The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game
As one of the lesser prospects in the Todd Frazier trade, Scott Schebler continues to impress as an everyday player in right field. He had another solid day today, going 2 for 3, smacking his 20th dinger, and driving in 2 runs. Have a trophy Scott, and hopefully we will someday remember that trade as the Scott Schebler trade.
Honorable mentions are due to: Joey Votto, who reached base three times via the walk; and Ariel Hernandez, who pitched another perfect inning of relief.
Key Plays
- The Rays struck first in the bottom of the 3rd. Jesus Sucre drew a 1-out walk and then moved to 2nd on a single by Mallex Smith. After a Corey Dickerson line-out, Steven Souza Jr. lined a single into left and brought home Sucre. Rays led, 1-0.
- Tampa Bay was able to add onto that lead in the bottom of the 4th. Trevour Plouffe led off the inning with a solo dinger to increase the lead to 2-0. After a Daniel Robertson walk and an infield single by Peter Bourjos put runners on 1st and 2nd, Mallex Smith lined a single into right to bring home Robertson. Rays led, 3-0.
- The Reds got on the board in the top of the 5th on Scott Schebler’s 20th home run of the season. Rays led, 3-1.
- They kept chipping away at the lead in the top of the 6th. Scooter Gennett singled with 1 out and then moved to 2nd on a Joey Votto walk. After a walk by Eugenio Suarez loaded the bases, Scott Schebler drove in Scooter on an infield single. Rays led, 3-2.
- The bottom of the 6th is where the wheels fell off. Austin Brice replaced Tim Adleman and immediately gave up 3-straight singles, the 2nd of which led to Taylor Featherston getting thrown out at 3rd. Corey Dickerson singled to bring in Peter Bourjos, then Souza singled to bring in Sucre, and then Logan Morrison doubled to bring in Dickerson and Souza. Rays led, 7-2.
- Jesse Winker doubled to lead off the top of the 7th and later scored on a Billy Hamilton groundout to cut the Rays lead to 7-3.
- The Rays got that run back in the bottom of the 7th on a solo dinger by Taylor Featherston. That was it for the scoring, and the Rays won 8-3.
Tony Graphanino
Source: FanGraphs
Other Notes
- The Reds made a flurry of moves today in the minor leagues, as reported by C. Trent Rosecrans. Most notable: The promotion of Tyler Mahle to Louisville and the trio of infielders from Daytona to Pensacola.
- The Reds have now lost 11 of their last 12 games. Cool.
- The Reds pitching staff. Man.
- The Reds are off on Thursday. They will begin a 3-game set against the Washington Nationals on Friday, where Luis Castillo will make his major league debut.
- Tony Tunes.