PHILADELPHIA – Looking to play spoiler at Citizens Bank Park, where a sellout crowd of 44,365 gathered to celebrate the Philadelphia Phillies’ home opener, Cincinnati Reds reliever Derek Law slumped over at the waist when J.T. Realmuto connected on a hanging cutter.
The crowd exploded as it watched the ball travel 448 feet between Realmuto’s bat and the center field seats for a two-run homer. Realmuto knew it as soon he hit it, spinning his bat and giving a celebratory yell to his teammates.
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The Reds erased a pair of one-run deficits against Phillies Opening Day starter Zack Wheeler, but they couldn’t do any damage against Philadelphia’s bullpen in a 5-2 loss. It was a festive environment all afternoon with highlights shown from last year’s postseason run. Injured Phillies Bryce Harper and Rhys Hoskins raised the 2022 National League pennant flag in center field.
It was an up-and-down start from Hunter Greene, who surrendered five hits, three walks and two runs in 4 2/3 innings. He was electric at the start of his outing, striking out the side in the first inning and drawing whiffs on eight of the first 11 swings against his fastball.
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Then he needed 33 pitches to maneuver through the second inning. He had a runner on third with two outs and Jake Cave, the No. 7 batter in the Phillies lineup, in a 0-2 count when things went off the rails. Greene walked Cave and the next two batters, including Brandon Marsh with the bases loaded, to give the Phillies an early lead.
After the Reds tied the score in the top of the fifth inning – Spencer Steer started a two-out rally with a double to left field and scored on a groundball single from Jose Barrero – the Phillies retook the lead against Greene in two pitches. Trea Turner hit a leadoff single and scored on Kyle Schwarber’s double to the right field wall.
In the sixth inning, TJ Friedl and Tyler Stephenson knocked Phillies Opening Day starter Zack Wheeler from the game with a pair of doubles. Stephenson’s double in the left-center gap tied the score at 2, but the Reds didn't produce another hit until the ninth inning.
Takeaways from the Reds-Phillies series opener
1. Reds lefty reliever Alex Young followed Greene in the fifth inning, inheriting a runner on second base with two outs. After Bryson Stott reached on an infield single, a call overturned through replay review, Young induced a fielder’s choice ground ball against Alec Bohm to strand two runners.
In the sixth inning, the Phillies didn’t turn to their bench to replace any of the three lefties at the bottom of their order. Young overpowered them in the left-on-left matchups and struck out the side on 14 pitches.
2. Turner, the Phillies’ $300 million shortstop, showed how much his speed can affect games. After a groundball single in the fifth inning, he easily scored from first base on Kyle Schwarber’s double off the right field wall, sliding well ahead of the relay throw to the plate.
On first base again in the seventh inning, following another ground ball single, Law had to keep tabs on him with some dangerous hitters at the plate. After working low-and-away for five pitches to Realmuto, Law left the sixth pitch in the middle of the plate for the go-ahead two-run homer.
3. Will Benson, who was hitless in his first 12 at-bats with the Reds with nine strikeouts, finally ended his drought with a bloop single to center off the end of his bat in the second inning. Benson added a seven-pitch walk versus Wheeler in the fifth inning, laying off an elevated fastball and slider after reaching a 2-2 count.
Stat of the day
The Reds had consecutive off days for the third time since 1997, the year Elias Sports Bureau began recording such data. The other two times were Aug. 15-16, 2020, when a player tested positive for COVID, and six games were postponed following the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
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