Cincinnati Reds Fall to Indians Despite Jay Bruce’s Big Night

W: Corey Kluber (5-10)

L: Anthony DeSclafani (5-7)

On Friday, Cincinnati Reds took it to the Cleveland Indians behind a strong outing from starting pitcher Mike Leake. Saturday night was a different story, as it was the Indians and reigning AL Cy Young winner Corey Kluber dominated the Reds.

From the outset, it was clear that it wouldn’t be Anthony DeSclafani‘s night. He gave up back-to-back singles to Jason Kipnis and Francisco Lindor to start the game, and Michael Brantley promptly emptied the bases with a three-run home run to give the Indians a 3-0 lead after three batters.

The Reds got a run back in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Jay Bruce—his first of four runs batted in on the night—but Joey Votto was thrown out at third to end the first and prevent what could’ve been a bigger inning.

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The game would never get closer than that, as Kluber shut down the Reds’ bats and the Indians continued to feast on Cincinnati pitching.

The Indians would add three more runs in the third inning as Carlos Santana hit an RBI double and was brought home on a two-run homer by Brandon Moss.

DeSclafani only lasted through the fifth inning, giving up six runs on eight hits and striking out four. On the bright side, he didn’t walk a batter.

Nate Adcock relieved the rookie and things only got worse. Adcock worked around a hit batter in the sixth, but had trouble finding the strike zone in the seventh. After putting two Indians hitters on base via walks, Yan Gomes crushed a three-run homer to the upper deck in left field to make it a 9-1 game. The right-hander would walk another batter before his removal from the game.

Fans did get something to be excited about in the eighth, as Jay Bruce hit a towering three-run homer to right field, his 14th of the year. Since May 16, Bruce is hitting .312/.386/.561 with 18 doubles, nine home runs, and 33 RBI. The Reds may have a lot of problems, but he’s not one of them.

The Reds’ only other hits on the night came from Brandon Phillips, who went 3-for-4, and Votto, who went 3-for-3 with a walk and a double.

Other Notes:

• Outside of Phillips, Votto and Bruce, the Reds went 0-for-23 against Indians pitching. The only other player to reach base was Ivan De Jesus Jr., who reached on a pinch-hit walk in the ninth.
• Jumbo Diaz and Pedro Villarreal threw a shutout inning each, while Burke Badenhop retired the only hitter he faced.
• This loss means that the Indians secure this year’s Ohio Cup, having swept the Reds in Cleveland earlier in the year.

Up Next: The Reds and Indians will play the rubber match on Sunday at 1:10 p.m. EST. Johnny Cueto will toe the rubber for what could be his final start in Cincinnati, while Carlos Carrasco will start for the Tribe.