Cincinnati’s Tylers tackle Cleveland as Reds beat Guardians, 4-2

It took an extra day to earn the Ohio Cup split for the Cincinnati Reds, but they wouldn’t let rain derail their plans to climb out of the early-season hole for which they dug themselves.

After last night’s postponement, Tyler Mahle patiently took the mound in Cleveland and fired 6.1 IP of 2 H, ER, 2 BB, 4 K ball for the Reds, and a late, 8th inning rally pushed Cincinnati to a 4-2 victory.

Tyler Naquin homered and doubled to take home The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game, as he continues to simply rake against the Cleveland club that once made him a 1st round pick. He scored twice on the day, and his collective efforts landed him the significantly-less-prestigious-than-the-JNMHSotG-award of Ohio Cup MOP, too.

Tony Santillan got a huge double-play to evade trouble late as part of his 1.2 IP of scoreless relief, a welcome sign on a day when the usually rock-solid Alexis Diaz fought some wildness. All told, it was a good enough job of efficient pitching and timely hitting for the Reds, something they’ll need in spades as they head north to Toronto to take on the Blue Jays over the weekend.

Tony Graphanino (link)

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• Joey Votto is Canadian.
• Joey Votto.
• Friday’s series opener against Toronto, in which Joey Votto will participate, is slated for a 7:07 PM ET start. Luis Castillo and Hyun-Jin Ryu will toe the rubber as each club’s respective starter in a star-studded matchup (hopefully).
• Tunes.

Photo by Alex Trautwig/MLB via Getty Images