Trevor Bauer dominant, Reds sleepwalk into All Star break with 11-1 loss

The Ted Kluszewski Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Jimmy Herget made his big league debut for the Cincinnati Reds today.

Congrats, Jimmy. Here’s to forgetting every single other aspect of today’s game.

Key Plays

• Tyler Mahle pitched himself both into and out of a bases loaded jam without damage in the Top of the 3rd, but the Top of the 4th saw him serve a meatball on the inside portion of the plate to Tyler Naquin that was turned around for a solo dinger into the RF seats. It came with 2-outs, because of course. Reds trailed, 1-0.
• The wheels fell off for the Reds in the Top of the 5th, unfortunately. A Greg Allen single and Carlos Santana walk chased Mahle in favor of Jared Hughes, but a bunt and a sac fly brought in Allen before Hughes served up a 2-run dinger to Jake Bauers that put the Reds in a dismal 4-0 hole.
• The Reds finally got on the board against Trevor Bauer in the Bottom of the 5th, as Jose Peraza bounced a single through the middle and later scored on the double to the wall in left-center by VanMeter. Reds trailed, 4-1.
• Allen struck again in the Top of the 7th, leading off with a triple against Robert Stephenson before later scoring on a Jason Kipnis single. That, mind you, is the same Greg Allen who entered play today hitting .169/.225/.323 on the season. Reds trailed, 5-1.
• It was more of the same against David Hernandez in the Top of the 8th, as Roberto Perez led off with a double into the LF corner, Naquin pllated him with an RBI single into RF, and Bobby Bradley then drove in Naquin with an RBI double. Did I mention Greg Allen yet? Well, he mauled a Herget meatball later that inning for a 2-run dinger, and the Reds were in a miserable 9-1 deficit.
• Wait, wait...the Top of the 8th was still going, I think, since after coming back to the TV after going outside for five minutes the scoreboard said 10-1.
• Make that 11-1. Now I’m just reading box scores while forgetting about baseball for the week. But hey, at least the Reds jerseys were cool.

Tony Graphanino

Other Notes

• As Chris Welsh mentioned on the broadcast, the Reds entered play today just 13-25 in day games, and 4-10 in games on Sundays. That’s alarmingly bad, and a bit confusing.
• Tyler Mahle’s final line was also rather not good: 4+ IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 7 K on 84 pitches.
• Nick Senzel crashed into the CF wall in the Top of the 1st and appeared initially to tweak his right ankle in the process. He stayed in the game, took a walk, and ran the bases in the Bottom of the 1st, but was later removed with what has been called a sprain.
• Today, of course, marked the final game of the season’s first ‘half,’ as the dinger derby and All Star Game will take place in the coming days. The next official Reds game will take place in the great city of Denver, as on Friday the Colorado Rockies will host Cincinnati in the first game of a weekend series.
• Tunes.