The Cincinnati Reds bullpen kept giving the offense opportunity after opportunity.
In a game that saw 16 pitchers between the two teams and a 52-minute delay before it all started, the Reds couldn’t create any offense in the final four innings in a 5-4 loss to the San Diego Padres at Great American Ball Park.
The Reds, who returned to a .500 record, are 0-5 against the Padres this season.
The Padres have scored multiple runs in the first inning in six of their last seven games. Jake Cronenworth hit an RBI triple down the first-base line and scored five pitches later when Manny Machado hit a sacrifice fly.
Tony Santillan needed 75 pitches to record nine outs. The Padres added another run on a sacrifice fly in the second inning, but they left the bases loaded in the second and third innings.
It was Santillan’s second time facing the Padres in his last three starts, and he yielded six hits and three runs (two earned) across three innings. Santillan is expected to be the odd man out of the rotation when Sonny Gray returns Friday. He’s an option for the bullpen as a long reliever.
The Padres took a 5-1 lead in the top of the fourth inning when Tommy Pham hit a solo homer off Ryan Hendrix, the first reliever out of the Reds’ bullpen, and Trent Grisham hit a one-out RBI single.
At that point, the Reds seemed headed for big trouble. It was a rough outing from their starting pitcher, and they needed to burn through relievers from a bullpen that has struggled this season. Plus, they were playing a team that swept them a couple of weeks ago.
The Reds proved to be resilient. With two runners on base and two outs in the fourth inning, Shogo Akiyama hit an RBI single against left-hander Nick Ramirez. Akiyama rarely receives opportunities to hit against lefties, but the Reds were trailing by four runs.
In the fifth inning, Jesse Winker brought the crowd of 16,332 to life. After Jonathan India was hit by a pitch, Winker hammered a two-run, 410-foot homer to center field. Winker knew where the ball was headed immediately, flipping his bat as he stood in the batter’s box.
It was Winker’s 19th homer of the season. He’s formed an incredible duo with Nick Castellanos as the pair of star hitters continue to trade big hits with each other.
Back to a one-run game, the Reds’ bullpen did everything it could to give its hitters a chance. Art Warren pitched 1 2/3 innings in his first multi-inning appearance of the season. Amir Garrett stranded the bases loaded in the sixth inning when he struck out Eric Hosmer, freezing Hosmer with a 96-mph fastball.
Hosmer thought the pitch was low and was ejected by home-plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt an inning later from the dugout.
Sean Doolittle stranded the bases loaded in the seventh inning, pitching around a hit, a walk and a Eugenio Suárez error where Suárez thought a ground ball was foul, but third-base umpire Quinn Wolcott thought differently.
The theme for the Padres’ offense all night was missed opportunities. The Padres left a season-high 16 runners on base. It was their highest total in a game since 2013. They hit 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position.
The problem for the Reds is they couldn’t string together hits in the late innings. Following Winker’s two-run homer, the Reds totaled one hit and nine strikeouts.
India opened the seventh inning with a walk. Winker had a 3-0 count against lefty Drew Pomeranz. After watching a pair of called strikes, Winker swung and missed at a 93-mph fastball. Winker didn’t hide his frustration, chopping down at the plate with his bat.
Castellanos was the next batter and the crowd chanted “M-V-P” throughout his at-bat. He lined out to right field via a sliding catch that took away some late-inning magic.
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