Cincinnati Reds avoid sweep with 9-4 win over Phillies

Though the bullpen again made it interesting, the Cincinnati Reds escaped Philly with a win on Sunday.

The Reds had some difficulty scoring runs in the first two games of their series against the Philadelphia Phillies. That problem did not present itself again in the finale. With 14 total hits and seven walks, the visitors were able to salvage one win from the trip to Citizens Bank Park by a 9-4 score, in a game that lasted nearly four hours.

Offense catches fire

Most of the Reds’ offense came from three players, as Eugenio Suarez, Jay Bruce and Adam Duvall combined for nine of the team’s 14 hits on the day. Moved back to the second spot in the lineup, Suarez showed signs of breaking out of his slump with a 3-for-6 day, including a three-run homer to dead center field in the fourth inning. Bruce went 3-for-3 with two singles, a double, two walks and three runs scored, setting the table for the scoring outbursts in the second and fourth innings. Right behind him, Adam Duvall continued to scorch the ball, going 3-for-4 with another double — his 12th of the season — two runs scored, a stolen base (though he should’ve been picked off) and, in a sure sign that everything is going right for him, he even reached on catcher’s interference.

Straily dances out of trouble

The most important thing for the Reds was that Dan Straily didn’t allow a run, lowering his ERA as a starter to 3.00. But in a 7-0 game, they certainly would’ve liked to see him go further into the game than five innings. The right-hander didn’t have his best stuff, as he gave up at least one baserunner in every inning and his control escaped him late in his outing, leading to a pitch count that elevated quickly. In all, Straily allowed six hits and three walks on the day, but he was able to work himself out of big jams in the fourth and fifth innings to keep the Phillies off the scoreboard.

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Walks will haunt

On just two hits, the Reds were able to score five runs in the fourth inning. How? Plate discipline. Bruce led the inning off with an eight-pitch walk, moving to third on a Duvall single. After a flyout, the Phillies opted to intentionally walk Tucker Barnhart to get to Straily, who then defied the odds by drawing a four-pitch, bases-loaded walk for his first career RBI. In total, the Reds walked seven times on the day. Coming into Sunday, the Reds were 28th in the league in walk rate (6.5 BB%) and 29th in on-base percentage (.289). This game serves as a perfect example of why being able to draw walks and get on base is so important, and is getting increased attention across the game (look no further than the Chicago Cubs for evidence of that).

That worked both ways in this game. In addition to Straily’s three free passes, the relievers issued four, as walks continue to be a problem for the Reds’ woeful bullpen. Steve Delabar walked two, leading to the Phillies scoring a pair of runs in the sixth, and Ross Ohlendorf walked one in the eighth, moving a runner into scoring position that eventually resulted in a run. The theme continued in the ninth, when Drew Hayes couldn’t get through the inning, allowing three singles before walking a run in.

Notes:

Following Hayes’ ninth-inning debacle, Tony Cingrani had to be given the ball to record the final two outs, which he did to record his third save of the season.
Blake Wood fired the only perfect inning of the game for Reds pitchers in the seventh, lowering his season ERA to an even 3.00.
No one will be happier to get out of Philadelphia than Joey Votto. He went 0-for-10 with six strikeouts in the series.

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