Observations from Cincinnati Reds’ 9-3 Loss to D-Backs

It was a long day in Goodyear for the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, as they fell to the Arizona Diamondbacks, 9-3.

There were plenty of things to take away from the game, however. Here are some observations and notes from the game:

Short, rough day for Finnegan

After opening up spring action impressively, left-hander Brandon Finnegan hit his first bump in the road on Sunday. He faced 10 Arizona batters in the first inning, seeing the first five reach base via a hit or a walk. He would get out of the opening frame, but would not return to the mound, having allowed six runs on five hits — including a home run — and two walks. It seemed to be a case of Finnegan simply not having his best stuff rather than something to be overly concerned about, as he had allowed just four runs, 11 hits and one walk through his first 10 innings pitched. He’s still a lock for the starting rotation.

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Mesoraco continues comeback

The long-awaited return for Devin Mesoraco continues to go smoothly. The Reds’ all-star catcher appeared in his second game of the spring behind the plate, batting sixth. After homering in his return on Thursday, he hit a two-run double down the left-field line in the bottom of the first inning of Sunday’s game to make it a 6-3 contest. He would pop out in his second at-bat before being removed from the game as scheduled in the fifth inning. Mesoraco should slowly work his way up to catching a full game and looks to be ready to go by Opening Day.

A potential regular season lineup?

For the first time this spring, the Reds projected starters were all in the lineup at the same time. Manager Bryan Price rolled out what could very well be the batting order when the regular season begins, with the only potential difference being that Scott Schebler and Adam Duvall are set to platoon in left field.

Notes:

• Billy Hamilton played his second game of the spring in center field, an encouraging sign on the health of his surgically repaired right shoulder.
• The only Reds pitcher to not allow a run was Ryan Mattheus. He pitched two innings, allowing two hits and striking out two in what was his best outing of the spring.
• A.J. Morris allowed a run on three hits and two walks in 2.1 innings, Drew Hayes gave up his first run of the spring on two hits over two frames and Dayan Diaz allowed a run and two hits in one inning.
• The Reds have not exactly played great defense thus far. They committed two more errors against the Diamondbacks, giving them 24 for the spring — the second-worst mark among all teams.