Late Inning Comeback Effort Stifled as Reds Fall 5-3 to Mariners

Despite the late-inning comeback effort, the Cincinnati Reds’ four-game win streak was halted Wednesday night when they fell 5-3 to the Seattle Mariners at Great American Ball Park.

Final
R
H
E

Seattle Mariners (9-9)
5
10
0

Cincinnati Reds (9-9)
3
10
1

W: Bryce Miller (1-2) L: Nick Martinez (0-3) S: Andrés Muñoz (7)

Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread

Poor defense helped the Mariners jump on the scoreboard early in this one. Elly De La Cruz bobbled a ground ball on the first pitch of the game to let Julio Rodriguez reach base. After a Martinez wild pitch, Randy Arozarena doubled off the top of the left field wall to bring Rodriguez home. Martinez would go on to allow three earned runs on seven hits through 4.2 innings while walking three and striking out four.

Meanwhile, Bryce Miller was dominating the Reds offense. He struck out five of the first nine batters he faced and did not allow a base runner until Jose Trevino doubled with two outs in the third. In a surprising move, the Mariners took him out of the game after five innings and only 78 pitches. Miller allowed three hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in those five innings.

The Reds’ only real threat at a comeback came in the seventh. Back-to-back hits by Gavin Lux and Spencer Steer allowed Christian Encarnacion-Strand to step to the plate and pound a double down the left field line to drive in two and eliminate a shutout. They added another run when Trevino singled to bring in CES. TJ Friedl followed with a single to add to the five hits in the inning. Ain’t nothing like a double play killer though, and Matt McLain ended the rally by hitting a ground ball directly at the second baseman.

Aside from a Cal Raleigh solo home run in the seventh, the Reds bullpen of Scott Barlow, Taylor Rogers, and Ian Gibaut kept the Mariners from adding on in the late innings. Brent Suter pitched for the first time in 10 games, coming into the game with two runners on and two out in the eighth. He successfully got Mitch Garver to pop out and end the inning. Suter also pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the ninth.

Key Moment of the Game

In a 5-3 game in the 8th inning and Elly De La Cruz attempting to steal second base with no outs, Austin Hays was called for batters interference as Cal Raleigh was throwing to second base on a swinging third strike. The Reds went from a runner on second base with one out to no runners on with two outs, killing any momentum they had.

Hays did not make contact with Raleigh, but the FanDuel Sports Network broadcast suggested that he stepped slightly towards the plate in the throwing lane and also noted that Francona did not argue the umpires’ decision.

Notes

-It was not the best game mentally for De La Cruz. He had the fielding error in the first inning. In the fourth, he reached base via a walk and promptly stole his fourth base of the season. Then he got too aggressive and got picked off second. One pitch later, Austin Hays singled to right field for a hit that would’ve easily brought in Elly.

-While Nick Martinez didn’t have his best stuff tonight, his change up was working pretty well. He threw it 19 times and got batters to swing 10 times at it. Of those ten times, Mariners batters swung through it six times for a 60% whiff rate.

-Tonight was Raleigh’s 11th career multi-homer game. It was his fourth career time he has hit a home run from both sides of the plate in the same game.