An error in the 7th inning proved costly as it led to three unearned runs. Those were the only runs of the game as Cincinnati saw their offense fail to show up again. The Reds managed just one hit in a 3-0 loss to San Francisco on Thursday afternoon as the Giants avoided being swept in the 3-game series.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco Giants (7-12) | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| Cincinnati Reds (11-8) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| W: Roupp (3-1) L: Burke (1-1) SV: Miller (1) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
In what has been a reoccurring theme for much of the 2026 season, Cincinnati Reds games haven’t featured much offense. That’s been thanks to good pitching by the Reds and Chase Burns was holding up his end of the bargain for Cincinnati. He had the Giants putting up zeroes left and right and had given up just two hits in the first six innings of the game.
On the flip side of that, though, is that the Reds offense has struggled. A lot. And that continued to be the case on Thursday afternoon as Landen Roupp didn’t give up a hit until P.J. Higgins led off the 6th inning with a line drive single into left field. TJ Friedl was then hit by a pitch to put two men on base to start the frame in a scoreless game. Both runners would be stranded after a strikeout was followed by a double play.
The Reds went to the bullpen for the 7th inning, bringing in Brock Burke to face the top of San Francisco’s lineup. Burke got a grounder up the middle but Elly De La Cruz couldn’t come up with it cleanly as Luis Arraez reached to begin the frame. That turned out to be pivotal as Arraez would score from 1st base on a 2-out double into the gap off of the bat of Matt Chapman to give the Giants a 1-0 lead. A bloop single into shallow left field brought in Chapman as the visitors extended their lead. Connor Phillips then took over and he issues a walk to the first batter he faced and then another single followed to push another run across the plate and put runners on the corners, but was able to get a strikeout to end the rally.
Phillips returned for what turned out to be a strange inning. Luis Arraez lined out to a diving TJ Friedl for the second out of the frame, but the ball popped out of his glove. The Giants, however, didn’t challenge the call and it stood despite replay clearly showing it came out.
Phillips then threw way inside on Willy Adames on the next pitch, but it sailed to the backstop. The next pitch him Adames. Spencer Steer was hit earlier in the game in what everyone knows was on purpose after what he said to Giants pitcher JT Brubaker during their face off in the 7th inning last night. This appeared to be Cincinnati returning the favor. Both teams had a few players walk out of the dugout but no one appeared to truly be ready to throw down. Phillips, though, was ejected from the game. Sam Moll came in and got the final out to send the game to the bottom of the 8th.
The Reds went down in order in the 8th. After the Giants put up a zero in their half of the 9th, Cincinnati headed to the plate needing three runs with the top of their order due up. With a lefty on the mound for San Francisco, the Reds pinch hit Dane Myers for TJ Friedl, but he struck out on six pitches. Matt McLain then worked a 9-pitch walk to try and get something going for the home team. It didn’t happen as Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart struck out to end the game.
Both benches emptied as closer Erik Miller and Sal Stewart began to yell at each other shortly after the strikeout. Cooler heads prevailed and everyone just had an up close and personal meeting with the other side.
Key Moment of the Game
The error to start the 7th inning by Elly De La Cruz. It led to three unearned runs scoring and broke a scoreless game wide open.
Notes Worth Noting
Cincinnati wins the series but couldn’t pull off the sweep. They’ll head off to Minneapolis to start a series with the Twins on Friday night.
Something has to be done with the Reds offense because they just continue to struggle to get hits and score runs. They have played 19 games and have been shut out twice, scored one run once, and six runs twice. They have also scored three runs three times. That’s 12 games where they have scored three or fewer runs. The pitching simply can’t continue to hold as well as it has to keep picking up wins without better and more consistent run support.
Chase Burns gave up just two hits in his 6.0 innings. That lowered his ERA to 2.42 through his four starts this season.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs Minnesota Twins
Friday April 17th, 8:10pm ET
Brandon Williamson (1-1, 5.28 ERA) vs Joe Ryan (2-1, 3.80 ERA)