Cincinnati Reds Blown Out Again in Series Finale vs. Marlins

W: Dan Haren (7-5)

L: Johnny Cueto (6-6)

The All-Star break can’t come soon enough for the Cincinnati Reds.

For a second consecutive day, the Reds were blown out by the Miami Marlins as Johnny Cueto struggled and the offense managed only five hits in an 8-1 loss.

The game started off well enough, as Brandon Phillips singled to lead the game off and scored on a single by Todd Frazier two batters later. That would be it for the offense, though, as Dan Haren silenced the Reds’ bats from there on out and the Marlins’ bullpen didn’t allow a baserunner over the final three innings.

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Things didn’t go much better for Cueto on the mound. Following a complete-game shutout in his last outing, the right-hander didn’t have it on Sunday, giving up five runs (three earned) on seven hits and a walk, striking out just two.

Cueto made it safely through the Marlins’ lineup the first time around, but gave up three runs in the fourth, the big blow being Casey McGehee‘s two-run double. The Marlins scored two more runs in the fifth following a two-out error by Frazier, as Cueto gave up another two-run double, this time by Justin Bour.

The Marlins tacked on three more runs in the seventh inning off of Ryan Mattheus, in part thanks to more sloppy defense by the Reds. With runners on second and third, Adeiny Hechavarria hit a ground ball to Eugenio Suarez. The shortstop decided to come home, but made a wild, spinning throw that was nowhere close to catcher Brayan Pena. Both runners scored on the play as Mattheus didn’t cover home, and Hechavarria moved to third as Suarez didn’t cover the base for Frazier, who had sprinted home to cover for Mattheus. If all that was confusing, here’s a video of the ugliness.

The Reds finish the first half at 39-47, 16 games out of first place in the NL Central. This team could look very different by the end of the month.

Other Notes:

• Jay Bruce‘s 19th double of the season in the third inning was also his 200th career two-bagger.
• Burke Badenhop and J.J. Hoover both threw a 1-2-3 inning in relief.
• During the game, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw was named as the replacement for the Nationals’ Max Scherzer on the NL All-Star team, meaning Cueto will not be a part of the festivities in Cincinnati this week.

Up Next: The Reds return to action on Friday in Great American Ball Park against the Cleveland Indians. Mike Leake will open up the second half for the pitching staff, facing off against Trevor Bauer. Enjoy the All-Star game!

Next: Cincinnati Reds Midseason Awards