By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Wilmer Flores plays the hero as he crushed a go-ahead, three-run home run as the Cincinnati Reds collapsed to the San Francisco Giants in a four-run rally to lose 6-4.
The four runs came in the ninth inning. Reds led 3-2 in the top of the ninth inning. The bullpen failed to seal the deal. It’s the first loss of Terry Francona’s managerial for the Reds.
Hunter Greene took the mound for the Cincinnati Reds. Giants ace Logan Webb is the starting pitcher.
Greene did a good job pounding the strike zone. He had eight strikeouts against the Giants through five innings. He gave up just two earned runs. It’s a good start from the Reds ace. Greene mixed his fastballs and sliders.
Webb struck out five and gave up three earned runs through five innings of work.
The Reds got on the board in the first inning when Jeimer Candelario singled on a line drive to right field, bringing Elly De La Cruz’s home. Candelario came up again in the third inning when he singled on a ground ball to the right fielder, who brought in two runs. He finished the game going 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs.
Giants left fielder Heliot Ramos hits a 2-run home run in the top of the fourth inning. Catcher Patrick Bailey tied the game with a single in the 9th inning, which later set up for Flores to hit a three hun shot.
Francona’s decision in the ninth inning had many people scratching their heads. Francona spoke with reporters after the game. Here’s what he had to say about his decision to bring relief pitcher Ian Gibaut into the game.
“Some deep counts, and he left a breaking ball that caught way too much of the plate,” Francona said. “Going through the middle of the order, there were a lot of deep counts. We had used Pagan early, and that was probably our other thought. We would have probably flip-flopped those two.”
Reds first baseman Christian Encarnacion went 2-for-4 with two hits for the day. He made some progress on the play. Hopefully, he can stay healthy
The Reds went 4 of 7 with runners in scoring position. Not bad. Could it have been better? Yes. However, it was a solid performance yesterday. The lack of moving runners home was one of their issues from last season.
It’s a heartbreaking loss for the Reds. They should’ve won this game, but they must now shift their focus to the next game.
Reds will meet the Giants on Saturday at 4 pm. Justin Verlander will take the mound for the Giants. Nick Lodolo will pitch for the Reds. Both teams have the day off on Friday.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
X: @mmm_sportnfilms, Instagram: @miguel_passionforsports and @themmmjournal, LinkedIn: The MMM Journal, TikTok: @miguelmikemedina
