Sonny Gray had a nightmare fourth inning Sunday, surrendering two home runs, watching a Cincinnati Reds lead turn into a five-run deficit and ending a start with a career-high eight runs against him.
Then something unique happened when manager David Bell came to the mound for a pitching change.
Gray kept the ball in his hand and waited on the mound for reliever Edgar García to run from the bullpen. Once García arrived at the mound, Gray gave a fist bump and a pat on the back to García.
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As disappointed as Gray may have been with his own performance, he encouraged his teammates to keep fighting without him. The Reds didn’t complete their sweep against the St. Louis Cardinals in a 10-6 loss at Great American Ball Park, but they certainly had their chances.
In the eighth inning, the Reds loaded the bases with no outs through two walks and a single. Trailing by three runs, the Reds had the tying run at first base and the go-ahead run at the plate. Cardinals reliever Giovanny Gallegos avoided the meltdown by striking out Tyler Naquin and inducing two foul outs.
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The Reds were 3-for-17 with runners in scoring position through the first eight innings and left 13 on base. Nolan Arenado added an insurance run in the top of the ninth with a solo homer.
The Cardinals had six of their seven hitters reach base against Gray in the fourth inning, with pitcher Johan Oviedo as the lone exception. Tommy Edman drilled an RBI double off the center-field wall. Harrison Bader crushed a three-run homer to left field. Dylan Carlson clobbered a two-run homer to right.
Gray yielded eight hits and eight runs in 3 1/3 innings, his shortest start of the season that wasn’t cut short by an injury. He’s allowed 13 runs and 14 hits in his last two outings, which have spanned eight innings.
It was a disappointing end to the weekend because the Reds didn’t gain any ground on the first-place Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central. The Reds remain more than five games out of a playoff spot ahead of Friday’s trade deadline.
The Reds should have a wave of players returning from injuries within the next couple of weeks – relievers Lucas Sims, Tejay Antone and Michael Lorenzen, plus Nick Senzel and Mike Moustakas – but they’re still fighting to stay afloat in the playoff race.
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Joey Votto staked the Reds to a 3-2 lead in the first inning when he hammered a 94-mph fastball into the right-field seats for a three-run homer. Votto didn’t hide his excitement, motioning to a teammate in the dugout as he ran up the first-base line in his home run trot.
Votto was the only player from either team to take batting practice on the field prior to Sunday’s game. It’s not the first time that’s happened before a day game, when it’s rare for teams to take pregame batting practice, but Votto sticks to his routines. Forget the short turnaround from a night game Saturday. Forget that he’s hitting well. Even at 37 years old, he’s still chasing perfection.
Jesse Winker hit a one-out single in the bottom of the first inning and Tyler Stephenson followed with a walk. That brought up Votto, who whiffed at the first pitch from Cardinals starter Johan Oviedo and smiled when he heard something from the dugout.
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Two pitches later, Votto was circling the bases on his 14th home run of the season. He hit only 12 homers in 145 games in 2018 and 15 homers in 142 games in 2019.
The problem was the Reds couldn’t capitalize on their early momentum. The nightmare fourth inning. Too many runners left on base.
As the clock ticks toward the trade deadline and the final two months of the season, the Reds have shown they are up for a fight. It’s just a question of whether they are too far behind.
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