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The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game
Tyler Mahle is a pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, which means he’s in charge of serving up dingers to Milwaukee Brewers slugger Eric Thames. That’s exactly what happened again on Wednesday, though at least Thames was the only Brewer to really get to Mahle.
The rookie righty was far from his absolute best, but aside from the Thames blast, Mahle pitched his way out of trouble repeatedly - and even touched 97 mph with his fastball. His final line - 5 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 6 K on 94 pitches - wasn’t at all the best you’ll see from him this year, but was plenty effective enough to keep the team in the game.
Unfortunately, the offense.
Honorable Mentions are due to: Austin Brice, Wandy Peralta, and Jared Hughes, each of whom fired scoreless innings of relief.
Key Plays
- That Eric Thames, man. One day after clubbing a 2-run dinger that accounted for the only scoring of Milwaukee’s 2-0 victory, Thames turned around a buffalo chicken slider from Mahle in the Bottom of the 3rd for a 2-run blast again. Reds trailed, 2-0, and that’s how things ended hours later.
Tony Graphanino
Source: FanGraphs
Other Notes
- MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon updated us on the status of several injured Reds earlier Wednesday. Of particular note, I think, is that Scott Schebler will likely be activated for Cincinnati’s next game (on Friday). Also, it’s interesting that Michael Lorenzen will be “work[ing] on his mechanics” in his rehab stint in Arizona, especially since he’s had so many injuries of late.
- Cincinnati’s offense entered play today ranking second to last in all MLB in both ISO and SLG - and then they got shutout on 3 hits. Considering they also entered the day with the worst team ERA in baseball, well, that’s how you end up 3-15 through 18 games. Blergh.
- The Reds have an off-day Thursday before limping into a series against the Cardinals in St. Louis beginning Friday. Brandon Finnegan will start the opener opposite Michael Wacha, with first pitch scheduled for 8:15 PM ET.
- Tunes.