Fedde unsteady, but Reds fail to collect the big hits, lose to Nationals 5-2

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

The top of the Reds lineup provided plenty of opportunities in this one, especially early, but no one could deliver the big hit to put them over the top. Couple that with Tanner Roark uncharacteristically allowing two dingers, and it was not a winning recipe for the Reds.

In that case, I suppose I just give the trophy to the guy who got on base the most? That’d be Derek Dietrich, who’s no stranger to the JNMHSotG section these days. While he didn’t Let It Fly tonight, he wound up on base three times with 2 hits and a walk. It was the type of all around game that shows us he isn’t just a one trick player, even if that one trick is really, really damn cool.

Honorable mention to Eugenio Suarez for collecting two hits; Tucker Barnhart hit and walked, while Jose Iglesias walked and scored a run. Nick Senzel led off the day with a double, and while Tanner Roark’s pitching line wasn’t the best, he brought his bat, driving in both Reds runs on a suicide squeeze bunt and then his first career home run. Michael Lorenzen and Amir Garrett pitched clean relief.

Key Plays

• Gerrardo Parra plays for the Nationals now, apparently. Tanner Roark found out the hard way when Parra turned on a fat one and knocked it about 15 rows deep into the right field stands. Nats up, 3-0.
• The Reds struck back in the bottom of the frame. Jose Iglesias worked a one out walk before moving all the way over to 3B on a Tucker Barnhart single. Roark then helped himself, laying down a nice bunt, with Iglesias scoring on the safety squeeze. Nick Senzel grounded weakly to 1B, but it was botched by Mat Adams, allowing Senzel to reach. Joey Votto then walked to load the bases, but Eugenio Suarez flew out softly to end the threat. Reds get only 1, 3-1.
• Adams then launched a monster dinger out to right field, that basically landed in the top row.
• Tanner Damn Roark then played longball of Fedde in the fourth meaning, at this point, Roark was responsible for all of the Reds runs batted in. Baseball is strange. Nats still up, 4-2.
• Matt Bowman came on in relief to begin the 9th inning. Brian Dozier immediately took him deep to left field. Nats add 1, 5-2.
• The Reds did not come back in the 9th and lost.

Tony Graphanino

Other Notes

• The home run allowed by Tanner Roark in the top of the second inning was only the third home run he’s allowed this entire season. The last one came all the way back on April 24th. That’s pretty good and very weird that Gerrardo Parra of all people was the one to put it way out.
• Mat Adams is big and strong, though, so it wasn’t funny or weird that he was the one who hit the second tater Roark allowed in the game.
• You’re allowed to give up home runs as long as you also hit them. Roark did that in the bottom of the fourth inning, the first of his career.
• We got to see our old friend, the Other Tanner, in this game. Rainey, who was traded for Roark, worked 1.1 clean innings pitched, though he was as wild as ever.
• It appears that longtime former Red and generally all around affable guy Jay Bruce will be traded from the Seattle Marlins to the Philadelphia Phillies, which is pretty neat, I guess.
• The Reds loaded the bases in each of the first two innings against Erick Fedde, running his pitch count into the fifties after only two frames. They scored exactly zero runs from the bases loaded situations, which seems like a huge missed opportunity.
• “Seems like a huge missed opportunity that the Reds left 6 players on base through two innings,” is the hard hitting analysis that they pay me the big bucks for, folks.
• The Nationals and Reds will but a bow on this series tomorrow afternoon, when three time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer takes the mound at Great American Ballpark. The Reds will answer with Sonny Gray, if you can really “answer” Scherzer with anything.
• Tunes.