Reds give lead to bullpen, bullpen gives lead to Marlins in 7-6 loss

The 2022 Cincinnati Reds aren’t going anywhere. They aren’t winning anything, and should be treated as nothing but day to day entertainment value at this juncture.

So, it’s with a hearty ha-ha that I must tell you that, at several points, they had more runs on the board than the Miami Marlins on Thursday. They did! They even handed the ball to their closer with a lead in the Top of the 9th!

What happened after that need not be detailed, as it won’t have any real impact on the now, the how, or the why. The dudes who surrendered said lead at that juncture won’t be with the Reds much longer this year, and certainly won’t be around the next time this team has a sniff of maybe potentially being close to seeing what good might be.

Final score be damned, Graham Ashcraft pitched into the 7th inning. He even got the vote of confidence from manager David Bell in that inning, even though it didn’t work out and let the Marlins get a run closer. Young pup has some gas and some fight, and hopefully fired enough good pitches today to file that to his own memory, result be damned.

Joey Votto struck out with 2-out and the winning run on the bases in the Bottom of the 9th, which pains my pancreas and my soul. It is what it is our age, though, especially this early in the day. My back hurts just typing this.

The Cincinnati Reds did not win their baseball game today, as they are so often wont to do. They won’t win most days they play anymore, especially after they make the deals at the looming deadline that they’ll surely make. Still, I watched baseball for over three hours in a row today, and I can safely say that’s a better way to spend an afternoon than at least a few other ways.