The Cincinnati Reds picked up a win over the Seattle Mariners on Friday evening thanks to three home runs and a solid start by Hunter Greene that was followed up by strong bullpen work. Across town they were looking good until the bullpen saw three relievers combine to give up six runs in the 9th inning to lose to the Chicago White Sox as they would split their pair of games on the day.
The Highlights against the White Sox
Cincinnati got the bottom of the 1st inning started with a single from Santiago Espinal. The White Sox pitching staff then helped the Reds out a lot as four walks and a wild pitch in the inning led to three runs coming across the plate with Jose Trevino and Edwin Rios both drawing bases loaded walks to pick up an RBI.
Chicago would get one of those runs back in the bottom of the second. Brady Singer gave up a double, single, and a walk to load the bases before getting a force out at the plate. But another single would follow to plate the first run of the day for the White Sox.
The Reds would get things rolling again in the bottom of the 4th and it was once again Santiago Espinal getting it started as he walked to begin the inning. He would steal second base and move up to third when the throw got away. Espinal got to walk home when Austin Hays crushed his 3rd home run of the spring, extending Cincinnati’s lead to 5-1.
Brady Singer had been cruising along but in the 6th inning he gave up a leadoff single and then a 2-out double that brought in a run and cut the lead to three runs. Singer would end his day after 5.2 innings of 2-run baseball while throwing 95 pitches in what is his final start of the spring.
Alexis Diaz took the mound for the 7th and worked around an infield single and a hit batter for a scoreless inning where he threw just 10 strikes out of the 20 pitches he needed to get through the frame. Sam Moll struggled in the 8th inning, but he worked around a hit and two walks for a shutout inning.
Holding onto a 5-2 lead entering the 9th inning, Taylor Rogers headed to the mound. And that’s where things fell apart. He would give up four straight hits before being removed. Brent Suter then came on and gave up a walk and two hits before he was pulled from the game for Alan Busenitz who came in and immediately gave up a hit that brought in the 6th run of the inning.
Cincinnati needed their offense to step up in the bottom of the 9th. Instead they went down in order as the White Sox held on for an 8-5 win.
You can see the box score for the game here.
Game Notes
Unsure if it means anything or not, but Santiago Espinal was replaced in the field to begin the 5th inning. He was the only player replaced at the time and he had just run the bases the half-inning prior to that. Just felt it was worth noting.
Austin Hays went 2-2 with a walk and a homer. He’s hitting .308/.372/.692 in his 15 games this spring.
The Highlights against the Mariners
Seattle struck quickly as Victor Robles hit the first pitch thrown in the game by Hunter Greene into the stands to put the Mariners up 1-0. The Reds would get that run back in the top of the 2nd inning when Gavin Lux ambushed Logan Gilbert’s first pitch of the inning and put it over the wall in right field for his first homer of the spring. An inning later it was Austin Wynns joining the home run parade with his first home run that put Cincinnati up 2-1.
The lead didn’t last long as Seattle tied the game up on a sacrifice fly by Julio Rodriguez in the bottom of the 3rd. Cincinnati went back to work the next inning though and Jacob Hurtubise picked up a 2-out double that brought Christian Encarnacion-Strand around the bases to put the Reds back in the lead. In the back-and-forth game, though, the lead once again lasted only a few minutes as Harry Ford’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning tied things back up.
Hunter Greene would throw a shutout 5th inning and return for the 6th and walk the first batter he faced. That put him at his pitch count for the day and the Reds brought Tony Santillan out from the bullpen and he worked around the runner to keep things tied up.
Ruben Ibarra would give Cincinnati the lead once again in the 7th inning when he hit a 453-foot, 2-run home run off of former Reds reliever Casey Legumina. Ian Gibaut and Lyon Richardson followed up with shutout innings in the bottom of the 7th and 8th to hold onto the lead. Yosver Zulueta took over on the mound for the 9th and worked around a walk for a shutout inning to close out the game for a 5-3 win.
You can see the box score for the game here.
Game Notes
Hunter Greene’s final line on the day: 5IP, 6H, 3ER, 2BB, 7K. He threw 84 pitches with 52 strikes. The next time he’s on the mound will be on Opening Day.
Ruben Ibarra has three hits this spring and he’s hit two home runs.
Mark Sheldon of Reds.com had an update on Spencer Steer this afternoon. Steer told him that he can be ready for the season as a hitter. You can read more from Steer here.
Saturday’s Game
The Reds hit the road tomorrow to take on the San Diego Padres. There is currently no listed pitcher for this game. First pitch is schedule for 4:10pm ET.
