Brandon Finnegan hit hard in return, Reds lose by a ton yet again

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Tucker Barnhart finally received his 2017 Gold Glove Award prior to the first pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday, and did so on a day in which all seven fans in attendance received a Tucker Barnhart bobblehead.

The Cincinnati Reds catcher responded with a moonshot dinger into the RF seats, which accounted for the lone run the home team could produce on the day. The level of misery to which we have all schlepped thus far this season has been equal parts arduous and hilarious, but the one true bright spot we’ve been able to watch is Barnhart, who is fresh off signing a team-friendly contract extension that looks better and better by the day.

Thanks for doing what you could, Tucker. Congrats on the multiple trophies today.

Honorable Mentions are due to: Dylan Floro, who fired back to back 1-2-3 innings of relief in his Cincinnati debut; Phil Ervin, who singled and walked twice; and Scooter Gennett, who singled thrice.

Key Plays

• Brandon Finnegan walked the first batter he faced today. Then, he walked the second batter he faced. A pair of deep fly-outs later, and the Reds trailed in the 1st inning once again, 1-0.
• The Top of the 2nd saw Greg Garcia park a solo dinger in the RF seats, and the Reds trailed, 2-0.
• Harrison Bader poked a single into LF with 1-out int he Top of the 4th, and that put him on-base for the slugging Garcia, who parked another dinger into the RF seats - this time of the 2-run variety. Reds trailed, 4-0.
• Tommy Pham singled into RF to open the Top of the 5th, and after moving to 2B on a productive groundout, he stole 3B. That put him in position to trot home on Jose Martinez’s looper into shallow RF, which is exactly what happened. Reds trailed, 5-0.
• Barnhart celebrated his bobblehead day with a big fly of his own in the Bottom of the 5th, clubbing a Miles Mikolas meatball well over the RF wall. Reds trailed, 5-1.
• Garcia doubled to the wall in RF in the Top of the 6th off Austin Brice, and he scored on Pham’s subsequent double down the LF line. Reds trailed, 6-1, which is how things ended.

Tony Graphanino

Other Notes

• Jesse Winker was out of the lineup again today with his sore shoulder.
• Speaking of injured Cincinnati outfielders, it was kicked around today that Scott Schebler might head out on a short rehab assignment before returning to the club. If my math is correct, he’ll be eligible to come off the 10-day DL April 16th.
• Finnegan’s recall meant the Reds needed to open a spot on the active roster. They optioned Zack Weiss back to AAA to make that happen. Finnegan’s final line, by the way: 4.1 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 4 K on 91 pitches.
• Joey Votto still looks completely lost at the plate.
• Homer Bailey will look to spin another gem for the Reds on Sunday. He’ll need to, as Carlos Martinez will start for St. Louis in the series finale. First pitch is set for 1:10 PM ET.
• The Reds are now 4-22 in their last 26 games played (including the end of the 2017 season).
• Tunes.