Cincinnati Reds blanked in 1-0 loss to Chicago Cubs at Wrigley

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Vladimir Gutierrez was mostly awesome in his big league debut for the Cincinnati Reds on Friday in Wrigley. The rookie righty fired 5 IP of 1 ER ball, scattering just a pair of hits and a pair of walks in his efficient 67 pitch outing. He fanned 3, too, and mostly did a very nice job of keeping the ball down in the zone on the day.

Frankly, it was more than enough to warrant another turn in the rotation with Jeff Hoffman sidelined. Well done, Vlad.

Honorable Mentions are not due to anyone.

Key Plays

• David Bote hammered a Gutierrez meatball in the Bottom of the 5th, though given how much the wind was blowing in on the day, it’s hard to fault Vlad for putting the ball in play and daring a Cubs bat-ability to hit it over the fence. Bote just barely did, however, for a solo shot that gave Chicago a 1-0 lead. Unfortunately, that held up.

Tony Graphanino

Other Notes

• It was a cold-ass blustery day at Wrigley, with a gale warning in place for the Chicago area and temperatures in the mid 40s all afternoon. Not exactly the most enjoyable of conditions, I’d imagine.
• The Reds left 14,582 runners on base in this one without scoring a single run. I’m not certain, but I’m pretty sure that’s a record.
• Fortunately, it looks like it’ll be a bit balmier tomorrow, relatively speaking, with the sun out and a high near 60. Considering what we’ve seen and heard about Luis Castillo getting starts in the cold, that’s a good thing, since La Piedra will be on the bump for the Reds in Saturday’s contest against the Cubs. He’ll be opposed by Zach Davies, with first pitch set for 2:20 PM ET once again.
• Tunes.