Three home runs and a sterling bullpen outing led the Cincinnati Reds to a 4-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks before 21,083 at Great American Ball Park.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona Diamondbacks (31-34) | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| Cincinnati Reds (33-33) |
4 | 6 | 0 |
| W: Rogers (2-2) L: Gallen (4-8) Sv: Santillan (2) |
|||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
Most of the 2025 season has been frustrating for Redleg Nation. The Reds have shown flashes of promise, such as this weekend’s sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks. But seemingly every time it feels as though this team is about to chart a winning course, the wheels fall off.
The comeback win was their second of this series, and one of a very slim number for this year (see more on this below). It’s a promising trend. I’ve said it since before this season: Low-scoring games like this are the ones this team must win more often than not if they hope to truly compete. So far, the Reds are 6-10 in one-run games, one of the poorest such records in the majors at the moment.
Matt McLain’s two-run seventh-inning homer broke a 2-2 tie and provided the winning margin, another positive sign. Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s three-game return from the injured list (7-for-12, three homers, six RBIs) was certainly attention-grabbing. I’ll be honest with you guys. I’d pretty much written him off. He’s known for incredible power, but I’ve been waiting to see him demonstrate his skill set at the major league level. This weekend was the best I’ve ever seen him, and I have jumped back on the CES bandwagon. The question now is how he will respond when opposing pitchers and scouts have the chance to break down his strengths and weaknesses. Teams did that two years ago, but that’s been a very long time. I’m anxious to see if he can handle third base defensively, as Barry Larkin hinted at during the telecast. (That play he made on the foul-ball grounder made me gasp.) CES would be a big offensive upgrade over Santiago Espinal, though I maintain that Espinal is the team’s best defensive player.
The win draws Cincinnati back to .500, which we have said numerous times this year. Each time, the trend turns sour and the Reds’ momentum disappears. It’s time for that to change. A long winning streak would be great, but a trend of winning series would be more realistic. The rest of this month’s series are challenging: Cleveland, Detroit, Minnesota, St. Louis, New York Yankees and San Diego. They’re all over .500, all in contention, and this is when we’ll learn what this team is truly made of.
More positivity: The Cubs and Brewers have already lost today, and the Cardinals are down 7-3 in the eighth inning against the Dodgers. If that result holds, Cincinnati will gain a game on all three teams ahead of them in the National League Central standings. As this post goes live, the fourth-place Reds are two games behind Milwaukee, four games behind second-place St. Louis, and 7 1/2 behind the Cubs.
The Offense
Cincinnati hitters’ combined box-score line: 6-for-28 (.214), 3 walks drawn, 6 strikeouts, 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position.
In the fourth inning, Encarnacion-Strand homered for the third game in a row after returning from the injured list to put his team on the board. His solo shot brought Cincinnati within 2-1 at the time. His average improved to .229 from the .150s during this series.
In the fifth, leadoff hitter Jose Trevino hit a hanging breaking pitch into the left-field seats to tie the score at 2-2.
An inning later, with one out, Elly De La Cruz fell behind 0-2 to Diamondbacks starter Zac Gallen, but ended up drawing a walk. Encarnacion-Strand followed with a line single to left. Unfortunately, with Will Benson at the plate, De La Cruz fell asleep and was picked off second by Gallen. Benson then grounded out to end the inning.
With Gallen still pitching in the bottom of the seventh, Jake Fraley lined a two-out single to right, and Matt McLain followed with a no-doubt two-run bomb to left to give the Reds the lead, 4-2, which turned out to be the winning margin.
The Pitching
The box score line: 9 innings, 5 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts and 2 runs. The bullpen pitched the final four innings without allowing a baserunner.
Starter Brady Singer allowed a solo home run to Eugenio Suarez, his 101st career bomb at Great American Ball Park, in the second inning for a 1-0 Arizona lead. Then in the third, an RBI single by Corbin Carroll put the visitors up 2-0.
In the fifth, the inning after having a line drive strike his pitching arm’s triceps, Singer walked two of the first three batters he faced. But a double-play grounder off the bat of Geraldo Perdomo to Matt McLain went 4-6-3 to end the inning.
With the Reds having tied the score at 2-2 in the previous half-inning, Manager Terry Francona summoned Scott Barlow to pitch the top of the sixth. With a 1-2 count to the inning’s leadoff hitter Josh Naylor, rainfall hit suddenly and the game was delayed for 31 minutes. Barlow stayed in after the delay, retired Naylor, struck out Suarez swinging and retired Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on a fly ball to center.
Taylor Rogers pitched the seventh, retiring the lower third of the Arizona batting order 1-2-3. He returned in the eighth, after McLain’s go-ahead homer. and duplicated the feat against the top three D-backs batters. He was a deserving winning pitcher.
Tony Santillan got the call in the ninth inning, retiring the Diamondbacks in order quickly to earn his sixth career save.
One Fan’s Thoughts
It’s not exactly breaking news that the Reds have had trouble coming from behind this season. Here’s one of the big reasons why:
Before today’s game, the team batting statistics when trailing in a game: .221 / .290 / .370 / .660.
Compare that to when they are tied: .229 / .304 / .394 / .698.
And when they are ahead: .273 / .354 / .416 / .770.
The “when ahead” numbers are convincingly better than the other two varieties. Same players, different situations. So the question is why? What do you think?
In today’s game, the numbers were:
Tied: 3-for-13, including the McLain two-run homer; Behind: 3-for-11 with the two solo homers; Ahead: 0-for-4.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds at Cleveland Guardians
Monday, June 9, 6:40 p.m. ET
Wade Miley (0-0, 18.00 ERA) vs. L.L. Ortiz (3-6, 4.02 ERA)
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