Reds crushed in Canada, lose to Blue Jays 17-2

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Adam Duvall has been on quite the “I’m actually still good at baseballing the baseball” tear of late. On Monday, he bashed his 14th homer of the 2017 season, and that came after he’d already driven in Billy Hamilton with a 1st inning 2-out single.

Duvall finished 2 for 3 with a pair driven in and a run scored, and that’s the entirety of what y’all Cincinnati Reds fans will probably want to read about this one.

Honorable Mentions are due to: the USD/CAD conversion rate, on the off chance you’re actually a Reds fan in Canada catching these games in person. The Labatt Blue should be extra cheap.

Key Plays

• Billy Hamilton dropped a perfect drag bunt down the 1B line for a single to open the Top of the 1st, and though he temporarily appeared to have aggravated some sort of an injury, he stayed in the game after being checked by Bryan Price and the trainers. He then stole 2B, moved to 3B on a productive Joey Votto grounder, and scored on Duvall’s 2-out single up the middle. Reds led, 1-0.
• Justin Smoak singled up the middle to being the Bottom of the 2nd, and he scored a batter later when Russell Martin lifted a high fly ball the opposite way that took forever to juuuust clear the wall in the RF corner. Reds trailed, 2-1.
• Toronto added on in the Bottom of the 3rd, as a Justin Smoak grounder down the 1B line was snagged by a diving Votto to be just an RBI groundout as the bases were loaded full of Josh Donaldson (infield single), Jose Bautista (walk), and Kendrys Morales (walk) with none out. Lisalverto Bonilla then walked Martin to load the bases, which led the Reds to turn to Robert Stephenson...
• ...and, well, Troy Tulowitzki mauled the 2nd pitch of Stephenson’s day for a grand slam well into the LF seats. That left the Reds on the wrong end of a 7-1 score.
• The Bottom of the 4th saw Stephenson allow a double to Bautista prior to a walk of Morales, both of which became relevant when Justin Smoak mashed a 3-run dinger to CF. Reds trailed, 10-1.
• Bob Steve balked in a run in the Bottom of the 5th. There were also enough runners on base for one to score on a later Donaldson groundout, and later singles by Bautista and Morales managed to score Kevin Pillar, who was on base by alien abduction or a fielder’s choice or teleportation, probably. Why are you still reading this? Reds trailed, 13-1.
• Duvall homered in the Top of the 6th...yay! It was a laser hit the other way over the RF wall. Reds trailed, 13-2.
• Jake Buchanan - remember him? no? right. - was on the mound in the Bottom of the 7th. Another two runs scored, because of the doubles and the doubles and the singles and the things and such. Reds trailed, 15-2.
• Buchanan, still pitching in the Bottom of the 8th, walked a dude, hit a dude, allowed a double and a single, served up a hot breakfast and a hoagie, and wound up trailing 17-2.
• Fin. 17-2. Guh.

Tony Graphanino

Other Notes

• The Reds were in Toronto to face the Blue Jays for the first time since 2009.
• Robert Stephenson, FWIW, hadn’t pitched in some 8 days prior to this outing. While his production on the field has been far from what anyone would’ve hoped to see, having him twiddle his thumbs in the bullpen for that amount of time between appearances isn’t doing anyone any good - much less the former best pitching prospect in the team’s system.
• Blergh.

• Tuesday’s game against Toronto will again begin at 7:07 PM ET, this time with Asher Wojciechowski making his first start of the season for the Reds. It’ll be his 4th career big league start, but his first since April 26th, 2015 - one that came as a member of the Houston Astros. J.A. Happ will toe the rubber for Toronto tomorrow.
• Tunes.