ST. LOUIS – Another day, another loss for the Cincinnati Reds.
With no relief in sight.
At least not enough relief.
This time it was an eighth-inning blown save that cost the Reds in a 6-5 loss to the Cardinals that clinched a series loss.
In the latest iteration of Reds Relievers Gone Wild, the bullpen guys didn’t actually issue any unintentional walks.
But even the hot hand in the group, lefty Sam Moll, couldn’t escape the continuing woes of the beleaguered, injury-plagued bullpen.
After getting the final out of the seventh in a one-run game, Moll was tasked with the eighth and got just three batters into the inning before Cardinals center fielder Lars Nootbar drove a 1-2 hanger well over the right field wall for an eventual game-winning, two-run home run that sent the Reds to their seventh loss in nine games.
“Sammy was pretty good,” manager Terry Francona said of the lefty, whose 30 appearances rank third in the National League and who rode a streak of eight scoreless outings before Saturday. “He hung a breaking ball that was right in (Nootbar’s) swing path.”
The shot by Nootbar – who only returned from the injured list Friday after offseason surgery on both feet – dropped the Reds under .500 (31-32) for the first time since they lost the season opener to Boston (after the pen’s first blown save of the season).
They’re just 2-12 against NL Central rivals (1-3 against the Cardinals) and have yet to play first-place Milwaukee.
“It sucks for sure,” said starter Nick Lodolo, who pitched into the sixth Saturday, “anytime you’re losing baseball games. Nobody in here’s happy. But I think we have 100 games left. We’re not going to mail it in.
“We know what we need to do.”
One big thing they need to do is get healthy before it’s too late. Currently on the Reds’ injured list are ace Hunter Greene, closer Emilio Pagán, All-Star shortstop Elly De La Cruz and two of their top three leverage setup men, Graham Ashcraft and Pierce Johnson.
The Reds have lost three consecutive series as they try to avoid the sweep with Rhett Lowder pitching Sunday in his return from a shoulder issue.
Until Nootbar’s shot Saturday, the Reds had the lead for most of the game, rallying for three runs in the third with the sizable help of a Cardinals error to tie the game – then taking the lead on struggling Matt McLain’s two-run homer in the fourth.
Lodolo got peppered for three runs on five singles in the second, then retired eight of 10 before allowing a solo home run to Jordan Walker in the fifth.
By then he had the lead and got two batters deep into the sixth (hit and throwing error) before turning it over to the bullpen.
“He’s getting more like Lodolo,” Francona said. “And he’s getting stretched out to the point where he was at (95 pitches). He’ll be OK.”
It was Lodolo’s sixth start back from the IL since starting the season sidelined with a finger blister issue. He’s thrown 95 or more pitches in four consecutive starts; he threw the fewest innings of the four Saturday.
“I’ve got to finish,” Lodolo said. “I feel like I’m getting there. A lot of people can say that. At the end of the day I’ve got to just get it done and finish the at-bats.”
The Reds loaded the bases in the ninth with a pair of two-out singles and a walk.
Sal Stewart, who started his final at-bat with a 3-0 count after winning his third ABS challenge of the game, appeared to draw a tying walk before the Cards, in turn, won a challenge on a Ball 4 call to run the count full – the ABS display on the video board showing the baseball barely clipping the edge of the zone.
“I knew it was a strike,” said Stewart, who grounded the next pitch to second for the final out.
“It was a good pitcher (Riley O’Brien) up there,” Stewart said. “I felt like I put together a really good AB, especially with the game on the line. I hit the ball really hard, just right at somebody.“It just didn’t fall my way.”This is the first year of the automate ball-strike (ABS) system in the majors.“We’re still getting used to that part of it,” Francona said. “Your game is literally hanging on an eighth of an inch or whatever. “I’m sure the fans love it. It’s not so great for my stomach.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds lose again on late-inning shot by Cardinals, drop 7th of 9
Reporting by Gordon Wittenmyer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Gordon Wittenmyer, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
