Reds allow 10 walks in 12-5 loss to Oakland

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

When you’re down 10 runs by the end of the second inning it’s difficult to label anyone a ‘star’. Let’s make this the second straight game that we just skip to the honorable mentions section.

Honorable Mentions: Jackson Stephens: The 22 year old reliever pitched two scoreless innings, walking one while not allowing a hit. Phil Ervin: Ervin doubled in three runs in the ninth to make the score slightly less lopsided. Oakland’s Daniel Gossett threw eight straight balls to Rob Brantly and Tony Renda, and Ervin knocked the first pitch he saw to left field to bring in the three runs. Adam Duvall: Duval hit his first home run of the spring in the second inning, and he even did it off of a legit big league pitcher in Sean Manaea.

Key Plays

• Starter Tim Adleman just didn’t have control from the start. After allowing back-to-back singles to start the game he then walked Khris Davis and Stephen Vogt to give Oakland a 1-0 lead. Trevor Plouffe then knocked in two runs when he hit the first pitch from Adleman into left field for a double extending the lead to 3-0.
• Adam Duvall knocked a 2-2 pitch over the centerfield wall to lead off the second inning and get the Reds on the board.
• As bad as the first inning was for Adleman, the second inning was worse. After allowing yet another walk, this one to Matt Joyce, Adleman was taken out of the game for precautionary reasons after being hit on a line drive back up the middle from Jed Lowrie. Adleman would end the day with a line of: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 0 SO.
• Adleman was relieved by Kevin Shackelford who somehow generated an even worse line of 0.1 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 1 SO. Shackelford walked the first batter he faced and then allowed a double to Stephen Vogt, a walk to Trevor Plouffe, and a single to Yonder Alonso. Eugenio Suarez would then provide a struggling pitcher with the thing he needs least — a fielding error. After yet another walk, and then a single to Jed Lowrie, Shackelford would join Adleman in the dugout, with the Reds trailing 10-1.
• The next six innings were relatively uneventful with the A’s adding a couple of insurance runs before Phil Ervin’s three-run double in the ninth.

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Other Notes

• Bob Steve pitched three relatively average innings. He allowed just one run, but gave up three hits and two walks. Not spectacular by any means, but when compared with what came him before him he was a breath of fresh air.
• Arismendy Alcantara hit his second home run of the spring with the Reds down 12-1 in the fifth.
• Joey Votto saw 11 pitches in three at bats, striking out on three pitches in the first inning and then walking on four pitches in his other two at bats.
• The Reds take on the Colorado Rockies in Goodyear Ballpark tomorrow night. Cody Reed will be on the mound opposite Chad Bettis with first pitch set for 8:05 PM ET.

This spot is generally reserved for tunes, but since I’m not heavily into music I will instead direct you to watch this movie on Netflix. It’s the saddest movie I’ve ever seen in my life. I think the mood is just about right given how terribly the Reds have played the past two days.