CLEVELAND – If it truly is all about how you finish and not how you start, then the Cincinnati Reds are in trouble.
Because the collection of pitchers they employ to finish games hasn’t done the job more than two or three times in weeks, and there appears to be no remedy in sight for the league-high raft of walks allowed and subsequent leads blown and threatened.
A near miss with disaster after an ugly group outing in the opener of the Ohio Cup series in Cleveland was followed Saturday by a quick blown lead in the sixth, and a two-out, two-run rocket by Angel Martinez one inning later for the winning runs in the Cleveland Guardians’ 7-4 win over the Reds.
Just like that, a Reds bullpen that led the majors with a 2.23 ERA through its first 23 games had an MLB-worst 7.50 ERA in its next 23. The Reds were 15-8 in the first 23; 9-14 after.
And add six more walks on this night to boost their MLB-leading bullpen total to 120 walks issued.
“We’ve got some (veteran) guys that aren’t commanding like they have, and then we’ve got some younger kid who are struggling to find their place and what pitches they can throw and hit in the strike zone,” said manager Terry Francona, who added he talked with the group before Saturday’s game to encourage an “attack” mindset.
“It’s been a challenge.”
And there were plenty of wrong-way numbers to go around for Luis Mey (two walks, a wild pitch, two runs allowed), Pierce Johnson (one out, one go-ahead homer allowed to spoil Sam Moll’s strong effort) and Connor Phillips (two walks, an error on a ball hit back to the mound to allow an unearned run and a pitch-clock violation).
“They’re our guys,” Francona said. “When it’s good you pat them on the back. And when it’s not so good I don’t think you run from them. We stayed with Tony (Santillan on Friday) night, and he rewarded us. And I think he feels better about himself. Maybe baby steps.”
Right-hander Chris Paddack gave the Reds five strong enough innings to hand a 4-2 lead to the bullpen in his Reds debut, just a few days after the Reds had signed the veteran who was released by the Marlins a week ago.
Paddack, who was 0-5 with a 7.63 ERA with the Marlins, needed just 15 pitches to retire the first five he faced before allowing both runs with two outs in the second on a four-batter sequence that went single, hit batter, walk and two-run single (by No. 9 hitter Bryan Rocchio).
He retired 10 of the final 14 he faced. He threw 78 pitches in his first start since May 3.
“He really did a good job,” Francona said. “And if you look at the scoreboard he could have stayed out there. I just thought with the time he had off, that would have been unfair to him. He’s going to start again in five or six days.”
After the Guardians took the early two-run lead, Reds leadoff man Dane Myers cut it in half with a two-out, solo home run the opposite way in right in the third inning.
They took the lead in the fifth when Blake Dunn led off with a bunt single, followed by a sacrifice bunt, walk, back-to-back two-out walks and a two-run double by Spencer Steer. The inning ended when Sal Stewart was thrown out at home trying to score from first on the double.
The Reds suffered another loss when catcher Jose Trevino left the game after the fifth inning with a hamstring injury.
The severity of the injury was not immediately clear. Trevino spent two weeks on the injured list last month because of a back injury.
Francona said the team plans to get an MRI for Trevino, possibly Sunday. No IL move had been determined in the immediate aftermath of the game.
The third catcher in the organization, P.J. Higgins, was designated for assignment earlier in the week to clear roster space to add Paddack. He cleared waivers and remains in the organization at Triple-A Louisville. Somebody else would have to be shed from the 40-man to bring Higgins back up to the big-league club if Trevino needs another IL stint.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds bullpen blows another lead in loss to Guardians
Reporting by Gordon Wittenmyer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
