After the Reds bullpen couldn’t hold onto a lead in the first game of Wednesday’s doubleheader, the Red Sox bullpen returned the favor. Cincinnati scored eight runs over the course of the 7th and 8th innings to pick up a come from behind win to wrap up the series in Boston.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (45-42) | 8 | 12 | 1 |
| Boston Red Sox (43-45) | 4 | 11 | 2 |
| W: Martinez (6-8) L: Weissert (2-3) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
Each team would get a runner to second base in the 1st inning, but failed to bring them around. The Reds did the same thing in the 2nd inning, too. Boston was able to capitalize on a 2nd inning double by Ceddanne Rafaela as he’d come in to score on a sacrifice fly to put the Red Sox up 1-0.
That is where the score remained until the bottom of the 6th inning. Trevor Story picked up a 2-out single and then Wilyer Abreu hit a 2-run homer to make it 3-0 for the home club.
Cincinnati’s offense got a rally going in the top of the 7th and they got a little help with it. Tyler Stephenson began the inning with a single and then he took second on an error by the third baseman which also allowed Rece Hinds to reach first. Gavin Lux then drew a walk to load the bases. Red Sox reliever Greg Weissert tried to get a 95 MPH at the top of the zone by Christian Encarnacion-Strand. It did not go well, but it did go far. Really far. Encarnacion-Strand walloped the pitch 439 feet to left-center and out of Fenway for a grand slam and a souvenir for someone out on the street beyond the ballpark.
With a 4-3 lead, the Reds didn’t just call it a day at that point. TJ Friedl would hit a double and then come around to score on a 2-out RBI single by Elly De La Cruz that extended Cincinnati’s lead to 5-3. That turned out to be important because when Nick Martinez returned for the bottom of the 7th inning he gave up back-to-back doubles that produced a run and cut his team’s lead to 5-4, but the second double led to an out as Romy Gonzalez was thrown out at third trying to stretch the play.
In the top of the 8th inning the Reds would load the bases with just one out against Jordan Hicks. His first pitch to Santiago Espinal was lined into right field for an RBI to add a run to their lead and keep the bases loaded. The next play was a blunder of mistakes for Boston as chopper to short by TJ Friedl was not fielded cleanly by shortstop Trevor Story, bringing in a run. Gavin Lux, who began the play at second, took off for the plate after reaching third and he scored as he beat the throw home. That put Cincinnati up by four runs heading into the bottom of the 8th inning.
Emilio Pagan took over in the 9th inning for the Reds and he gave up a leadoff double off of the Green Monster. That would be the only hit they would get as Pagan retired the next three batters in order to seal the Cincinnati 8-4 win.
Key Moment of the Game
Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s go-ahead grand slam in the 7th inning.
Notes Worth Noting
The Reds avoided being swept. They remain the only team in baseball that can say that.
Four Reds had two hits in the game – Matt McLain, Tyler Stephenson, Gavin Lux, and Christian Encarnaction-Strand. Lux also had two walks.
Cincinnati pitchers combined for six strikeouts and walked no one in the game.
Santiago Espinal had an RBI on back-to-back days on May 26th and 27th. His RBI single in the 8th inning on Wednesday was his first RBI since then. He 25 games in between there with at least one at-bat.
Noelvi Marte went 0-2 with two walks and a run scored tonight while rehabbing in Triple-A Louisville.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs Philadelphia Phillies
Friday July 4th, 1:05pm ET
Andrew Abbott (7-1, 1.79 ERA) vs Jesus Luzardo (7-4, 4.06 ERA)
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