The Reds offense just couldn’t get much going once again and the Marlins took full advantage of their chances on Thursday afternoon. Miami would pick up an 8-1 win and earn a series split by beating Cincinnati in the final two games at loanDepot park.
Cincinnati loaded the bases in the 1st inning but they couldn’t take advantage of their opportunity and stranded all three runners. The bottom of the started out with an incredible catch by Dane Myers who leapt at the warning track and caught the ball as he smashed into the wall in center. The next ball was also hit to center, but Myers had the ball pop out of his glove on a dive this time and Xavier Edwards was able to turn it into a triple. An infield chopper to Eugenio Suarez followed and he gloved it, but on the transfer to throw home he lost grip on the ball and the run scored as he was charged with an error.
That’s where the score remained until the bottom of the 4th inning. Miami started the inning with a walk and then got back-to-back doubles from Otto Lopez and Owen Caissie to extend their lead to 3-0. After a ground out, Rhett Lowder gave up an RBI single to Javier Sanjoa that played Caissie to push the lead to four. Sal Stewart got one of those runs back in the top of the 5th inning. The native of Miami crushed a 409-foot home run just to the right of dead center for his 4th home run of the season.
In the bottom of the 6th it was Owen Caissie doing damage once again as he led off with a double. He came around to score on a 1-out single off the bat of Javier Sanoja, which ended the day for Rhett Lowder. Brock Burke came on and got out of the inning with no more damage.
Jose Franco took over for the Reds to begin the 7th inning and he would give up a run in an inning where it could have been much worse. He threw the ball by a covering Elly De La Cruz that Matt McLain seemingly snagged out of nowhere and then was able to fire to third base to record an out. The next out came on a diving catch of a line drive by De La Cruz with the bases loaded before a strikeout ended the frame. Miami added two more against Franco in the 8th and once again it could have been worse, but De La Cruz ended the inning with a double play after a leaping grab of a liner and doubling off the runner.
Cincinnati would need a big rally in the top of the 9th to keep things going. The first two batters reached base for the Reds, but after that they went down in order and dropped the final two games to split the series with the Marlins.
Key Moment of the Game
The bottom of the 4th inning when Miami was able to score three runs to break open the game.
Notes Worth Noting
Rhett Lowder had allowed six runs and just three extra-base hits in his eight career starts in MLB. In this start he allowed four extra-base hits and five earned runs.
Reds hitters went 0-10 with runners in scoring position. Only one player on the team with at least 20 at-bats is hitting over .235 – Sal Stewart. Only Dane Myers is above .235 among players with at least ONE at-bat outside of Stewart.
The P.J. Higgins streak is both over and it continues. If you missed it in the game preview we noted that Higgins team had won seven games in a row at the MLB level in which he played in the game. That streak is now over. But the final three games of that streak came against the Reds, which means that in the last four big league games he’s played in the Cincinnati Reds lost that game.
This game was a mixed bag for the Reds from a defensive standpoint. There were multiple highlight reel plays. But there were also several plays that should have been made that weren’t, along with two errors.
Cincinnati won the first five games of their 7-game road trip, but they dropped the final two of them. That always makes it feel worse.
In December the Houston Astros selected Roddery Munoz from the Reds in the Rule 5 draft. Houston designated him for assignment earlier this week and no one claimed him, so the Astros had to offer him back to Cincinnati for half of their money back on the selection (the Reds got $100,000 in December, would have to give back $50,000). The Reds declined and Munoz will remain with the Astros and he is no longer required to stay in the big leagues with them.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Los Angeles Angels vs. Cincinnati Reds
Friday April 10th, 6:45pm ET
Jack Kochanowicz (1-0, 4.66 ERA) vs Chase Burns (1-0, 0.82 ERA)