Reds delayed by several hours of rain, sleepwalk through game, lose to Pirates 12-1

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

The Star of this game was a cat.

Seriously, check out this very good cat. And then check out this very good cat in all of his or her very goodness, because damnit, animals on the field won’t ever not be fun.

And, basically most of the Reds sucked. With that in mind, I’m going to take the time here, as very much an Animal Person, to remind you how to help those critters in need. Here’s a link to SPCA Cincinnati, and then there’s this Animal Friends Humane Society I found in Hamilton, OH. And then there’s HART Animal Rescue of Cincinnati. There are thousands of other organizations both locally and nationally that could use your help. If you’re so inclined and are able to give a hard earned dollar or two, please do. But you can also volunteer in a lot of places. Or, if you’re actively looking for a pet, rescuing instead of buying goes a long way.

I’m a sap for my fur friends.

Honorable mention to Jesse Winker, who hit three times and drove in the only run. If it weren’t 1:30 in the morning, I probably would’ve put him up at the top and wrote something really nice about him. Alas, it is 1:30 in the morning, the Reds lost by a million, and, well, here we are. Jesse Winker is great, was great in this one, but the Reds weren’t. Eugenio Suarez hit twice, Scooter Gennett hit and walked, and David Hernandez threw a pitch really good.

Key Plays

• Tyler Mahle pitched himself into trouble a couple of different times in this one, but it finally got him in the 4th. Colin Moran got a brain and singled, before Josh Bell walked. Sean Rodriguez, fresh off his Gatorade Cooler Boxing League Featherweight Championship, singled in Moran. Jordy Mercer hit a grounder for the first out to move the runners forward. Jameson Taillon’s sac bunt scored Bell before Corey Dickerson flied out for the final out. Pirates get two on Mahle in the Reds for the first scores of the game, lead 2-0.
• Mahle let two on with no outs again in the 6th, and then left a center cut, 83 MPH slider right down the heart of the plate that The Champ Rodriguez belted it into the second deck down the left field line. Sigh. Dickerson then hit a solo homer, to chase Mahle. David Hernandez shut the shit down, though. Pirates, 6-0.
• The Reds got on the board in the bottom of the frame. Scooter Gennett walked to lead off the bottom of the inning, and, after a Eugenio Suarez strike out, Jesse Winker doubled off the wall in right center to score Gennett. That chased Taillon out of the game. Richard Rodriguez took care of the Reds thereafter, though. Pirates, 6-1.
• Austin Brice began the 7th for the Reds. He gave up a deep fly to Gregory Polanco that glanced off Billy’s glove in deep CF. Billy did quite a bit more than glance off the wall, and the whole situation allowed Polanco to go into 3B. Eilas Diaz grounded Polanco in. That’d be all the Pirates would get, but still, it’s 12:36 in the east and the Pirates lead 7-1 after 6.5 innings.
• Jackson Stephens pitched the 8th for the Reds. Starling Marte hit a grand slam. So, you know, it didn’t go well. Pirates, 11-1.
• Corey Dickerson did something and somebody scored on an error. Curt Casali, a catcher, was playing 2B for the Reds, if you really needed to know how this was going. Pirates, 12-1.
• Pirates won, duh doi. 12-1.

Tony Graphanino

Other Notes

• Took an awfully long time to get this game started. It’s my understanding that is basically rained and stormed all day today in Cincinnati and, as such, the teams experienced almost a three hour rain delay. A 7:10 PM EDT scheduled start turned into a 10:05 actual first pitch. That’s quite the delay.
• But that’s fine, dear readers. It’s my Red Reporter duty to stay up with you to provide this fine #content, so I’m caffeinating and hydrating with Four Loko and Boone’s Farm.
• Tyler Mahle never really seemed to have it tonight. He was fine for several periods, and even very good several times getting himself out of jams. But they were jams that he caused by not hitting his spots too frequently. All told, he gave up 6 ER in 5.2 IP, striking out three and walking 3. He wasn’t so far off that it was particularly concerning, but, well, I’m not mad. I’m disappointed.
• Alex Blandino entered the game in the late innings and then left the game in the 9th after getting his knee rolled up on turning a double play at 2B. Honestly, it looked pretty awful, and while I hope for the best, I’m not optimistic. There was no dirtiness involved in the play, it was just one of those things. We’ll update you as we hear it.
• The Reds pick up the series with the Pirates tomorrow at GABP, with game two scheduled for 7:10 PM EDT. Anthony DeSclafani will disco dance his way to the mound for the Reds. Nick Kingham has been anointed the starter for the Pirates.
• Tunes.