MIAMI – Facing left-handed pitching has been an issue for the Cincinnati Reds all season and that’ll be a test for them this week as they try to grow their lead in the wild-card race.
The Reds are scheduled to face a left-handed starting pitcher in four of their next five games, managing only one hit against Miami Marlins lefty Jesús Luzardo in six innings Sunday.
The lack of offense spoiled a solid start from Tyler Mahle in a 2-1 loss to the Marlins at loanDepot park in front of 11,019 fans and a disagreement with the strike zone led to some fiery emotions. Eugenio Suárez was ejected in the seventh inning and manager David Bell was ejected in the ninth.
Joey Votto, upset with a called third strike in a full count from the first inning, paused his at-bat in the ninth inning to say some words to home-plate umpire Edwin Moscoso. After he hit a sacrifice fly, driving in the Reds' only run, he spiked his helmet and shouted a few more words from the dugout.
"For Joey, it went back to the first inning at-bat," said Bell, who was ejected for the fifth time this year. "He gets that call, it's a different inning, different at-bat and I think Joey knows that. He didn't. And I think that probably was where the real frustration stemmed."
