Solid outing from Finnegan not enough in Cincinnati Reds’ loss to Cardinals

The Cincinnati Reds fell short against the St. Louis Cardinals in a pitcher’s duel.

While the Reds’ front office was busy with the draft (where third baseman Nick Senzel was taken with the No. 2 pick), the team was on the field losing a second straight game to the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-2, as the bullpen let another game get away late.

Building momentum

Although his work wasn’t enough to get a win, Brandon Finnegan continues to show he belongs in the Reds’ starting rotation. The southpaw turned in another quality outing on Thursday, pitching seven strong innings and allowing only two runs on five hits. His biggest mistake came in the sixth inning, when he was called for a balk at a critical juncture in the game. That allowed Matt Carpenter to move to second base, who then scored on a single by next batter Aledmys Diaz.

The most encouraging thing about Finnegan’s start was he finally got his strikeout pitch working again, fanning seven, the highest output he’s put up since his first start of the year. He also walked just one batter, just the third time this season he’s allowed fewer than two free passes in a game. With former relievers Raisel Iglesias and Michael Lorenzen heading back to the bullpen after arm troubles, the Reds have to be glad to have Finnegan holding up well in the rotation.

Bats tamed

The Reds’ offense had been white hot recently, but Cardinals pitching managed to hold the group to just four hits on the night. Adam Wainwright looked like his old self, holding the Reds to two runs and two hits in six innings, while striking out nine. The only Reds runs of the game came in the very first inning. From there, the only other baserunner they got against Wainwright was when he hit Joey Votto in the sixth inning. The veteran right-hander could’ve potentially had a better line than he did, but was pulled by manager Mike Matheny for a pinch hitter despite throwing only 78 pitches. The St. Louis bullpen picked things up from there, allowing only two hits over the final three innings.

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‘Pen immediately gives up lead

Once Finnegan left the game with the score tied at two, the bullpen predictably allowed the Cardinals to take the lead right away. Ross Ohlendorf gave up a double to the first hitter, Carpenter. Diaz tried to bunt Carpenter over and first baseman Votto unsuccessfully tried to throw out the runner out at third. A walk loaded the bases and two batters later, Yadier Molina brought home the go-ahead run with a single. Ohlendorf did a nice job to limit the damage after loading the bases with no outs, but it was still another failure for the relief corps in a season full of them.

Notes:

• In good bullpen news, Tony Cingrani threw a scoreless ninth inning, giving up just a single.
• Brandon Phillips extended his hitting streak to 12 with a first-inning double.
• The Reds’ overall lack of patience at the plate really showed in this one when the hits weren’t dropping, striking out 11 times and walking only once. Despite the team’s recent hot streak, they still rank 26th in baseball in on-base percentage.