Reds offense spoils brilliant Anthony DeSclafani start in 3-1 loss to Cardinals

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Anthony DeSclafani entered his start against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday on a rather nice roll. The Cincinnati Reds righty had pitched to a tidy 3.32 ERA over his previous 7 starts, with an impressive 39/9 K/BB in his 38 IP in that span.

That good work continued today, even though his offense - and the defense behind him - let him down in a big, big way. Disco finished 6 IP on 101 pitches, allowing just 4 hits - all singles - and a lone earned run in the process. An error allowed the Cards lone other run off the Cincinnati starter to score, and Disco racked up a career-best 11 K against nary a walk in the process.

It was quite the impressive performance when the Reds needed it most, as they were trying to salvage a series split against their division foe. Alas, that just wasn’t to be.

Honorable Mentions are due to: Philip Ervin, who smacked a pinch-hit solo dinger; Joey Votto, who had a pair of hits; Jared Hughes, who fired a clean inning of relief; and Jesse Winker, who doubled and walked twice.

Key Plays

• The Cardinals dinked and dunked their way to the game’s opening runs in the Top of the 2nd. Tyler O’Neill fisted one into the OF for a single to begin things, and he later swiped 2B - his first steal of the season. A productive grounder then moved O’Neill to 3B, and a fisted Yairo Munoz single that just cleared the pulled-in infield plated the first run. Andrew Knizner then singled up the middle, and after a meeting on the mound with pitching coach Derek Johnson, the Cardinals pulled a double steal to put a pair of runners in scoring position. Harrison Bader then hit a soft grounder at Eugenio Suarez, but it went right under his glove for a run-scoring error. Reds trailed, 2-0.
• Winker legged out a hustle double to open the Bottom of the 5th, and the bases were later loaded with none out after Votto singled and Suarez was hit by a Jack Flaherty pitch. With their backs against the wall and the trade deadline bearing down, the Reds then...did not score a single run. Reds still trailed, 2-0.
• Phlerv finally got the Reds on the board in the Bottom of the 8th, turning around an Andrew Miller meatball for a towering solo homer into the LF seats. Reds trailed, 2-1.
• Munoz terrorized the Reds again in the Top of the 9th, blasting a solo dinger off a Raisel Iglesias meatball into the LF seats. That made the score 3-1, which is unfortunately how things wrapped.

Tony Graphanino

Other Notes

• That, folks, just might do it.
• Nick Senzel did not start in this one despite all inklings last night suggesting he’d be back in the lineup for the series finale. He did get a pinch-hit appearance in the 9th inning, however, which is an excellent sign. (He grounded out.)
• It’s off to Milwaukee next for these Cincinnati Reds, as they try to scratch and claw their way back into the NL Central mix against the Brewers for a trio of games. Monday’s series opener will feature Sonny Gray on the mound opposite Chase Anderson, with first pitch set for 8:10 PM ET.
• Tunes.