The good news about the three-game series vs. the Mets was that two of the games were at UK-friendly times. Saturday’s match, which Cincinnati won 3-2, with Raisel Iglesias securing his 34th save of the season, was easily the best.
On Friday, Luis Castillo tossed a gem, only allowing three hits. Two of which the Mets hitters reached for and deposited in the stands. Mets’ starter Jacob deGrom allowed four hits with no walks while striking out nine. He looks like the best pitcher in the NL that I’ve seen this season. Another Cy Young award coming his way?
The Reds managed just one run off deGrom, which further illustrates our run creation problem. This month, the Oakland Athletics lead MLB with 130 runs, while the Reds are in 27th place with just 69.
The Mets had a 3-0 lead going into the eighth inning, but scored five runs off our bullpen. Sal Romano & Keury Mella getting their ERA destroyed.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe only thing remotely close to a silver lining was the 17th home run from Aristides Aquino. By the end of the series, the rookie had 17 homers in just 181 at-bats this season.
The victory on Saturday was good viewing. Cincinnati scored twice off Zack Wheeler in the first inning. He allowed eight base runners as he struggled to settle down. They were the only runs the soon-to-be free agent allowed, and he was mighty impressive. I didn’t realise he threw so hard.
The Reds final (and what proved to be the winning run) was scored by Jose Iglesias being driven in by Christian Colon. The 30-year-old journeyman is the stereotypical Quad-A player. A .292 hitter in eight seasons in Triple-A, but just .634 OPS over 145 games in the majors.
The Mets had the bases loaded a couple of times, but fortunately were unable to deliver the knockout punch.
Sunday’s game was a disappointment. I was late to the party and we were already 4-1 down when I joined. Michael Conforto had hit a three-run homer off Trevor Bauer.
This was doubly frustrating, as I needed Bauer to put in a good performance to get my fantasy team back on track in the final.
For the rest of the game, the right-hander pitched like the ace we know and love, racking up eight strikeouts over seven innings with no walks. But the damage had been done.
Embed from Getty ImagesRomano gave up a homer to Brandon Nimmo in the ninth inning, taking his ERA to 9.24 and extinguishing the threat of any final inning heroics from the Reds.
Rest day on Monday, but Reds face the red-hot Brewers on Tuesday who are looking good for the Wild Card spot ahead of the Cubs and Mets, thanks to their four-game win streak.
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4000 miles from Ohio 