While Sims was likely the preferred option in the bullpen on Thursday, Sims had thrown 60 pitches in a four-game span. He hadn’t pitched in four games in five days all season.
Just like Sims, Hembree had pitched in three of the Reds previous four games before Thursday. Hembree pitched on three consecutive days against the Rockies and Brewers, and he threw 31 pitches in his most recent outing on Tuesday night in Milwaukee.
Recently, Hembree has been saved for high-leverage situations, and he likely would have been a consideration Thursday night if he was fully rested. In each of his last three games, Hembree was one of the setup relievers in a close game where the Reds had the lead.
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Hembree hadn’t thrown more than 44 pitches while pitching in three consecutive games all season, and he threw 31 pitches on Tuesday alone in his third game in three days. He also hadn’t pitched in four games in five days in 2021.
Brad Brach
Brach has had even more usage than Hembree and Sims over the last week, pitching in four of the Reds last five games.
Entering in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings of games where the Reds had the lead or were tied, Brach has allowed one hit and no runs since June 6.
Brach has pitched over Hendrix in key spots recently, but Brach’s workload over the Reds winning streak was as significant as anyone’s on the team. On Wednesday, Brach threw 17 pitches in a scoreless seventh inning against the Brewers, and he threw a bullpen-high 71 pitches over a five day span entering Thursday night.
Ryan Hendrix and Amir Garrett
As a likely result of Sims, Hembree and Brach’s recent usage, Hendrix took the mound for the top of the ninth on Thursday night. The Padres had two standout right-handed hitters, Manny Machado and Wil Myers, due up in the order.
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Bell played the matchups and went with the right-handed Hendrix in the ninth. After Art Warren pitched a hitless eighth inning, Ashton Goudeau was the only other available right-handed reliever in the Reds bullpen. Goudeau has mostly been a long reliever and hasn’t pitched in a game the Reds were leading this season.
Bell planned for Hendrix to face the first three batters of the ninth and then for Garrett to follow him and match up against a left-handed batter and a switch hitter.
Hendrix allowed a walk and then a home run to Padres first baseman Eric Hosmer. Then Garrett entered the game. Left-handed reliever Sean Doolittle, who had only pitched two third of an inning over the Reds previous four games, was also in the Reds bullpen. Bell went with Garrett against the left-handed hitter over Doolittle.
While Garrett had also pitched in three of the last four games, he threw five or fewer pitches in two of those outings. Garrett hadn’t allowed a hit in his last three appearances, while Doolittle had a 9.82 ERA in June.
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Catcher Tyler Stephenson said Garrett executed his slider to Padres catcher Victor Caratini, but Caratini hit a walk-off home run.
“Ryan Hendrix is going to get that opportunity many more times in his career,” Bell said. “So is Amir. We just went up against a good team, good hitters.”
