Cincinnati had a chance to win the series on Thursday afternoon, but the bullpen gave up three runs in the top of the 9th as they blew the game. Miami’s 7-6 win gave the Marlins a series split.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miami Marlins (47-52) |
7 | 10 | 0 |
| Cincinnati Reds (38-60) |
6 | 11 | 0 |
| W: Pop (2-0) L: Strickland (2-3) SV: Scott (14) |
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| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
The Offense
Cincinnati got back-to-back 1-out doubles in the 1st inning from Brandon Drury and Tommy Pham to take a 1-0 lead. After Joey Votto walked to put two men on, an unlucky and scary incident happened as Donovan Solano hit a liner back up the middle that hit pitcher Daniel Castano in the forehead then flew towards third base where Joey Wendle caught it on the fly. Castano walked off the field on his own, but he left the game and it was later announced he had a mild concussion.
Cincinnati was trailing 3-1 entering the 4th, but the offense got back to work. Matt Reynolds and Nick Senzel singled, with Reynolds scoring on a ground out and then Senzel coming in on a Mark Kolozsvary double into the right-center gap that tied the game up. The Reds grabbed the lead in the 5th after three straight singles from Tommy Pham, Joey Votto, and Donovan Solano produced a run. In the 6th inning it was a homer from Tyler Naquin that padded the lead and made it 5-3.
After the bullpen blew a 5-4 lead and turned it into a 7-5 deficit, the offense needed to get to work in the bottom of the 9th if they wanted a series win. Kyle Farmer grounded out to start the inning. Stuart Fairchild came off of the bench to pinch hit for Mark Kolozsvary and he struck out. That left things up to Jonathan India to get something going and he did his job, drawing a 5-pitch walk. Brandon Drury did the same thing, putting the winning run at the plate in Tommy Pham. He lined a single into left field to plate India and make it a 7-6 game. Joey Votto came up next, but he would lose the lefty-lefty match up as he struck out to end the game.
The Pitching
After holding the Marlins scoreless in the first two innings, Miami got to Graham Ashcraft in the 3rd inning when Jesus Aguilar hit a 2-run homer to put his team on top 2-1. Two singles with a passed ball mixed in in the 4th inning added to the Marlins lead and made it 3-1.
Graham Ashcraft was cruising until the top of the 7th when he was holding onto a 5-3 lead. After getting a ground out to start the inning Jacob Stallings doubled off of him. The next batter grounded out, but moved Stallings to third base. David Bell came to the mound but left Ashcraft in the game. Jesus Aguilar promptly doubled to make it a 5-4 game and Bell returned to bring in Alexis Diaz. The rookie reliever got out of the jam to hold the lead in the 7th. He returned for the 8th and did the same thing.
Hunter Strickland then came out for the 9th inning and gave up a game-tying home run to the leadoff batter and then walked the next hitter. That led to a mound visit. It didn’t work as Strickland then hit the third batter of the inning. David Bell had seen enough and called on Buck Farmer to come into the game out of the bullpen with two men on and no outs. That move also didn’t work as Joey Wendle doubled in a run and then Jesus Aguilar hit a sacrifice fly as the Marlins jumped ahead 7-5. A caught stealing and a strikeout ended the inning, but the damage had been done.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Baltimore Orioles vs Cincinnati Reds
Friday July 29th, 6:40pm ET
TBA vs Mike Minor (1-7, 6.65 ERA)
