Ex-Reds star defends TJ Friedl after bunt-hit breaks up Guardians' perfect game

The Cincinnati Reds may have lost Wednesday's game to the Cleveland Guardians, but they prevented their in-state rival from piecing together a perfect game. The Guardians hadn't allowed a hit, a walk, or even hit a batter through six innings, and were cruising with a 2-0 lead into the top of the seventh inning.

But Reds outfielder TJ Friedl reached base safely on a bunt-base hit just past the pitcher's mound. Upon touching the bag, a chorus of boos rained down from those in attendance at Progressive Field. There's an unwritten rule in baseball that dissuades the opposition from breaking up a no-hitter or perfect game with a bunt.

The Guardians social media team quickly ran to X (formerly Twitter) and posted video of Friedl's base hit with the caption, "Breaking up a perfect game through 6.0 on a bunt? Kentucky Reds behavior." The Cleveland fanbase obviously didn't appreciate Friedl breaking up the perfect game with a "cheap" bunt-hit.

Reds OF TJ Friedl breaks up Guardians perfect game with bunt-base hit

But if they bothered to look at Friedl's track record, much less the scoreboard, the Guardians fans might not have been so critical. Friedl racked up 17 bunt-hits in 2023, so it's obviously part of his game. Furthermore, it's not as if the game was out of reach. The Reds were only trailing 2-0 and needed to something to spark a rally.

Thankfully, Todd Frazier took to X to defend Friedl. The former Reds All-Star turned broadcaster replied to the Guardians social media feed with the response, "Nothing wrong with this whatsoever." And you know what? He's right.

If this were a 9-0 blowout, then maybe it's fair to be more critical of Friedl's decision to bunt. But the Reds were only trailing by two runs, and after reaching base safely, Friedl would eventually come around to score. Once the two teams entered the bottom of the eighth inning, the score was tied at 2-2. Unfortunately, Jose Ramirez broke the game open in the bottom of the eighth with a three-run homer that proved to be the difference and Cleveland won 5-2.

The last Major Leaguer pitcher to toss a perfect game was New York Yankees hurler Domingo Germán in 2023. By the way, is a combined perfect game or no-hitter really something worth getting excited about? Before Friedl spoiled the Guardians' spotless line in the seventh, Cleveland had already used four different pitchers. When Tom Browning did it in 1988, he didn't need a reliever to come in a finish the job.

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