The Cincinnati Reds offense got solo home runs from TJ Friedl and Elly De La Cruz, but couldn’t get much else going until the 9th inning when the game was out of reach. The Tigers, though, hit four solo home runs of their own and pounded out 16 hits as Detroit pummeled the pitching staff in an 11-5 win to open up the series.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (35-35) | 5 | 12 | 1 |
| Detroit Tigers (46-25) | 11 | 16 | 1 |
| W: Montero (3-1) L: Martinez (4-7) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
The Reds threatened in the top of the 1st inning after TJ Friedl led off with a walk and Elly De La Cruz singled, but they couldn’t capitalize on that opportunity. Gleyber Torres didn’t wait around in the bottom of the 1st as he took the 1st pitch he saw and hit it half way to Canada to put the Tigers up 1-0.
Two innings later the Reds would tie the game up as the red-hot Friedl led off the 3rd inning with a home run that landed about seven rows deep in right-center. The game didn’t remain tied all that long as Riley Greene hit Detroit’s second homer of the day in the bottom of the inning to take the lead back and make it 2-1. They would add to it in the bottom of the 4th when Javier Baez clubbed his 7th homer of the season on a ball that landed on top of the wall before bouncing into the seats to make it 3-1.
Cincinnati was able to get a run back as the two teams continued to hit solo homers. This time it was Elly De La Cruz hitting a laser down the right field line to cut the lead down to a run. Detroit was threatening in the bottom of the inning, but Nick Martinez was saved when Connor Joe fielded a single and threw to the plate to get a lumbering Kerry Carpenter for the second out of the inning. A ground out would end the inning and keep the Tigers lead at 3-2.
The Reds got a 1-out double by Connor Joe in the top of the 6th, but they couldn’t come through with a hit to bring him in as a fly out and ground out ended the threat. Detroit also threatened in their half of the 6th inning but they were able to come through. Nick Martinez began the inning with a walk before a pitching change saw Scott Barlow come in. He then gave up a single and walked the next batter, loading the bases with no outs. Gleyber Torres then came through with a sacrifice fly to make it 4-2.
That led to another pitching change as Cincinnati went to Taylor Rogers. He got Jahmai Jones to hit a ball at 58 MPH off the bat and it hit the ground two feet in front of the plate, but it was up the third base line and never went foul, resulting in an infield hit that loaded the bases. Riley Greene followed up with a 3-run double into the left field corner that made it 7-2. After an intentional walk to get a lefty-lefty match up, Colt Keith hit a grounder to Matt McLain who tried to field it and step on second for a force out but bobbled the ball and everyone was safe, loading the bases. That brought about another pitching change. Ian Gibaut came in and needed two pitches to retire two hitters and strand all three runners.
Gleyber Torres would extend the Detroit lead in the bottom of the 7th inning against Ian Gibaut when he connected for his second solo home run of the game. That made it an 8-2 ball game. The Tigers tacked on three more runs in the 8th inning against Brent Suter as they just continued to lay it on the Reds bullpen.
Santiago Espinal would draw a 1-out walk in the 9th and take second base on a wild pitch. He would trot home when Elly De La Cruz doubled into the right field corner, making it an 11-3 game. Christian Encarnacion-Strand followed with a single to put runners on the corners. Tyler Stephenson then doubled in both runners to make it a 6-run game. Detroit responded by making a pitching change and bringing in Matt Gage, who was making his Tigers debut and his first outing in the big leagues since 2023. He picked up a strikeout and a ground out to end the game and seal the 11-5 win for Detroit.
Key Moment of the Game
Riley Greene’s 3-run double in the 6th inning that seemed to put the game away.
Notes Worth Noting
TJ Friedl’s home run was the second in as many games, his 3rd in his last four games and his 4th in the last seven games.
Elly De La Cruz and Tyler Stephenson both had three hits and two RBI in the game.
De La Cruz has been hitting very well over the last three weeks. Since May 24th he’s hit .349/.446/.730 with six doubles, six home runs (including a home run in back-to-back games), 11 walks, and 15 strikeouts. He’s played in 18 games during that time span and had seven multi-hit games.
The Reds bullpen gave up eight hits in 3.0 innings and they also walked three batters without recording a strikeout.
The loss dropped the Reds back to the .500 mark at 35-35.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs Detroit Tigers
Saturday June 14th, 1:10pm ET
Brady Singer (6-4, 4.59 ERA) vs Jack Flaherty (5-6, 3.41 ERA)
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