Reds drop fifth game in a row, get swept by last place Royals with 6-1 loss

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

The emergence of Jose Peraza as a legitimate offensive force this season has been one of the very, very few bright spots for the 2018 Cincinnati Reds. That continued on Wednesday, as the shortstop belted his 14th homer of the season - and later added a single for good measure.

The Reds offense has been as putrid as can be of late, which is a large reason why they’ve lost five consecutive games to the woeful Miami Marlins and Kansas City Royals at this juncture of the season. Peraza, though, is not the one at whom we should point fingers, as he’s continued his climb towards being a future cog of this team.

Key Plays

• The Royals got on the board first in this one, plating a run in the Top of the 1st off Cody Reed thanks to a Salvador Perez double and some shoddy mound work from Reed himself. Adalberto Mondesi singled before the Perez double, but a pair of nearly uncontested steals put him on 3B for Perez’s PA, meaning he was danged near destined to score regardless. Reds trailed, 1-0.
• Peraza got that run back for the Reds in the Bottom of the 1st, though, with his solo dinger off Royals starter Heath Fillmyer. Game tied, 1-1.
• After that, the Royals managed to progressively dink their way to a significant lead, scoring individual runs in each of the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th innings - run 3 coming off Reed, run 4 coming against Sal Romano, and run 5 scoring via the unearned path off Matt Wisler thanks, in part, to a Peraza error. Reds trailed, 5-1.
• The ‘dink’ aspect of those string of scoring innings came to an end in the Top of the 7th - but not in a good way. Alex Gordon took a Wandy Peralta meatball and turned it around for an opposite-field solo dinger, leaving the Reds behind, 6-1. That’s how this one wrapped.

Tony Graphanino

Other Notes

• Reed’s final line was abbreviated by yet another early hook from Jim Riggleman, one that came in the Top of the 4th with Reed sitting at only 68 pitches. In fact, Chris Welsh even remarked on the broadcast that sooner or later Reed’s going to need to get a chance to work through situations like the one presented tonight, with runners on. His final line in his final outing of 2018: 3.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K. His season ERA sits at 3.98.
• The Reds announced earlier in the day that Luis Castillo is finished for 2018, too, citing his ~170 innings pitched. Fortunately, that’s all there is to it, as he’s a healthy finisher to this year.
• Anthony DeSclafani will look to finish his 2018 season on a high note as Friday’s starter in the series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He’ll be opposed by Nick Kingham, with first pitch set for 6:40 PM on Friday.
• Considering I’ll be traveling all weekend, this is my final Reds game of 2018. Many, many thanks for following along with us this season, and I certainly hope you’ll check back into RR often this winter as the team solves its managerial situation, expands payroll (hopefully), and sorts out a way to get their butts out of the NL Central cellar for the first time in seemingly forever. There’s a lot on the front office’s plate this winter, and rest assured we’ll be opining and Red Reporting on it.
• Tunes.