After losing to Houston for the first time in nearly a decade on Friday night, the Cincinnati Reds came out and put the game away in the top of the 1st inning. The visiting team scored 10 runs before the Astros could swing the bat, though they didn’t just roll over and were able to sort of make a game of it. Cincinnati held on, though, picking up a 13-9 win to even up the series.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (20-21) | 13 | 12 | 0 |
| Houston Astros (19-19) | 9 | 14 | 0 |
| W: Ashcraft (3-3) L: McCullers Jr. (0-1) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
The Reds weren’t going to be shut out for a second game in a row and they made sure of that quickly. Lance McCullers Jr. walked TJ Friedl and then hit Matt McLain. Elly De La Cruz did the rest as he took an 88 MPH change up and put it into the seats in left field for a 3-run homer.
Cincinnati wasn’t done, though. After getting a ground out, McCullers Jr. walked the next two batters. Tyler Stephenson singled in a run and then Will Benson doubled down the line to bring in another run. It was 5-0 just like that. And it was also the end of the day for McCullers Jr. as Houston went to the bullpen and brought in Logan VanWey. He wasn’t welcomed by the Reds in a friendly way as he walked Connor Joe to load the bases, gave up a single to TJ Friedl, and then walked Matt McLain to bring in a run. Elly De La Cruz grounded out, but it brought in the 8th run of the inning. Gavin Lux came through with a 2-run single that made it 10-0.
The Astros were able to get one of those runs back in their half of the 1st inning on a single by Yainer Diaz after Brady Singer had previously allowed a single and a walk. Two innings later the Reds were back at it in the batters box. TJ Friedl picked up a 1-out single and then Matt McLain hit his 5th home run of the season to make it a 12-1 ballgame.
Houston wasn’t ready to just roll over and call it a day. In the bottom of the 3rd inning they put it to Brady Singer, rallying for back-to-back singles to start the inning before an RBI double by Isaac Paredes and an RBI triple by Christian Walker. Yainer Diaz grounded out for the first out of the inning, but he plated a run on the play. Zach Dezenzo doubled and then Victor Caratini homered to make it 12-7. That was the end of the day for Singer, who was gifted a 10 run lead before he threw a pitch and couldn’t record eight outs. Lyon Richardson took over and got out of the inning without allowing any further damage.
Richardson would toss a scoreless 4th inning before giving way to Scott Barlow to start out the 5th. He would only record one out while giving up a run on two hits and a walk before Graham Ashcraft entered the game and shut things down. Cincinnati got that run back in the top of the 6th when Spencer Steer led off with a walk and came in to score on a single by Connor Joe, making it a 13-8 game.
Ashcraft returned and tossed a scoreless 6th inning. Luis Mey took over for the 7th inning and the rookie threw a perfect inning, hitting 102.1 MPH on his final pitch of the inning. Tony Santillan then came out for the 8th inning and retained the Reds 5-run lead.
Cincinnati sent closer Emilio Pagan out for the 9th inning to try and seal the win. After retiring the first two batters, Pagan issued a walk and then gave up an RBI double to Jeremy Pena. Brendan Rodgers would strike out on three pitches, ending the game after three hours and 18 minutes of play with the Reds picking up the 13-9 victory.
Key Moment of the Game
The top of the 1st inning that saw the Reds score 10 runs.
Notes Worth Noting
Luis Mey became the 3rd Reds pitcher to hit 102 MPH (that we have a record of). He joins Aroldis Chapman and Hunter Greene in the group.
TJ Friedl had three hits and two walks in the game. He’s hitting .438/.625/.813 with eight walks in the last five games.
Connor Joe had two more hits in his first game with the Reds than he had in seven games with the Padres this season.
Tony Santillan’s hitless inning lowered his ERA to 1.35 on the season.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs Houston Astros
Sunday, May 10th, 2:10pm ET
Chase Petty (0-1, 34.71 ERA) vs Ronel Blanco (2-3, 4.98 ERA)
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