Cincinnati Reds: Poor pitching performance costly against Cubs

An atrocious pitching performance left the Cincinnati Reds with little chance against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night.

If you missed this game, you didn’t miss much. The Reds took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning that quickly disappeared when the Cubs hung five runs in the bottom of the inning. From there it would only get worse for the Reds, who would go on to lose 9-2.

Paltry pitching

As the score indicated, it was an ugly, ugly pitching performance from the Reds. Not only did they give up nine runs and eight hits, but they also walked a whopping 10 batters in the game, which has been a troubling theme with the bullpen in particular so far this season.

Alfredo Simon, brought in late during spring training to be an innings eater, was far from that on Wednesday. He recorded just two outs before being knocked from the game, but not before allowing five runs on four hits and three walks on 49 pitches. It didn’t get much better after he left the game.

Dan Straily got out of the first and pitched a perfect second before the Cubs jumped on him for two runs in the fifth. He also allowed two hits, walked two and hit a batter.

Next up was Keyvius Sampson. Control problems also plagued him, as he walked three and threw a wild pitch in his two innings of work. Like Straily, he allowed two runs and two hits, including a home run to Kris Bryant.

Blake Wood, Ross Ohlendorf and Tony Cingrani were able to keep the Cubs off the board for the remainder of the game, with Ohlendorf being the only pitcher to not give up a baserunner (or a walk).

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Hits keep coming for Suarez

The Reds’ offense was largely quiet outside of the first and seventh innings when they scored their only runs of the night. The one bright spot continued to be Eugenio Suarez. The third baseman continued his torrid stretch to begin the season by going 2-for-3 with a walk, raising his season slash line to .400/.471/.800. Suarez has also shown improved plate discipline in the early going, walking four times against only three strikeouts. Offensively, his low walk rate (4.3 percent) and high strikeout rate (23.6 percent) were his shortcomings in 2015, so the Reds have to be thrilled to see the improvements he’s made so far.

Notes:

• Billy Hamilton hit his second double of the season to lead off the game. Despite his tremendous speed, he had just eight all of last season and didn’t hit his second until May 1.
• The Reds grounded into three double plays, two by Joey Votto.
• Although Scott Schebler only had one hit on the day — a triple in the seventh inning — he probably should’ve had three, as he was robbed twice by spectacular defensive plays by Ben Zobrist and Jason Heyward.