Cincinnati Reds: Tyler Mahle pitched lights out, but won’t get the credit

The Cincinnati Reds dismantled the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday afternoon 12-3. But, Tyler Mahle’s outstanding performance will be overshadowed.

The Cincinnati Reds blew the Milwaukee Brewers out of the water during Saturday’s game at Great American Ball Park. Unfortunately for Tyler Mahle, his outstanding performance on the mound will not be the focus of the postgame discussion.

Yes, Michael Lorenzen came into the game with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning and belted a grand slam over the left field wall. Lorenzen rounded the bases to a standing ovation, and rightfully so. He emerged for a curtain call, tipped his hat to the fans, pointed toward the sky, and retired to the dugout.

Lorenzen’s grand slam was the eighth of the year for the Redlegs and the second by a Reds pitcher this season. Taking nothing away from Lorenzen, who hit back-to-back home runs in consecutive plate appearances, Tyler Mahle pitched an outstanding game for the Reds.

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Mahle went 5.2 innings, allowed only 5 hits and 3 runs. Oh yeah, he also had 12 strikeouts? Wow! That’s a career-high and 1 more than the 11 he had back on April 24th against the Braves.

Mahle has been flat-out getting done all season long, and that’s been especially true lately. In his previous 5 games before Saturday’s win, Mahle pitched 27.1 innings, with 25 strikeouts and a 2.30 ERA. More importantly, the Reds won 4 of those 5 games that Mahle started.

Mahle’s biggest flaw in his game right now may be his control. The young right-hander walked 3 batters during today’s game against Milwaukee. In his previous 10 games, Mahle’s walked a total of 25 batters, including 4 games of 4 walks.

Of all the young pitchers that the Cincinnati Reds organization has thrown out to the mound this season, Tyler Mahle looks the part of a player that could be a starter for the long haul provided he stays healthy.

Mahle has the lowest ERA of any starting pitcher on the Reds staff at 3.98. Luis Castillo and Sal Romano, the other young guns for Cincinnati, are both carrying an ERA over 5.00.

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Mahle won’t get the credit that he deserves for Saturday’s win, and he wasn’t even the pitcher of record (David Herandez got the win). But that’s okay, he seems to be content so long as the team comes out on top.