Anthony DeSclafani dominant, Aristides Aquino homers again in Reds 5-0 win over Marlins

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Anthony DeSclafani entered Wednesday’s contest against the Miami Marlins having allowed just 2 total ER in his previous 2 starts, effectively being a really damn solid pitcher over those 11 innings. Of course, Disco used to be a Miami Marlin, and against his former club he managed to look even better in this one.

The Cincinnati Reds starter tossed 7 innings of scoreless, 2 hit ball, banking 8 strikeouts against a lone walk in his time. He managed to consistently paint the edges of the zone with a mix of a fastball touching 97 mph and a slider that he located brilliantly, and never once did he really face any sort of danger in the process.

Sure, it’s the Marlins, but that was easily Disco’s best outing of the year, and it’s great to see him finishing the season strong.

Honorable Mentions are due to: Aristides Aquino, who belted a 3-run dinger, doubled, and scored twice; Eugenio Suarez, who singled, dingered for the 38th time this year, and scored twice; Joey Votto, who singled, walked, and scored; Kevin Gausman, who fired a pair of scoreless innings in relief; and Tucker Barnhart, who doubled in a run.

Key Plays

• The 1st inning Reds struck again in this one, plating a trio of runs against young Miami starter Sandy Alcantara in the opening frame. Votto walked, Suarez smacked a single behind him, and Aquino then followed with another mammoth dinger, a 418 foot shot that put the Reds ahead early, 3-0.
• The Top of the 4th saw Cincinnati plate another run, as Aquino led off the inning with a double and later scored on Barnhart’s RBI two-bagger. Reds led, 4-0.
• Suarez turned around a hanging Jeff Brigham meatball in the Top of the 8th for a solo blast, dingering in his 4th consecutive game (which my notes tell me is pretty damn impressive). Reds led, 5-0, which is how this one wrapped.

Tony Graphanino

Other Notes

• The 7 IP logged by DeSclafani marked his longest outing of the season. His recent run of 2 ER allowed over his last 18.1 IP has his season ERA down to 4.05.
• Aristides Aquino became the first player in MLB history to bonk 13 dingers within his first 100 PA. He’s pretty well the first player in MLB history to do basically everything he’s done to this juncture. Hail King Aristides Aquino, first of his name!
• Thursday’s series finale will be of the dumb variety, meaning it’s a 7:10 PM ET start time despite being a getaway day affair. Alex Wood will toe the rubber for the Reds with hopes he can finally right his ship, while Robber Dugger will start for Miami.
• Tunes.