The road trip couldn’t have started out much worse for the Cincinnati Reds as they were down by a touchdown by the time the first inning was over and while the offense showed some life in the middle of the game it was too little, too late. Boston pounded out 14 hits and scored 13 runs as the Red Sox picked up a win in the series opener at Fenway.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (44-41) | 6 | 9 | 1 |
| Boston Red Sox (42-44) | 13 | 14 | 1 |
| W: Crochet (8-4) L: Burns (0-1) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
In his first start in the big leagues, Chase Burns struck out the first five batters of the game. On Monday night in Boston he didn’t come close to recording five outs. A disastrous first inning saw him issue a leadoff walk. He got a grounder to second base to follow on what looked like it could have been a double play ball, but Matt McLain threw the ball by Elly De La Cruz at second base for an error and put runners on the corners.
From there he allowed a single, double, got what turned out to be his only out of the game, a 3-run home run, a double, a single, and a walk. 33 pitches in total, one out, and a 6-0 deficit. Brent Suter was called on out of the bullpen and gave up another run that would be charged to Burns.
Suter would get the Reds through the 3rd inning without any further damage, but the game remained 7-0. In the top of the 4th the Cincinnati offense finally got going when Matt McLain doubled off of the wall in left with one out. Elly De La Cruz then singled on a chopper to shortstop before Austin Hays tripled to center to plate both runners. A ground out brought in Hays and brought the Reds within slam range.
The next inning saw Cincinnati tack on another run after Santiago Espinal reached on an error and then back-to-back singles brought him in to score and make it 7-4. But the Red Sox got that run back in the bottom of the frame when Wilyer Abreu hit a long fly ball to center that ricocheted off of the wall and then TJ Friedl fell on the warning track as he attempted to turn and Abreu easily raced around the bases for an inside-the-park-home run.
Austin Hays came through with a home run in the top of the 6th inning as he drove in his third run of the day. Just like the previous inning, though, Boston got the run back – this time on a home run by Jarren Duran that pushed the Red Sox lead to 9-5.
Boston would add on to their lead in the bottom of the 8th after a double and two walks loaded the bases. Connor Phillips would strike out Carlos Narvaez for the second out of the inning, but his first pitch to Wilyer Abreu landed in the Red Sox bullpen for a grand slam to make it 13-5. With the game now out of hand, Jose Trevino headed to the mound to pitch. He walked the first batter he saw but then struck out Marcelo Mayer to end the inning.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand led off the 9th inning with a single off of the Green Monster and then took second on a wild pitch and third on a line out to right field. Matt McLain would drive him in on an infield single. That would be the final hit of the game as Elly De La Cruz flew out to end it two pitches later as Boston picked up a 13-6 victory.
Key Moment of the Game
The Red Sox 1st inning where they scored seven runs and essentially put the game away.
Notes Worth Noting
Matt McLain had three hits on the night. That raised his average to .213 on the season, which is the highest it’s been since he ended the day on April 4th with a .214 mark.
Austin Hays was the only other Red to have two hits in the game, though Elly De La Cruz and Tyler Stephenson both had a hit and a walk.
Three of the four actual pitchers who took the mound today for the Reds ended the day with ERA’s of 13.50, 11.57, and 7.20. Brent Suter, however, lowered his ERA to 2.95 after his 2.2 innings with no earned runs.
The Reds pitching staff walked more batters than they struck out. Boston’s pitchers only walked two batters and had 11 strikeouts.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs Boston Red Sox
Tuesday July 1st, 7:10pm ET
Brady Singer (7-6, 4.31 ERA) vs Richard Fitts (0-3, 4.68 ERA)
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