Andrew Abbott isn’t perfect, after all. He finally allowed a run in the big leagues. Three of them, in fact, all on solo home runs. But he also struck out 10 batters in his 6-inning quality start. The Reds trailed 3-0 entering the 5th inning but as they’ve done frequently, never gave up and battled their way back. After tying the game in the 5th it stayed tied until the 8th when Jake Fraley crushed what turned out to be the game-winning 2-run homer. The sweep of the Rockies was completed and Cincinnati’s win streak stayed alive at 11 in a row.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado Rockies (29-48) |
3 | 6 | 1 |
| Cincinnati Reds (40-35) |
5 | 9 | 0 |
| W: Gibaut (8-1) L: Bard (3-1) SV: Farmer (2) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
The first batter of the game put the Rockies in front as Brenton Doyle hit his 5th homer of the year. Colorado added to their lead in the 2nd inning when Elehuris Montero hit another solo shot off of Andrew Abbott to extend their lead to 2-0.
Elly De La Cruz led off the bottom of the 2nd inning with a single. He then attempted to steal second base, but Jake Fraley hit a fly ball into right field that was caught and turned into a double play as De La Cruz could not get back to first in time. Joey Votto was hit by a pitch after that and then Tyler Stephenson singled, but Will Benson grounded out to end the inning that saw two singles and a hit batter lead to no runs in a squandered opportunity for the Reds.
The Rockies picked up another run in the top of the 4th inning with another solo home run – this time off of the bat of Randal Grichuk. After not allowing a run in his first three starts, Abbott gave up three home runs in the first four frames on Wednesday afternoon.
Cincinnati got the offense going again in the bottom of the 5th inning. Joey Votto was hit by a pitch that he may have stuck his elbow out over the plate on, but the umpire didn’t call it that way and Votto trotted down to first. Tyler Stephenson followed with a single and then Will Benson worked a 7-pitch walk to load the bases.
That would lead to a pitching change for the Rockies as they brought in Matt Carasiti to face off against Luke Maile. After a 5-pitch at-bat it was Maile coming out the victor as he singled into center and played Joey Votto and Tyler Stephenson. TJ Friedl followed up with an RBI single of his own to bring Will Benson in and tie the game up. Spencer Steer struck out for the first out of the inning. That brought Jonathan India to the plate. He battled for seven pitches, but took the final pitch for a called third strike. TJ Friedl broke for second, but India thought he took ball four and began to walk to first base. The throw went to second, and Luke Maile took off for the plate and appeared to score as the catcher couldn’t come up with the throw. But the home plate umpire called for interference on India and it turned into an inning ending double play.
Andrew Abbott came out for the top of the 6th inning and he struck out the side. That gave him 10 strikeouts on the day without a walk and 88 pitches. That would be his final inning, with Cincinnati turning things over in the 7th to Lucas Sims in a tie game. He made easy work of the frame, picking up two strikeouts and needing just nine pitches to complete the inning.
Ian Gibaut took over for Cincinnati in the top of the 8th and gave up a leadoff single to Harold Castro. Austin Wynns squared up to bunt and Gibaut’s pitch came up and in, with Wynns making contact and bunting it foul, but in the process Wynns bat came backwards and hit him in the face. He remained in the game after a quick visit from the trainer. He bunted at the next pitch and this time popped it up to Luke Maile, who caught it with his bare hand for the out. Mike Moustakas then entered the game as a pinch hitter. Gibaut struck him out and then did the same to Brenton Doyle to end the top of the inning.
In the bottom of the 8th inning Elly De La Cruz got things rolling in the 8th inning with a 1-out double. Jake Fraley took the next pitch and planted it in the right field seats for a go-ahead 2-run homer that gave Cincinnati a 5-3 lead. Tyler Stephenson tried to keep the line moving with a 2-out single, and he was replaced on the bases by Matt McLain. Will Benson and Luke Maile followed up with walks to load the bases. TJ Friedl, though, would strike out on a pitch that everyone except the home plate umpire thought was high, and the game headed to the 9th inning.
Buck Farmer took over on the mound for Cincinnati in the 9th looking to hold onto a 2-run lead.
Key Moment of the Game
Jake Fraley’s 2-run blast in the 8th inning that broke a 3-3 tie.
Notes Worth Noting
11 wins in a row is a lot of wins in a row.
Elly De La Cruz had two more hits on the day and is now hitting .321/.387/.536 through the first 14 games of his career.
Lucas Sims lowered his ERA to 2.60 with his perfect inning of work.
Ian Gibaut may finish the season leading the league in wins if he keeps things going at this pace – he now has eight of them.
Buck Farmer earned his second save of the season and lowered his ERA to 2.48 on the year.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Atlanta Braves vs Cincinnati Reds
Friday June 23rd, 6:40pm ET
TBA vs Luke Weaver (1-2, 6.47 ERA)
