With the bases loaded in the top of the fifth inning on Wednesday against the San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds reliever Josh Osich came out of the bullpen with the bases loaded. At the time, the Reds had a two-run lead. At the time, Osich hadn’t allowed a run in his four games with the Reds.
But Osich allowed a grand slam to Padres center fielder Trent Grisham as the Reds lost 7-5 to the Padres in a 5 1/3 inning game at Great American Ball Park. For the third time in six games against the San Diego Padres this season, a Reds reliever allowed a game-changing home run, and four different relievers have allowed those home runs.
When the Reds faced the Padres in San Diego in the middle of June, Cincinnati had a 4-2 lead entering the bottom of the ninth inning in the first game of the series. The Reds lost that game 6-4 after Ryan Hendrix and Amir Garrett each allowed a home run.
Two days later, the Reds and Padres were tied at five entering the eighth inning. Reliever Heath Hembree allowed a two-run homer, and the Reds lost 7-5.
When that series against the Padres started, Osich wasn’t on the Reds 26-man roster. He had a 5.40 ERA in Triple-A but was called up as a reinforcement to a bullpen that has the second-highest ERA in MLB.
With Tejay Antone and Lucas Sims on the injured list, Osich has immediately been thrown into high-leverage situations. When Antone was healthy, he entered nine games this season in the fifth or sixth inning for a situation manager David Bell often said felt like the most important of the game.
On Wednesday, Osich got the ball in that spot against the Padres. Starting pitcher Vladimir Gutierrez stranded the bases loaded and was pulled from the game with one out in the fifth inning.
On the first batter Osich faced, he allowed a 364-foot homer as a 5-3 Reds lead turned into a 7-5 Reds deficit.
Reds right fielder Nick Castellanos and first baseman Joey Votto each homered to give the Reds the early lead. On Votto’s home run, he hit his 1,000th career RBI and earned a curtain call from the crowd.
For the ninth time this season, the Reds scored at least five runs and lost.
The game began with a 37 minute rain delay due to inclement weather in the area. Then in the top of the sixth inning, with the Reds trailing 7-5, heavy rain and lightning started at Great American Ball Park.
Due to the weather, the game was called with one out in the sixth inning. Since five complete innings were played, it counted as an official game.
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