The bottom of the ninth inning could have set up perfectly for the Cincinnati Reds.
If the Reds could get through the top of the ninth inning without allowing a run, left fielder Jesse Winker and right fielder Nick Castellanos were due up to bat in a game the Reds trailed by one run. But Winker and Castellanos never got the chance for a game tying hit.
The San Francisco Giants scored three runs in the top of the ninth off reliever Carson Fulmer. Winker and Castellanos both reached base in the bottom of the ninth, but Cincinnati lost 4-0 to the Giants on Wednesday at Great American Ball Park.
“Just a few days ago, we were in Colorado talking about all the runs we were scoring, and comebacks,” manager David Bell said. “For the most part this year, that’s kind of what I’ve seen. But that’s the challenge.”
If the Reds could have pitched a scoreless top of the ninth, Cincinnati could have turned to two of the best hitters in the National League this season. The Giants had already taken closer Jake McGee out of the game, so Winker and Castellanos wouldn’t have faced San Francisco’s best relief pitcher.
Tejay Antone, who leads the Reds with a 2.08 ERA, was available to be the bridge to the bottom of the inning. Bell used Fulmer instead, and the Giants broke the game open with a three-run double by catcher Buster Posey.
“When we’re down earlier in the game, you can justify using Tejay, because you have many more opportunities,” Bell said. “You have a lot more innings to try to come back and score. But once we only had one shot left at it, it’s Carson’s turn right there.”
On Wednesday, Bell used Antone in a way that’s consistent with what he has done all season. Antone has only entered one game this season when the Reds were trailing, and that was on April 17. Antone has pitched the second-most innings out of the Reds bullpen this season. Fulmer, who has a 5.70 ERA, was one of the only other options in the bullpen.
By the time Fulmer entered the game, three Reds relievers had already pitched in Wednesday’s game due to a short start from Wade Miley.
Bell had to turn to his bullpen early in the game since Miley tweaked his foot. On his groundout in his lone at-bat in the third inning, Miley slipped as he made contact.Miley said he didn't feel it until he walked up the dugout steps for the fourth inning, but he said he felt pain as he pushed off the rubber on the mound.
“My velocity dropped, things weren’t as sharp,” Miley said. “I felt like I could have kept going, he just made the decision to go to the pen and that’s what we did.”
In the fifth, Miley allowed an RBI single to Giants left fielder Mike Tauchman. Miley left the game with two outs in the fifth inning, and the Reds bullpen held that one run deficit until the ninth.
As the bullpen gave the Reds a chance, Cincinnati’s offense struggled.
Former Reds pitcher Kevin Gausman carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning, and he pitched six scoreless innings. The Reds finished the game with just three hits.
Winker and Castellanos both reached base in the top of the ninth inning, but the Reds never got the tying run to the plate.
“I don't have all the answers,” Castellanos said. “I do know that hitting is contagious. I do know that hitting is confidence, you know? It's something that feeds off of each other. Today, from an offensive standpoint, we did not get it done.”
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