The Cincinnati Reds led 3-0, but the bullpen couldn’t get the job done and immediately gave up the lead in the first inning after Nick Lodolo exited the game. San Diego would win the game of bullpens from there and score the winning run in the bottom of the 10th on a walk-off sacrifice fly to take the first game of the series.
Cincinnati grabbed a lead right off of the bat as TJ Friedl ended an 8-pitch at-bat with a home run to lead off the game. The score remained 1-0 until the 3rd inning when it was Friedl getting things going again as he picked up a 1-out single and then stole second base. After taking third base on a groundout he would come in to score on a 2-out hit by Elly De La Cruz.
For the most part, Nick Lodolo was cruising through the Padres lineup. He allowed just two hits and a walk in the first five innings of the game and was sitting at just 79 pitches while keeping San Diego off the scoreboard. In the bottom of the 5th his offense gave him another run when Austin Hays crushed a home run down the line and off of the Western Metal Supply Co. building to push Cincinnati’s lead to 3-0.
Despite not pitching in nearly two weeks and only being at 79 pitches, Nick Lodolo was finished after five innings. Perhaps he was still feeling the side effects from being sick last week, but no matter the reason the Reds brought in Scott Barlow for the start of the 6th. He’s give up a single to Fernando Tatis Jr. to begin the frame, but then get the next two hitters out. Gavin Sheets would come through with a 2-out double that brought in San Diego’s first run. Barlow would then walk the next batter and that ended his day. Brent Suter came out of the bullpen and gave up a 2-run triple to Jackson Merrill that tied the game up before getting a strikeout to end the inning.
The game remained tied into the 9th inning. Cincinnati went down in order in the top of the inning. Emilio Pagan entered the game for the Reds to face the bottom half of the Padres order. He got some help from Spencer Steer over at first base as he made a diving catch on a line drive down the line to end the inning and send the game to the 10th.
After the Reds offense failed to get their free runner in during the top of the 10th inning they sent Nick Martinez to the mound to try and shut the Padres down. Freddy Fermin failed to get a sacrifice bunt down on his first attempt as it fell in foul territory just out of the reach of a diving Spencer Steer. The second attempt was successful and on the play Nick Martinez couldn’t make the clean throw to first and Fermin reached base, but Jake Cronenworth remained at third base. Fernando Tatis Jr. came through, though, as he hit a fly ball deep enough to bring in the run on a sacrifice fly.
Key Moment of the Game
Jackson Merrill’s 2-run triple that TJ Friedl came up about a foot short of catching that tied the game up in the 6th inning.
Notes Worth Noting
The Reds hitters walked zero times and struck out 13 times.
TJ Friedl and Austin Hays were the only Reds with more than one hit and they both homered in the game.
The 1-4 hitters for the Reds went 5-17 with three runs batted in. The rest of the lineup went 2-20.
Cincinnati is back to the .500 mark at 72-72. The Mets lost, which leads the Reds four games back of them. The Giants won, though, and they are now ahead of Cincinnati once again in the wild card chase – three games behind the Mets.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs San Diego Padres
Tuesday September 9th, 9:40pm ET
Zack Littell (9-8, 3.81 ERA) vs Michael Kind (4-2, 2.81 ERA)
