Daniel Wright Performs Well in Debut, But Reds Drop 9th Straight

It seems the Reds can’t do anything right these days, as the offense, defense and relief pitching all failed to execute on Tuesday.

The Reds briefly held the lead in the fourth inning after an Adam Duvall home run. But it would be short-lived as the Dodgers tied it in the bottom of the inning with an RBI double from Joc Pederson, and would not relinquish the lead, eventually winning the game, 8-2, and giving Cincinnati a ninth straight loss.

The Wright Debut

At Pensacola and Louisville this season, Daniel Wright went 3-0 with a 0.79 ERA, 32 strikeouts and only five walks in 34 innings. While he wasn’t quite that efficient in his debut with the big league club, Wright still pitched an excellent game.

In the first inning, Wright gave up three straight hits and to start the game (all of the balls were up in the zone). Then, he got Adrian Gonzalez to swing and miss at a changeup for his first career strikeout. It started the rebound and he escaped the first with only one run allowed. In total, he pitched 5.1 innings, giving up seven hits and four runs, three of them earned, and walked only one while striking out four.

Offensive Struggles Continue

With a few notable exceptions, the Reds offense continues to struggle mightily. They combined for just three hits and all three hits came against the Dodgers starter Mike Bolsinger. Joey Votto doubled in the first inning, Jay Bruce snapped a 0-for-15 hitless streak with a double in the fourth and the next batter, Duvall, hit a two-run home run. After the home run, the only other baserunner the Reds had was a Brandon Phillips, who walked with two outs in the sixth. That walk was the only one drawn by Reds batters in the game.

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Bullpen Update: Still Not Good

Dayan Diaz replaced Wright in the sixth and gave up a hit and a walk while allowing a run. That run was unearned, however, because of a fielding error by Bruce. A.J. Morris made his major league debut in the eighth and got two quick outs, but then walked the bases loaded and gave up a two-run single to allow the Dodgers to extend their lead. Josh Smith relieved Morris and gave up a RBI single. Caleb Cotham came the closest to a perfect inning, pitching the seventh, giving up just one hit and striking out one.

Notes:

• The Reds have seemed to forgotten how to play defense (except for Zack Cozart). In the fourth, Tucker Barnhart airmailed a throw to third base that allowed a run to score, his third error in two games. Bruce and Votto also had an error each.
• Votto hit in the two spot of the batting order for the first time this season and went 1-for-4. He had a double in his first at-bat, but struck out swinging on a pitch down and inside during his second at-bat. According to Jim Kelch on Fox Sports Ohio, Votto’s average at-bats per strikeout for his career is near five. This season it’s around three. This probably is a strong correlation to why Votto has been struggling through the first two months of the season.