PITTSBURGH – Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell said he tries to not make it any different when he pulls a starting pitcher from the game in his last start of the season.
On Saturday against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Bell wanted to give Mahle a chance to pitch out of a jam in the fifth inning. If there were two outs in the inning, Bell said he could have given Mahle another batter. But since Mahle had already allowed six hits in the inning, Bell ended Mahle’s fifth MLB season and pulled him from the game.
Mahle’s career 2021 season ended on a down note as the Pirates beat the Reds, 8-6.
“It leaves a bad taste in your mouth, but it is what it is,” Mahle said. “Good thing that didn't define my whole year.”
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Mahle has said that he saw the difference between his road ERA and his home ERA as a statistical fluke, but he had the second-lowest road ERA in MLB entering his final start of the 2021 season.
Last Sunday, Mahle lowered his home ERA to 5.63 when he allowed just one run in six innings. Then against the Pirates at PNC Park on Saturday, Mahle’s road ERA regressed to the mean.
Mahle had the longest active streak in MLB with 23 consecutive road starts without allowing three-or-more runs. On Saturday, Mahle allowed six earned runs, and he allowed all six runs in the fifth inning.
“One inning means nothing in the big picture of what he’s done this year,” Bell said. “I want to make sure he knows that. He does. It was a great season in every way. It was just the one inning today… He’s too important to us. He just had a great year. There is no other way to look at it.”
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Mahle entered spring training in 2021 with a guaranteed spot in the Reds rotation for the first time in his five-year MLB career. He made every start and recorded over 200 strikeouts.
This season, just five MLB starting pitchers have made all 33 of their schedule starts. Two of those pitchers are Reds starter Luis Castillo and Mahle.
“I know that they’re both more proud and happy with themselves for that than any other stat, really,” Bell said. “(It’s) the way they take care of themselves, their desire to be out there every five days. There’s a lot that goes into that. It’s a huge accomplishment in any season, but maybe this season more than any.”
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The Reds still had a 5-4 lead when Reds manager Bell pulled Mahle from the game and brought reliever Justin Wilson out of the bullpen. Wilson allowed a two-run double, a walk and a single as the Pirates took a 6-5 lead in the fifth inning.
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Wilson was a part of the Reds trade deadline move with the New York Yankees, and Wilson brought another veteran left-handed option in the Reds bullpen during the second half of the season. Including Saturday’s game, Wilson has only allowed a run in four of his 21 relief appearances with the Reds.
Following what was likely his last relief appearance of the season, Wilson has a $2.3 million player option for 2022. He said he hasn’t thought about that decision, but the 34-year-old Wilson said he benefited from the midseason trade this year.
“I really like the group of guys and the staff,” Wilson said before the game. “I welcomed the new opportunity. It didn’t go well for me in New York, and it’s been a lot better here. There’s a great group of guys here, and I think they’re on the right track to be a perennial playoff team.”
Reds reliever Tony Santillan took the loss when he allowed an RBI triple to Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds in the sixth, and the Reds dropped their fourth straight game on this road trip.
“We’re at a point where I look at everything our team has done as far as the effort, the way they compete – they’re giving everything they have,” Bell said. “That’s all that matters to me. That’s all you can do.”
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