The Cincinnati Reds bullpen was once again asked to keep the opposition at bay and for what feels like the millionth time this season they were up to the task. That allowed the offense to claw back from a 2-run deficit in the final three innings to beat the Minnesota Twins 5-4 on Saturday afternoon and grab a series with with one more game to be played.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (13-8) | 5 | 11 | 1 |
| Minnesota Twins (11-10) | 4 | 9 | 0 |
| W: Nicolas (1-0) L: Sands (0-1) SV: Santillan (1) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
Minnesota didn’t waste time taking the lead in this one as Ryan Jeffers tripled in two runs in the bottom of the 1st inning on a ball into left-center off of Andrew Abbott. The Reds got one of those runs back in the top of the 2nd when Sal Stewart scored on a sacrifice fly by Tyler Stephenson.
Luke Keaschall, who failed to come through in Friday night’s game three times with men on was up to the task in the bottom of the 3rd on Saturday. With a man on second base he lined a single into right field to drive in a run and extend the Twins lead to 3-1. Cincinnati got that run back in the top of the 4th with Tyler Stephenson once again coming through – this time on a single that scored Eugenio Suarez who had doubled earlier in the inning.
In the bottom of the 5th the Twins got a leadoff single from Josh Bell and then Andrew Abbott would walk Trevor Larnach with two outs. That led to a pitching change that brought in Sam Moll. He would give up an RBI single to the first hitter he faced as the lead went back to two runs for the home team.
That would be the final run of the day for Minnesota as Cincinnati’s bullpen locked them down. The offense would eventually get to work in the 7th inning when Rece Hinds led off with a single and then came in to score on a 2-out single by Elly De La Cruz that made it 4-3. The next inning back-to-back singles to start the frame set up Rece Hinds for a sacrifice fly that tied the game, but Matt McLain was doubled up on the play to end the inning.
With the game tied entering the 9th, the Reds played some small ball. Spencer Steer singled on a grounder to shortstop that was ruled a hit but probably should have been an error. TJ Friedl then bunted him up to second base. That set up Dane Myers to be the hero as he singled on a blooper into shallow center that brought Steer in from second to put Cincinnati up by a run. Tony Santillan came in for the save in the bottom of the 9th and needed just 12 pitches to retire the side as the visitors picked up a 5-4 comeback win.
Key Moment of the Game
Dane Myers go-ahead single in the top of the 9th inning.
Notes Worth Noting
The Reds are now 10-0 in games decided by two runs or fewer. That’s the best start in MLB since 1987 in such games.
Eugenio Suarez had two hits in the game, extending his on-base streak to 11 games. No other Red has a current streak of more than two.
Suarez and Nathaniel Lowe each had two hits in the game.
Tony Santillan hasn’t allowed a run in any of his 10 outings to begin the year, tossing 10.0 shutout innings with just three hits allowed.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs Minnesota Twins
Sunday April 19th, 2:10pm ET
Brady Singer (1-1, 5.60 ERA) vs Bailey Ober (2-0, 5.49 ERA)