Month: June 2022

The Cincinnati Reds Matt Reynolds swings for an RBI double part of a seven run rally in the top of the third inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Sun Jun 26, 2022 (AP News photo)

Cincinnati (25-47). 10. 15. 1

San Francisco (39-33). 3. 5. 1

Sunday, June 26, 2022

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–David Bell’s crew sent Tyler Mahle (2-6,4.57) to the mound for today’s set-to with the San Francisco Giants, while Gabe Kapler & Co. elected to start Anthony DeSclafani (0-1,7.71) as his counterpart. If you just looked at those figures, you’d expect this afternoon’s set-to between the two teams to be a slugfest and it was but a one sided slugfest as the Cincinnati Reds won it in a laugher at Oracle Park in San Francisco 10-2 on Sunday.

You’d be only half right. Although DeSclafani had a horrid afternoon, Mahle acquitted himself handsomely over 6-2/3 innings of pretty decent work. He was charged with three runs, one of which was inherited, all earned, on four hits, one a homer, and a walk, while striking out seven. He threw 97 pitches, of which 30 were balls.

He took the win, his third of the season against six losses, home and lowered his ERA to 4.53. Before a pitch was thrown in anger, the Giants announced a move that many people had been expecting for a while.

They placed Brandon Crawford on the 10 day injured list, effective yesterday, with an inflamed left knee. To fill his place on the roster, San Francisco recalled the versatile Yermín Mercedes, who can catch, play in the infield, and serve as a designated hitter.

San Francisco suffered The Curse of the Leadoff Double in the home second. Joc Pederson bounced a two bagger against the Visa advertisement on the right center field fence and moved to third on Evan Longoria’s fly to deep left.

With the infield drawn in and shifted, Belt took a 1-2 pitch for a third strike. Home plate umpire Néstor Ceja’s call on that pitch raised some eyebrows. With the infield back to normal depth, Darin Ruf went down swinging.

Cininnati didn’t waste its opportunity to draw first blood in the top of the third. Nick Senzel led off by beating Longoria’s poor throw to first for a single to third. Aramis García sacrificed him over to second. After Mas Schrock fanned, Brandon Drury showed us why right centerfield at Oracle is called Triples Alley.

Tommy Pham then made some more enemies in the Bay Area by driving Drury in with a single to center. Drury scored moments later on Joey Votto’s two bagger to right. After Donovan Solano walked, Matt whacked a fly to deep center that kept drifting back until it bounced over the fence for an automatic double.

Alberto Almora, Jr., drove the last nail into DeSciafani’s coffin with a sharp single to left that plated Solano and Reynolds. The Giants’ starter had lasted 2-2/3 innings and given up a half a dozen runs plus the inherited runner he left and who came in on the single Yúnior Marte gave up to Nick Senzel.

All of those runs were earned. DeSciafani also yielded seven hits and a walk, striking out two. His pitch count was 53, 34 of them strikes. He would get tagged with the loss, leaving him 0-2, 9.95. In all, Cincinnati sent 11 men to the plate in their seven run outburst.

Mike Yastrzemski got one of those runs back with. lead off home run in the fourth. His 373 foot drive over the 354 foot sign between the Toyota and Game Up boards in left field was his eighth round tripper of ’22 and came on a 92 mph splitter.

Southpaw Jarlín García, replacing Marte, retired Votto to open the fifth. Then he almost got his head knocked off when Solano lined a single up the middle.

A walk to Reynolds, followed by Almora’s ground out, catcher to first, put runners on second and third with two out. Then everything fell apart for San Francisco’s third pitcher of the afternoon. Senzel grounded to Belt, whose errant throw to García arrived late.

The play was ruled a single and an error on the throw. Both runners scored, one on the hit and the other on the error, making it three for the inning and ten for the game. García did better in the sixth, allowing only an infield single before a strikeout and a double play ended it

After García’s unfortunate intervention, Camilo Doval shut Cincy out in the seventh, as did Dominic Leone in the following frame and John Brebbia in the ninth, ending that inning with a called third strike on Reynolds that led to manager Bell’s ejection by umpire Ceja.

San Francisco put two runs on the board and chased Mahle from the box in the seventh with a one out single by Donovan Walton, pinch hitting for Pederson, and a walk to Longoria. After Belt popped out to second, Ruf singled to left, scoring Walton and allowing Longoria to reach third.

Pham’s throw home from left was wild, which allowed Ruf to advance to second. At this point, Luis Cessa replaced Mahle for the Reds. Estrada beat out a grounder to third, bringing in Longoria and reducing the visitors’ lead to 10-3.

Reiver Sanmartín held the Giants scoreless in the eighth. Art Warren retired San Francisco 1,2,3 in the ninth to end the Giants’ dismal performance on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

The struggling home team will have a day off on Monday before facing Tarik Skubal (5-5,3.63) and the Detroit Tigers at 6:45. Carlos Rodón is scheduled to start for the Giants.

Thairo Estrada of the San Francisco Giants while rounding the bases after hitting his sixth home run of the season against the Cincinnati Reds in the bottom of the fourth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Sat Jun 25, 2022 (AP News photo)

Cincinnati (24-47). 2. 5. 0

San Francisco. (39-32) 9. 9. 1

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–About the only bright spots in Friday night’s disappointing San Francisco Giants (39-32) loss to the Cincinnati Reds (24-47) were Evan Longoria’s solo home run shot and the sterling three innings of no run no hit relief turned in by Yúnior Marte, recently called up from Sacramento.

Saturday’s fray offered plenty of them, including solo home runs by Evan Longoria, Thairo Estrada, and Joc Pederson as well as a three run roundtriper by Wilmer Flores which led to a Giant landslide of runs defeating the Red s 9-2 at Oracle Park in San Francisco.

They complimented an outstanding performance by the Giants’ starter, Logan Webb, who brought his large inventory of deliveries to the mound when he toed the rubber at 4:15. He used his arsenal of four seam fastballs, sliders, changeups, cutters, and sliders to good effect.

Webb was in command today, hurling six innings without allowing an earned run He yielded only two hits and two walks while striking out six. He threw 97 pitches, 55 for strikes, on his way to his seventh win against two losses and lowering his ERA to 3.04 in the process.

Mike Minor, the Reds’ starter, was on the Kansas City Royals’ injured list when last year’s season ended, and, after being acquired by Cincy late in the off season, was unable to pitch in the bigs until June 6. He came into today’s contest at 1-3,6.97, and had a career record against San Francisco of 3-3, 4.04 with an opponent’s batting average of .227.

He lasted only five innings, in which he threw 96 pitches, and 35 of those were balls. Another three went to home runs, accounting for three of the six runs, all earned, Minor allowed. He walked two and struck out four, taking the loss that brought his season’s record to 1-4, 7.71.

The Giants lost a chance to grab an early lead in their half of the first. Austin Slater led off with a single to left. After Wilmer Flores went down swinging, Joc Pederson dropped a fly that landed just inside the left field foul line that umpire Andy Fletcher called foul.

His ruling was overturned on review, but Pederson, who had stopped running had to remain on first while Slater occupied third. Cleanup hitter Darin Ruf promptly grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, raising the question, which is a pitcher’s best friend, a twin killing or poor officiating?

The Reds’ lucky streak continued in the top of the second, when Webb was touched for an unearned run . With Mike Moustaskas, who had walked, on first and two out, Albert Almora, Jr., hit a bounder to third that Longoria dropped, picked up, and dropped again, allowing Almora to reach first and Moustakas to move up to second. Nick Senzel drove the lead runner in to give the Rheinlanders a 1-0 lead.

Longoria quickly made amends for his costly error, taking an 80 mph knuckle curve 411 feet deep into the left field bleachers. After Mike Yastremski flew out to center, Thairo Estrada gave the fans in the left field bleachers another present, a 375 foot blast off a 91 mph four seam fastball that gave the home team a 2-1 advantage.

The orange and black resumed their relentless attack in the third inning. Slater opened the frame with a full count walk and mtored to third on Flores’s double to deep left. Both runners held on Pederson’s ground dout to second. Ruf’s single to left brought in while Flores moved on to third and then scored on Longoria’s sacrifice fly to center. It now was 4-1 San Francisco.

The Giant offensive continued in the home fourth, Minor issued a full count lead off passport to Estrada, who, with one away, stole second and, one out later, legged it home on Tommy LaStella’s double to right ccnter, upping San Francisco’s lead to four runs.

The Giants extended that lead further in fifth, thanks to Joc Pederson’s 17th round tripper of the year, a 420 foot monster shot that bounced high off the right side of the batter’s eye in centerfield to lead off the inning. It came on an 0-1 countand off an 88 mph four seamer.

Jared Solomon relieved the ineffective Minor at the start of the Giants’ sixth. He didn’t do any better than his predessor. He retired Estrada, his first batter, but walked Wynns and LaStella before striking out Slater. Then Flores took him deep, 379 feet into the left center field bleachers for his ninth dinger of the year. Dauri Moreta followed him in the Giants’ seventh and retired the side in order.

Tyler Rogers put the Reds away 1,2,3 in the seventh before giving way to Sam Long for the eighth. Cincinnati hit him hard. Aramis García led off with a single to right but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.

With two out, Brandon Drury connected with an 84 mph change of pace and sent it to the third or fourth row of the left center field bleachers, 360 feet from the plate. In spite of a single to the well booed Tommy Pham, Long escaped without further damaged, and San Francisco still was ahead, 9-2.

Ron Detwiler was on the bump for the Reds when the Giants came to. bat for the last time in their half of the eighth. He put them down in order on a bakers’ dozen of pitches.

Ahead by seven runs after eight innings, Kapler and Company stayed with Long for the Cincinnati ninth.

The rubber game of the series will start tomorrow at 1:05. Tyler Mahle (2-6, 4.57) will handle the pitching chores for the visitors and Anthony DeScalafani (0-1, 7.71) will be on the mound for the Giants.