Arizona scored a run in the 1st inning and then didn’t pick up a hit again until the 8th inning. Cincinnati failed to come through with multiple opportunities early on but they were able to cash in on them late as the Reds picked up a 6-1 win over the Diamondbacks to avoid being swept.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (68-63) | 6 | 11 | 3 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks (64-67) | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| W: Ashcraft (8-5) L: Backhus (0-3) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
Arizona didn’t waste much time grabbing the lead in the bottom of the 1st inning. Geraldo Perdomo led off with a triple into the right field corner and came in to score on a sacrifice fly by Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
Cincinnati would get a leadoff single in the top of the 2nd from Austin Hays and then Ke’Bryan Hayes would draw a 2-out walk. The paid would then execute a successful double steal to put both men in scoring position, but Matt McLain would strike out looking to strand both runners.
Two innings later the Reds would get another golden opportunity after Elly De La Cruz singled to begin the inning and moved to second base on a wild pitch. But once again the club failed to take advantage of it as a ground out was followed by back-to-back strikeouts.
Brady Singer had settled in after the 1st inning and he kept Arizona’s lead at 1-0 through the 5th inning. His offense finally showed him the tiniest bit of support in the 6th inning when Noelvi Marte tripled to the wall in center, and then when the throw to third hit his foot and rolled into foul territory he got up and sprinted home to score on the play and tie the game up.
Singer would retire the Diamondbacks in order in the 6th, completing the inning with his 9th strikeout of the day. Arizona went to the bullpen to start the 7th and Spencer Steer welcomed Juan Morillo with a ground-rule double on the first pitch he saw. Ke’Bryan Hayes then walked before Matt McLain laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position with one out. With Will Banfield due up the Reds sent Miguel Andujar to the plate as a pinch hitter and he walked on four pitches to load the bases. Arizona made a pitching change, bringing in lefty Kyle Backhus to face TJ Frield and on the first pitch he saw, Friedl grounded into an inning-ending double play and the game remained tied at one.
After Graham Ashcraft tossed a perfect bottom of the 7th the Reds went to work at the plate in the 8th. Noelvi Marte led off with a single and moved up to second base on a fly out. After a pitching change, Austin Hays came through with an RBI single to put the Reds up 2-1. They weren’t finished there, though. Gavin Lux followed up with a single and then Spencer Steer crushed a 3-run homer to make it 5-1 for the road team. After a 2-out single from Matt McLain and a walk from Jose Trevino, Cincinnati tacked on another run on a single from TJ Friedl to push their lead to five runs.
Tony Santillan had to work around a walk and a single – the Diamondbacks first hit of the game since a leadoff triple in the 1st – but he got out of the jam with a scoreless bottom of the 8th inning. Emilio Pagan took the mound for the bottom of the 9th inning and got back-to-back pop ups to shortstop before ending the game with a strikeout.
Key Moment of the Game
The 3-run home run by Spencer Steer in the 8th inning.
Notes Worth Noting
Brady Singer has allowed two runs and struck out 19 batters in his last three starts. His ERA in August is now sitting at 1.95.
Noelvi Marte, Austin Hays, and Spencer Steer all had multiple hits in the game. The two hits for Marte boosted his slash line on the year to .300/.338/.518 through 61 games with the Reds this year.
Hays had had five multi-hit games in his last nine games – and one of those nine games he was used as a pinch hitter. He’s hitting .353 since August 15th.
The New York Mets lost on Sunday. That coupled with the Cincinnati win leaves the Reds 1.5 games out of the final wild card spot heading into Monday’s game.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs Los Angeles Dodgers
Monday August 25th, 10:10pm ET
Hunter Greene (5-3, 2.63 ERA) vs Emmet Sheehan (4-2, 4.17 ERA)
The post Spencer Steer’s clutch home run leads the Reds to a win appeared first on Redleg Nation.