The Cincinnati Reds knew what they were up against when they faced Shane Bieber on Sunday at Great American Ball Park.
Bieber, the reigning American League Cy Young winner, hasn’t allowed more than three runs in a start in the last two years. He entered with a 1.73 ERA in his last 15 starts, plus a league-high 157 strikeouts in 98 2/3 innings.
When Wade Miley surrendered a three-run homer to Cleveland catcher Roberto Pérez in the fourth inning, well, it became that much more of an uphill battle. Joey Votto hit a two-run double in the fifth inning, but that was all the damage the Reds could do against Bieber in a 6-3 loss.
Bieber struck out 13 in eight innings. He made MLB history, becoming the first pitcher to record 10-plus strikeouts in each of his first four starts of the season since the mound was moved to its current distance in 1893, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
The Reds didn’t have many opportunities to sustain a rally against Bieber. He walked two batters in the second inning, but then struck out the other three. Votto hit a two-out double in the third inning, a poke that rolled down the left-field line against the shift, but Bieber followed by striking out Eugenio Suárez.
The fifth inning provided their best rally. Pinch-hitter Mark Payton hit a leadoff single and Jesse Winker followed with a single to center. Payton advanced from first to third on Winker’s hit, and Winker slid into second when the throw from the outfield went to third base.
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With one out, Votto laced a two-run double into right field to cut the score to 4-2. Then Cleveland’s defense slammed the door shut on a longer rally. Third baseman José Ramírez made a highlight play on a ground ball that took him into foul territory before he tossed out Suárez. Left fielder Eddie Rosario ended the inning with a sliding catch to prevent Votto from scoring.
Votto, who had two doubles Sunday, was the first hitter with a three-hit game against Bieber in a game since Chicago White Sox stars Tim Anderson and José Abreu did it on Sept. 25, 2019.
Bieber struck out six of the final seven batters he faced – Tyler Naquin crushed a solo homer off the batter’s eye in center field in the eighth inning – and Cleveland snapped the Reds’ home winning streak at seven games. Bieber’s 48 strikeouts through four starts are tied for the most in MLB history with Nolan Ryan’s total from his first four starts in 1978.
Miley, who was ejected from the dugout after his start, allowed four runs and five hits across five innings. All the runs came with two outs.
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It was the fourth-inning rally that was the most painful. Eddie Rosario started it with a two-out single. Amed Rosario hit a two-strike cutter into the hole between shortstop and third base. Kyle Farmer made a diving stop to his left, but he didn’t have time to throw out Amed Rosario.
That brought up Pérez, the No. 7 hitter. In a 3-1 count, Pérez drilled a changeup that carried over the center-field wall.
It’s hard enough to create any offense against Bieber, let alone make up a four-run deficit.
In the top of the first inning, Miley fell into a 3-0 count against Ramírez. He didn’t want to concede a walk, so he threw an 85-mph cutter that caught too much of the plate. Ramírez pummeled it into the second deck in left field for a solo homer.
Ramírez’s homer ended an 11-inning scoreless streak for Miley to begin the season.
The Reds have an off-day Monday before they welcome the Arizona Diamondbacks to GABP for a three-game series.
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