Cincinnati Reds: Bullpen Meltdown Costly in Loss

The dream of a perfect season is over for the Cincinnati Reds.

On a cold, blustery night in Cincinnati, the Reds held the lead for most of the evening against the division rival Pittsburgh Pirates. Heading into the eighth inning with a 5-2 lead, the bullpen had a meltdown that was costly in the Reds’ 6-5 loss to the Pirates. In a season where many have already predicted the Reds will lose 100 games or more, the main reason for the lack of optimism was the lack of bullpen depth. The bullpen, in this the fourth game of the season, blew it tonight in what was a good start for Alfredo Simon.

Simon Says: Part 2

Simon spent 2012-2014 in a Cincinnati Reds uniform before spending the 2015 season with the Detroit Tigers. His numbers in Detroit weren’t anything to be excited about having an ERA north of five runs per nine innings, but with the Reds pitching staff being depleted due to injuries, they went out and signed him mid-spring.

Simon had some bright spots tonight as he pitched five innings giving up two runs (one earned) and striking out seven batters. He did hit two batters and walk two, but outside of that he looked like the Alfredo Simon Reds fans were used to.

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Phillips Returns

Brandon Phillips missed the last two games with a stomach virus after playing on Opening Day, but the Reds welcomed him back to the lineup tonight. Phillips had himself a nice night at the plate, hitting the first pitch he saw of the game over the center-field wall to give the Reds a 2-0 lead at that point in the game. Phillips ended the night 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBI, and a run scored himself. Phillips accounted for three out of the five runs the Reds scored tonight.

Bullpen Meltdown

The Reds went to the eighth inning with a 5-2 lead and it looked as if they would remain undefeated heading into game two of the series tomorrow. Ross Ohlendorf came in to start the inning and retired the first two batters of the inning with a flyout and a groundout, then the meltdown happened. Ohlendorf hit John Jaso then followed that up by walking both Andrew McCutchen and David Freese to load the bases. Bring on J.J. Hoover. Hoover came in to face Starling Marte with the bases loaded and Marte deposited a hanging breaking ball into the left field seats to give the Pirates a 6-5 lead. They would go on to win by that score.

Notes:

• Marte was 1-for-14 in his career against Hoover with eight strikeouts prior to the grand slam he hit tonight to give the Pirates the victory.
• Reds pitchers tonight allowed a whopping 12 runners to reach base after recording two outs in an inning.
• Eugenio Suarez had a rough night defensively at his new position of third base recording two errors tonight.