Another late-inning loss to the Miami Marlins in their series finale over the weekend means the Cincinnati Reds lost the season series to the Marlins, which means they lose the tiebreaker if the teams finish deadlocked for a wild-card playoff berth, which means …
Who are we kidding?
The back-to-back losses to the Marlins on eighth- and ninth-inning Miami scoring over the weekend – including a 7-1 loss Sunday (Aug. 16) – means little more than the fact the Reds have lost two of their last three series, six of their last nine games and that they’re playing for exactly what we thought they were playing for since the end of May.
They’re playing for things like Nick Lodolo’s health and solution to his chronic blister problems – his new breaking-ball grip showing promise again Sunday in his second start back from the injured list.
They’re playing for extended looks at guys like Michael Toglio, who started in right field and finished at first, and maybe to see what they have in a guy like 31-year-old rookie Julian Garcia, who pitched two scoreless innings with four strikeouts Sunday.
And they’re playing to try not to look too often like they did late in a game that was scoreless until the eighth – that included three errors over the final two innings, including two by the All-Star shortstop.
Until they get their next shot at making good on some of those objectives, they’ll wear this one.
Reliever Tejay Antone, who was charged with his first big-league loss in six years the night before, got tagged with a second in as many games when his inning unraveled after he got the first two outs in the eighth – a sequence that began with Heriberto Hernandez’s home run, followed by shortstop Elly De La Cruz’s error on a routine throw to first for what should have been the third out.
A single and walk the loaded the bases, and then pinch-hitter Griffin Conine drew a walk on a close 3-2 pitch – after an unsuccessful ABS challenge – to force in an unearned run.
Tyler Stephenson’s seventh career pinch-hit home run leading off the bottom of the eighth made it a one-run game, but the Marlins unloaded on Ron Marinnacio, the waiver-claimed reliever who was DFA’d by teams twice this season.
In his second start back from his latest stint on the IL for the recurring blister issue, Lodolo was efficient after a two-hit first inning on a humid afternoon with temperatures in the upper-80s – the kind of weather that can contribute to blisters.
He went just five innings in the 73-pitch outing.
After navigating around the pair of singles and a walk to escape a scoreless first, the left-hander gave up just one single and a walk the rest of his outing, finishing with eight consecutive batters retired, and 11 of 12.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Marlins torch Reds bullpen, defense late again to beat Cincinnati
Reporting by Gordon Wittenmyer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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By Gordon Wittenmyer, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
