The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game
Michael Lorenzen posted 3 IP of pretty, pretty solid baseball, the kind of baseball that probably shouldn’t have had a run score on him at all. Alas, a run did score off him in the a cringe-worthy fashion - more on that below - but on the whole he equipped himself like the capable multi-inning reliever we’ve seen him be when healthy over the years.
Aside from that, he clubbed yet another dinger for the Cincinnati Reds in his lone PA, which is certainly enough to make you again wonder whether the once two-way star in college might well be worth some hidden value if he’d have been able to hit more often this entire time. Either way, it was the big whack on an otherwise completely lackluster night against Milwaukee Brewers starter Chase Anderson & Co., and dutifully earned the Llama a JNMHSotG award for his trophy case.
Honorable Mention is due to: Sal Romano, who largely scattered 7 hits and a pair of walks in his 5 IP, allowing just 2 ER in the process.
Key Plays
- A trio of singles in the Top of the 2nd led to Milwaukee’s initial run of the game, as Ryan Braun dropped a bunt down the 3B line and later scored after Manny Pina and Keon Broxton lined meatballs into CF. Reds trailed, 1-0.
- Broxton struck again in the Top of the 4th, belting a fat Romano fastball again - this time for a solo shot over the wall in left-center. Reds trailed, 2-0.
- Lorenzen Finally got the Reds on the board in the Bottom of the 6th, as he used his first plate appearance to club yet another dinger by a Cincinnati pitcher, a solo blast over the LF wall. Reds trailed, 2-1.
- The Brewers scored in the most derpy of derp ways in the Top of the 8th, on a play that just made everything in your body groan and cringe. With runners on 2B and 3B, Tucker Barnhart caught Keon Broxton off 3B and proceeded to get him in a rundown. Tucker ran him back to the bag at 3B, but with Orlando Arcia still in-limbo between 2B and 3B, Tucker opted to throw to 2B to get Arcia - which he did - but it came at the cost of Broxton breaking for home and scoring a vital insurance run for the Beers. Gahhh. Reds trailed, 3-1.
- The Brewers tacked on some more un-fun in the Top of the 9th. Kyle Crockett came on for the Reds and retired the first pair of batters he faced - including Reds-mauler Eric Thames - but the LOOGY was then left in to face the red-hot Jesus Aguilar. Aguilar singled, and Crockett stuck around to face lefty Travis Shaw, who muscled a single into CF on a jam of a pitch. That brought righty-swinger Hernan Perez to the plate, and Jim Riggleman turned to righty Jackson Stephens, but that backfired when Perez clubbed a 2-run double to the wall. Manny Pina then singled to score Perez, and Broxton then followed with a 2-run donk over the RF wall, and the Reds were down an insurmountable 8-1.
- Eugenio Suarez chipped in with a 2-out ribbie in the Bottom of the 9th that scored Scott Schebler after ScheBron had led off the inning with a single and moved up a bag on Joey Votto’s single, but that was the end of the Cincinnati offense on the night. Reds fell, 8-2.
Tony Graphanino
Source: FanGraphs
Other Notes
- As the Reds’ Jamie Ramsey noted on Twitter, that dinger from Michael Lorenzen was his 4th in just 23 PA dating back to the 2016 season. Dude’s got some serious, serious pop.
- Tyler Mahle will start Saturday for Cincinnati opposite Milwaukee starter Jhoulys Chacin, with first pitch set for 4:10 PM ET.
- Tunes.