Terry Francona’s comments will leave Reds fans fuming after Game 1 loss to Dodgers

The Cincinnati Reds lost Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers in ugly fashion. Hunter Greene gave up a leadoff home run to Shohei Ohtani during the first inning, and it all went downhill from there. In all, Greene surrendered three home runs and left after just three innings of work with the Reds trailing 5-0.

Down 8-0 in the seventh inning, the Reds plated two runs, but could've had more. Austin Hays scored on a fielder's choice, and then Tyler Stephenson's RBI double brought home Elly De La Cruz. The Reds were down 8-2 with two outs and a runner in scoring position.

With the light-hitting Ke'Bryan Hayes due up next, Terry Francona refused to send out a pinch-hitter, and unsurprisingly, the Reds third baseman hit a soft ground ball to second base. Dodgers' infielder Miguel Rojas threw on to first base to end the inning and and chance of a Reds' rally.

Terry Francona’s postgame remarks regarding Sal Stewart will have Reds fans fuming

Many Reds fans were understandably upset that Francona didn't turn to Sal Stewart during that situation. The rookie led the team in home runs (5) during the month of September and is quite capable of holding down the fort at third base.

To make matters worse, the Reds' skipper decided to insert Stewart into the lineup during the next half-inning as a defensive replacement. Stewart took over for Spencer Steer at first base who moved to left field in place of Austin Hays. When asked by Cincinnati reporter Charlie Goldsmith why he made the move, Francona replied that the Reds were down by eight runs and really wanted to get Stewart an at-bat.

He can't be serious, right? Yes, it's important to get Stewart an at-bat, in fact, multiple at-bats would be nice. While still just a rookie, Stewart has been one of Cincinnati's best hitters for the past few weeks. The fact that he was left on the bench in the first place was crazy enough, but to keep Hayes in rather than turn to the Stewart as pinch-hitter in the seventh is madness.

Stewart drew an RBI walk during the Reds' rally in the eighth inning. Cincinnati was then able to score two more runs, and close the gap to 10-5. But, with the bases loaded and two outs, Hayes was due up, and yet again, Francona refused to pinch hit for a player who owns a 65 OPS+.

Granted the two most likely options to replace Hayes — Gavin Lux and Will Benson — have struggled against left-handed pitching this season. But Hayes is almost an automatic out at this point, having gone 4-for-41 over his last 15 games.

The Reds will get another crack at the Dodgers during Game 2, and after watching LA put up 10 runs on Tuesday, Francona must prioritize offense over defense. Stewart must be in the lineup and Hayes should be on the bench. If Cincinnati is fortunate enough to hold a lead late in the game, then perhaps turning to Hayes makes sense.

It's not complicated, but Francona is doing his best to make it so.

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