The Cincinnati Reds started out their series with Tampa Bay with a win. Tyler Stephenson drove in three and joined TJ Friedl in the home run column on the night. After taking the lead in the 4th inning the pitching staff took care of the rest as the offense continued to pile on runs.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Rays (53-51) | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| Cincinnati Reds (54-50) | 7 | 14 | 0 |
| W: Martinez (9-9) L: Littell (8-8) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
The Reds got the scoring started in the bottom of the 2nd inning when Tyler Stephenson cleared the wall and the glove of a leaping right fielder for a solo home run. The score didn’t stay there for long as Tampa Bay would tie things up in the top of the third on an RBI single by Jonathan Aranda.
Taylor Walls would give the Rays the lead in the top of the 4th inning when he doubled into the right field corner to plate Christopher Morel and make it 2-1. Cincinnati would load the bases with no outs in the bottom of the inning and would eventually cash in on their chances as Will Benson tied the game up on a force out. Noelvi Marte would follow up with an RBI single to make it 3-2.
Nick Martinez would get through the 5th inning unscathed before turning the game over to Lyon Richardson in the 6th. They would hold the lead and in the bottom of the 6th would see TJ Friedl hit a 2-run homer into the bullpen down the line in right field and push the lead to 5-2.
In the 7th inning the Reds would get back-to-back singles by Elly De La Cruz and Austin Hays to begin the game before Santiago Espinal came off of the bench as a pinch hitter and walked to load the bases. Tyler Stephenson then came through with a 1-out, 2-run single that pushed Cincinnati’s lead to five runs.
Elly De La Cruz would double with one out in the 8th inning and then see Jake Fraley and Spencer Steer both walk with two outs to load the bases. The Reds couldn’t come through this time around as they stranded all three runners. Holding a 7-2 lead Cincinnati sent Emilio Pagan to the mound for the 9th inning to try and seal the win. He made quick work of the Rays, needing just 11 pitches to retire them in order as the Reds picked up a win to open up the home stand.
Key Moment of the Game
TJ Friedl’s 2-run homer in the 6th inning that turned a 1-run game into a 3-run game and gave the pitching staff a little bit of breathing room to work with.
Notes Worth Noting
Elly De La Cruz went 4-5 with two doubles and a run scored. That raised his line to .283/.362/.487 on the season. Redleg Nation alumn Matt Wilkes notes that this was the 8th 4-hit game by De La Cruz, which trails just Frank Robinson and Sam Crawford (both had 10) before turning 24 in Reds history.
Austin Hays had three hits on the night and he scored two runs.
The Reds used three pinch hitters in the game. They didn’t record a single at-bat as two of them walked and the other was hit by a pitch.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Tampa Bay Rays vs Cincinnati Reds
Saturday July 26th, 6:40pm ET
Ryan Pepiot (6-8, 3.59 ERA) vs Andrew Abbott (8-1, 2.13 ERA)
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