The Cincinnati Reds take pride in the way they’ve grinded out at-bats during the first few weeks of the season and Thursday it carried them to a win.
The Reds scored three runs with two outs in the third inning against Philadelphia Phillies lefty starter Bailey Falter after stringing together four consecutive singles. Spencer Steer started the rally with an RBI single through the left side of the infield to end a seven-pitch at-bat.
Next up was a Stuart Fairchild single in a two-strike count, an RBI single from Tyler Stephenson on a first-pitch fastball and an RBI single from Wil Myers. The hit parade helped the Reds end their three-game losing streak with a 6-2 victory over the Phillies at Great American Ball Park in front of 12,170 fans. Five of their six runs scored with two outs.
Pitching against the Phillies for the second straight start, Nick Lodolo wasn’t as dominant as last time, but he was effective. Lodolo allowed two runs across five innings, and he struck out six. He gave up eight hits and two walks, but constantly pitched out of trouble.
The Phillies had a baserunner in each inning against Lodolo, which raised his pitch count, but Lodolo stranded five runners on base across the first two innings. Nick Castellanos hit an RBI single in the first inning and Kyle Schwarber crushed a 438-foot solo homer in the fifth.
Lodolo, through three starts this season, owns a 2.12 ERA with 27 strikeouts and six walks in 17 innings.
The Reds padded their lead with a run in the fifth inning (another RBI single from Myers) and a run in the sixth inning (Jose Barrero RBI double). The Reds’ bullpen added four scoreless innings behind Lodolo.
Takeaways from the Reds’ series opener against the Phillies
1. Jonathan India manufactured a run by himself in the first inning. He opened with a double to left field off Falter. When the Phillies weren’t holding him close to second base, India stole third on a 2-0 pitch to the next batter. Phillies third baseman Edmundo Sosa whiffed on the throw from catcher J.T. Realmuto, and India scored easily when the ball rolled into left field.
The Reds were down by a run after Nick Castellanos hit an RBI single in the top half of the inning, and India erased the deficit with Falter’s first six pitches.
2. Lefty reliever Alex Young followed Lodolo and pitched two scoreless innings. Entering against the bottom of the Phillies batting order, he struck out the first two batters he faced with his signature changeup. Then he retired the side in order against the top of the lineup in the seventh inning, which included two left-on-left matchups against Bryson Stott and Schwarber.
Young, a nonroster invitee to spring training, has allowed one run in 6 1/3 innings this season.
3. There was a point during spring training when Spencer Steer struggled with his defense at third base. That seem long forgotten when he potentially saved a run with a diving stop-and-throw on a ground ball down the line to end the third inning. There was a runner on first base when he made the highlight play, but if the ball snuck past him, it likely rolls toward the left field corner.
Steer reached base three times with two singles and a walk.
Stat of the day
Schwarber was the first lefthanded batter to homer off Lodolo and just the second one to produce an extra-base hit against him. Lefty batters entered Thursday’s start with eight hits in 57 at-bats against Lodolo (.140 batting average), four walks and 26 strikeouts.
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