Cincinnati Reds Week in Review

Photo from Yahoo Sports.

Cincinnati, Ohio (PSF) - The Cincinnati Reds have started the season at 4-4 and have been plagued by their bullpen the entire way. In each of their four losses, the Reds have held the lead, or been tied when the relief pitchers have entered the game. For the most starting pitching has been great, besides a couple rough games from Hunter Greene and Connor Overton.

Cincinnati unfortunately dropped their opening day battle to the Pittsburgh Pirates, when Oneil Cruz hit a sac fly in the 8th inning to put the Pirates up by one. Greene struggled, only making it through 3.1 innings. However, the Reds would bounce back in game two of this series, where Nick Lodolo would go five innings, striking out nine batters. Johnathan India, and Kevin Newman both hit home runs, and Jake Fraley added three more RBIs to propel the Reds to a 6-2 win in game two. The series finale would be led by Reds pitcher Graham Ashcraft, who went seven innings, allowing only one run and striking out six. Jason Vosler and T.J. Friedl both went deep in this game, with Tyler Stephenson adding an RBI single, giving the Reds a 3-1 victory, winning the series 2-1 over the Pirates.

Entering the second series of the year against the Chicago Cubs, all eyes were on Vosler. Filling for future Hall of Famer Joey Votto is no easy task, but Vosler stepped up in every opportunity he got. When the club needed a big-time play, whether it be offensively or defensively, Vosler was there.

Jason Vosler giving a baseball a nice ride. Photo from Andy Lyons of Getty Images.

The first game against the Cubs featured a hideous pitching matchup. Cincy threw Connor Overton on the mound, who went four innings, allowing 5 runs. While Drew Smyly took the hill for Chicago. Smyly made it 4.2 innings, allowing 6 runs. The Reds were once again powered by Vosler, who hit a three-run home run, and made two great defensive plays, leading the Reds to a 7-6 victory. The second game of this series saw a horrendous effort from Cincinnati’s bullpen. When Luis Cessa exited the game after 5.1 innings, Cincinnati held a 3-1 lead, and would end up losing 12-5. Chicago scored 11 runs, with only 8 being earned, thanks to Cincinnati’s bullpen. The series finale ended up being rained out and rescheduled for a later date. With this rainout, Cincinnati would then head to Philadelphia.

The first game against the Phillies saw another disappointing start from Greene, who only made it 4.2 innings, while allowing 2 runs. Once again, the Reds would hold a 2-2 tie in the seventh inning, until the bullpen would blow yet another game, resulting in a 5-2 Phillies win. Game two looked to be a great turnaround for the Reds, as Lodolo would go seven innings, striking out 12, and allowing zero runs. Unfortunately, Cincy could only plate two runs. The game looked in hand as the Reds carried a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth, Alexis Diaz got the call to go out for another inning, after getting the Phillies top three hitters out in the 8th. With Diaz being the only trustable guy in the bullpen, this seemed like a smart move, unfortunately he allowed one run, causing David Bell to call on Ian Gibaut to replace him. Gibaut gave up a sac fly, and the hit that would win the Phillies the game in walk off fashion. The series finale saw a roller coaster of emotions for both teams. Philadelphia held a 4-3 lead entering the top of the 9th, until Jake “Rake” Fraley stepped up to plate. With the bases loaded, Fraley uncorked a bases clearing triple, to give the Reds a 6-4 lead. Ian Gibaut then came in to close it out and give Cincinnati a win they desperately needed, as they prepared to head off to Atlanta for a three-game stint with the Braves.

Jake Fraley celebrating his game winning triple. photo from Laurence Kesterson of AP.

Key takeaways:

-          Neglecting the bullpen for three straight seasons has led the Reds to where they are today. Cincinnati needs to find a real bullpen arm, instead of relying on failed starting pitchers to lead the charge late in games.

-          Will Benson is lost. Hitting .056 is not a major league talent. Although he showed flashes in spring training, he needs a stint in AAA to get his mechanics back on track. He has struggled at the plate and is subpar on defense.  

-          Jason Vosler was a great addition, when Votto is healthy, the Reds have a very tough decision to make.

-          Jake Fraley, and Johnathan India are the keys to making this a winning ballclub.

A 4-4 start to the season isn’t all bad for a team expected to do worse. However, it is frustrating to see a team with so much potential be plagued by a front office who has failed to make valuable additions to the roster year after year. Overall, Cincinnati needs to get its bullpen together, and they have a dangerous team that could surprise a lot of people this year.

Cincinnati now heads to Atlanta for three games, before returning home to face the Phillies once again, and then wrapping up the short homestand with the Tampa Bay Rays coming to town.