler Stephenson reaching on a throwing error. Spencer Steer then battled with Kolby Allard before singling on the 11th pitch of the at-bat. With Jake Fraley due up the Reds sent Connor Joe to the plate to pinch hit and get a righty-on-lefty match up with two men on. The move paid off as Joe slapped a ball the other way that hit the ground about 5 feet in front of the plate but was hard enough to bounce past first base for an RBI double to make it 7-4.
Needing three outs to pick up a victory, the Reds turned to closer Emilio Pagan for the bottom of the 9th inning. He walked Bo Naylor on four pitches to start the inning before striking out Angel Martinez on three pitches. Pagan would get a fly out to center and then a strikeout to end the game in a 7-4 win for the visiting team.
Key Moment of the Game
Turning the game over to the bullpen after five innings. Cleveland was almost always on the verge of coming through against Wade Miley but they only got to him in the 3rd inning.
Notes Worth Noting
The win puts Cincinnati over the .500 mark as they improved to 34-33. They had been at or below the .500 mark since May 20th when they lost to Pittsburgh to fall to 25-25. Their victory on Monday night was their 4th in a row and their 5th out of their last six games.
10 different Reds hitters picked up at least one hit. Matt McLain was the only Cincinnati batter to not get a hit in the game. TJ Friedl, Will Benson, and Jake Fraley all got on base three times in the game.
Jake Fraley came off of the injured list and went 1-13 with a home run. But in the three games since then he’s picked up a hit in each game and gone 5-10.
The win by Cincinnati gives them the Ohio Cup. It’s the first time the Reds have won the season series against Cleveland since 2014.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs Cleveland Guardians
Tuesday June 10th, 6:40pm ET
Andrew Abbott (5-1, 2.18 ERA) vs Slade Cecconi (1-2, 4.87 ERA)
