Big inning dooms Reds in 5-2 loss to Mariners

For the first half of Saturday evening’s match-up with Seattle, Reds’ pitching dominated the game. Led by a stellar start by Sal Romano (more on him later) and a shutout inning by Raisel Iglesias, the Reds took a 2-0 cushion into the 6th and seemed to be cruising. That’s when the wheels fell off.

The relief duo of David Hernandez and Wandy Peralta combined to give up 5 earned runs on 4 hits over 2 innings of work. After the Reds put up 2 runs in the bottom of the first inning, they struggled to find much else on the offensive side for the rest of the game. Over the next 8 innings, they scattered only 5 more hits and didn’t score again.

The good news is that the Reds got another healthy performance from Devin Mesoraco, who continues to have a solid spring training. They also got to see Nick Senzel continue to get more comfortable at shortstop, while mashing doubles in the process.

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

As the four-man battle for the fifth spot in the rotation rages on this spring, Sal Romano got himself another chance to show why he should be the man for the job. Tonight, against the Seattle Mariners, he gave perhaps his biggest performance of an already strong spring for Romano. He dominated the Mariners over 4 innings tonight, giving up no runs with only 1 hit while walking 1 and striking out 7. While there is still plenty of time this spring to see how that final rotation spot shakes out, it’s nice to see that this internal competition has been bringing out the best in some of our young pitchers. Have another trophy, Sal.

Honorable mentions are due to: Devin Mesoraco, who went 1 for 3 and mashed a 2-run honker; Nick Senzel and Jesse Winker, who each doubled; Joey Votto, who walked twice; and Raisel Iglesias, for striking out 2 in a scoreless inning.

Key Plays

• The Reds were able to get on the board early. Joey Votto, as he is wont to do, got things started with a 2-out walk. That brought up Devin Mesoraco, who smacked a 2-run dinger over the left field wall. Reds led, 2-0.
• Though the Reds had their chances, including a bases-loaded, 1 out situation in the 3rd, nothing could get going for either team until the 6th inning. Then everything when terribly wrong. After a scoreless inning from Raisel Iglesias, the Reds brought on David Hernandez. Dee Gordon started things off with a 1-out single, then stole second with 2 outs. After a Kyle Seager walk, Mike Ford doubled to right to plate Seager and Gordon to tie the game. The Reds then decided to go with Wandy Peralta, who promptly walked Andrew Aplin on 4 pitches to put guys on first and second. That brought up Mike Marjama, who Marjammed an inside-the-park home run to put the Mariners up for good, 5-2.

Tony Cingraphanino

Other Notes

• Nick Senzel seems to be getting more and more comfortable playing shortstop. He made a play tonight where he had to range to his left and make a tough cross-body throw to retire a speedy runner. And he looked completely comfortable doing it. Since this is being dumb and not letting me embed the tweet, you’ll just have to see it here for yourself.
• The Reds will travel to Peoria to take on the Mariners again tomorrow. Brandon Finnegan will get the start for the Reds as he faces off against our old friend Mike Leake. First pitch is at 4:10 PM ET.
• Tunes.