Cincinnati Reds: Disappointment sums up the home stand

If I had to choose one word to sum up this week’s home stand for the Cincinnati Reds, it would be disappointing. The Reds went 3-4, but should’ve won more.

The Cincinnati Reds were on the receiving end of a beatdown at the hands of Max Scherzer today. The Washington Nationals handed the Reds their second straight loss and the fourth loss during their seven-game home stand. Disappointment is the one word that comes to mind when I think about the Reds’ overall performance this week.

The week looked promising for the Cincinnati Reds with Luis Castillo taking the mound for Game 1 of a day-night doubleheader on Memorial Day. Unfortunately, Castillo was roughed up pretty good by the Buccos and only lasted 5.1 innings.

The Pirates and Reds entered the eighth inning of Monday’s matchup tied at 4 runs apiece, but an offensive outburst from the Bucs in the top of the inning gave little hope to Cincinnati. Pittsburgh escaped with an 8-5 victory.

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The nightcap made Reds fans feel a bit better. An 8-1 shellacking at the hands of Reds sent the Pirates to bed crying. Cincinnati decimated Pittsburgh from the jump with a 6-run first inning. The Pirates never recovered and the Reds evened the series at one game each with two more on tap for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tuesday was the Derek Dietrich Show as the Cincinnati Reds’ second basemen went yard three times in four at-bats. The three bombs each came with a runner on base and Dietrich’s six RBIs are a team record so far this season. Cincinnati dismantled the Pittsburgh 11-6 and at that time, matched the Bucs with 26 wins on the season.

Wednesday’s showdown saw Anthony DeSclafani give up another home run on the season and before exiting the game in the sixth inning, Pittsburgh had a 3-0 lead. Michael Lorenzen surrendered a big fly of his own and the Reds were down 7-0 heading into the eighth inning.

The lowlight of the game came when Clay Holmes drilled Eugenio Suárez on the hand with the first pitch of the eighth inning. Given the bad blood between these two teams, it was a testy situation to say the least. Suárez had to exit the game and David Bell was thrown out. The Reds would tack on two runs late, but still fall 7-2.

A series split with the Pittsburgh Pirates wasn’t ideal, but it wasn’t awful either. However, the series loss at the hands of the Washington Nationals leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Cincinnati did everything right against left-handed starter Patrick Corbin on Friday night and set themselves up for a great opportunity to take the series.

Unfortunately, the Cincinnati Reds’ offense couldn’t put any runs on the board Saturday and grounded into three double plays with runners in scoring position. The 5-2 loss on Saturday only magnified Sunday’s game against Nats’ ace Max Scherzer. Cincinnati was not up to the task and fell to Washington 4-1.

The Reds went 3-4 during this home stand, but easily should’ve gone 5-2. Cincinnati should be sitting at 29-30 right now having left Pittsburgh in the NL Central cellar. Instead, the Reds are sitting at 27-32 and the Pirates maintain a 1.5 game lead over the good guys.

The Reds need to rip off five or six straight wins to get some momentum going. This entire season has been like a see-saw; one win, one loss or two wins, one loss. The Reds haven’t caught fire, but the opportunities have been there. It’s very disappointing to see such a talented roster waste valuable opportunities.

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Hopefully the Reds can string together some wins on the upcoming road trip. After an off day tomorrow, Cincinnati heads on the road to battle the Cardinals, the Phillies, and the Indians. If Cincinnati can go 5-3 over the next 8 games, they’ll be right back in the thick of the NL Central chase.

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