The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game
Scott Schebler has struggled largely in his second stint with the Cincinnati Reds since coming over from the Los Angeles Dodgers this offseason, but on Monday he flashed exactly the kind of tool that had the Reds excited about him in the first place.
He launched a dinger to straightaway CF and added a walk on an otherwise mundane evening from the Cincinnati offense, and for that he gets tonight's JNMHSotG trophy with ease. Here's to making the struggles of the past two weeks a learning experience and not the norm, ScheBron.
Honorable Mentions are due to: Tucker Barnhart, who went 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored; Michael Lorenzen, for tossing a perfect inning in relief; Joey Votto, who singled and walked; and Eugenio Suarez, who singled and walked.
Key Plays
- The Marlins put a run on the board in the Top of the 1st against Finnegan, as Dee Gordon led off with a double to RF and scored a batter later on a single by Martin Prado. Reds trailed, 1-0.
- Cincinnati leveled in the Bottom of the 2nd, however, as Schebler smacked a David Phelps meatball into the grass beyond the CF wall for a solo dinger. Game tied, 1-1.
- Chris Johnson - remember him? You probably shouldn't - was late on an offering by Finnegan in the Top of the 4th, but he got under it enough that it sliced just inside the RF fair pole for a solo dinger. Drat, GABP. Drat, drat, drat. Reds trailed, 2-1.
- Marcell Ozuna put a thumpin' on a hanging breaking ball by Finnegan in the Top of the 6th, serving it into the stands in CF for a solo shot to put the Marlins further ahead, 3-1. J.T. Realmuto then followed by taking a walk, and two batters later he scored when Johnson doubled off the wall in CF (one pitch after nearly being out on a sliding catch in foul ground by Tony Renda). Reds trailed, 4-1.
- David Phelps was pulled with 1-out in the Bottom of the 6th after allowing a single to Ivan De Jesus, Jr., and the Miami bullpen farted around enough for the rest of the inning that the Reds were able to plate a run. Votto walked, Suarez walked two batters later to load the bases, and Schebler later walked to drive in De Jesus, Jr. Unfortunately, Tony Renda K'd with the bases loaded to end the threat, but the Reds shaved the M's lead down to 4-2.
- The Reds tacked on another in the Bottom of the 7th, however, as Barnhart led off with a double and later scored on a single (and an error) by Tyler Holt. That shaved the Marlins' lead to 4-3.
- Blake Wood took over on the mound for the Reds in the Top of the 8th, and that idea failed miserably. Wood walked a pair, hurled a wild pitch, and was bitten by a pair of infield hits, the eventual damage resulting in Miami pushing another two runs across the plate to put them ahead, 6-3.
- Unfortunately, that was it on the offensive front, and the Reds fell, 6-3.
Tony Graphanino
Source: FanGraphs
Other Notes
- Billy Hamilton banged into the CF wall quite hard early in the game, and though he stayed in the game for several innings afterwards despite being in clear pain, he was replaced in CF by Tyler Holt to begin the Top of the 5th. Damn.
- Speaking of Billy, seeing him with a higher season OBP than Jay Bruce (RIP), Adam Duvall, Eugenio Suarez, Zack Cozart, and Brandon Phillips is the thing rebuilding teams' dreams are made of.
- Anthony DeSclafani will toe the rubber for the Reds in the second game of this series on Tuesday, with first pitch set for 7:10 PM ET once again. He'll be opposed by Miami starter Jose Urena,
- Jose Urena Marlins is an anagram of: Seasonal Injure Mr, Salami June Snorer, Marinas June Loser, Salsa Injurer Omen, and Raja Slime Neurons. So he's got that going for him, which is nice.
- Barnhart extended his career-best hitting streak to 11 games in this one. Well played, Tucker.
- Tunes.