The Cincinnati Reds offense continued to struggle as they managed just one run on three hits as the Baltimore Orioles blew them out to complete a 3-game sweep and push the Reds to two games under the .500 mark.
Final | R | H | E |
---|---|---|---|
Baltimore Orioles (23-11) |
11 | 11 | 0 |
Cincinnati Reds (16-18) |
1 | 3 | 1 |
W: Kremer (3-2) L: Lodolo (3-1) | |||
Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread |
The game got out to a nice start for Nick Lodolo as he got a pop up and a strikeout to begin his day. But then he gave up a double, an RBI single, and a 2-run homer off of the bat of Jordan Westburg and just like that the Orioles had a 3-0 lead in the 1st.
Nick Lodolo settled in from that point for a bit, but he ran into trouble again in the 5th inning – once again with two outs. He hit Ramon Urias and then walked Gunnar Hernderson before giving up a double to Adley Rutschman that brought a run in to extend the Baltimore lead to 4-0.
The Reds headed into the bottom of the inning without having a single baserunner as yet again their offense was struggling to get anything at all going. Christian Encarnacion-Strand broke up the perfect game with one out in the inning with a line drive hit into center. Jonathan India followed up with a walk to bring up Nick Martini, but not before the Orioles pitching coach made a trip to the mound to discuss the situation. Whatever was said worked as Martini flew out and Santiago Espinal popped up in foul territory to strand both runners.
Brent Suter took over for Cincinnati in the 6th inning and worked around a walk to throw a shutout inning. He returned to start the 7th and gave up a leadoff home run that hit the top of the wall before bouncing into the stands that gave the Orioles a 5-run lead. The Baltimore offense wasn’t finished as they picked up a double and an RBI single to push their lead to 6-0.
With the Reds still trailing by six runs, Alexis Diaz came out to pitch the 9th inning since he hadn’t pitched in nearly a week. He may have been a bit rusty as he walked the first batter he saw and then gave up an RBI double to Colton Cowser that made it 7-0. A single followed up and put runners on the corners with no outs. Diaz then walked Gunnar Henderson on eight pitches before pitching coach Derek Johnson made a trip to the mound to try and settle his pitcher down and perhaps buy time for Emilio Pagan to continue warming up in the bullpen.
After a strikeout, Diaz was pulled from the game and Pagan made the walk from the bullpen to take over with one out and the bases loaded. He would strike out the first batter he faced but then gave up a grand slam to Anthony Santander that made it 11-0.
Baltimore headed into the 9th with Albert Suarez on the mound but after he struck out Luke Maile the Orioles made a pitching change…. in an 11-0 game in the 9th inning. Mike Baumann came into the game and immediately walked Will Benson and Elly De La Cruz. Spencer Steer then picked up a bloop single to center that loaded the bases. Jake Fraley followed up with a line drive single that made it 11-1. That was all she wrote, though, as Baltimore recorded the final two outs without another run scoring and completed the sweep.
Key Moment of the Game
On a day when the Reds had one run, it would probably be the 2-run homer in the 1st inning from Jordan Westburg that put the game entirely out of reach even if that was unknown at the time.
Notes Worth Noting
The Reds scored two runs in the series. They’ve now lost five games in a row.
TJ Friedl could return as early as Tuesday.
Bell said he will speak with TJ Friedl after the game today to see how he feels. It is possible Friedl could return Tuesday. #Reds
— Jeff Wallner (@JeffWallner) May 5, 2024
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Arizona Diamondbacks vs Cincinnati Reds
Tuesday May 7th, 6:40pm ET
Zac Gallen (3-2, 3.38 ERA) vs TBA
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