Reds Recap: Bullpen Implodes vs. Padres

The score was 7-3. There were two outs in the seventh inning. Ryan Mattheus had recorded two easy outs, and the Cincinnati Reds were three strikeouts away from giving the fans their beloved LaRosa’s Pizza. By the end of that inning, (heavy sigh), it was tied. Former Red Yonder Alonso hit a game tying grand slam. Just a mere inning later, our boys of summer had fallen to the Friars, 9-7.  The Bullpen had given up six runs, in two inning.

Scoring Summary

Things went well for the Reds in the first inning. Todd Frazier doubled in Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto on a deep fly to Center Field. It would not be the only time that the Reds would have a fly ball carry the way that ball did. After a Jay Bruce warning track shot, and a Zack Cozart millimeter shot, Brayan Pena would double in Frazier from third base and the Reds would enjoy a 3-0 lead.

The Reds would tack on another run in the third inning with a Zack Cozart “Bazooka Blast” to Left Center Field. His seventh homerun of the season would give the Reds the 4-0 advantage.

The top of the fourth is when the San Diego Padres would put their first of many dents in the score board. With Michael Lorenzen pitching, Matt Kemp would hit just his second homerun of the year to bring the Friars within three. It was his first homerun in 45 games.

The circus came to town in the bottom of the fourth when Joey Votto would hit what seemed to be a normal line drive to Center Field. Will Venable miss judged the trajectory of the missile and the end result was a triple for Votto that plated Lorenzen, whom had just reached on his second hit of the night. The following at-bat, the ToddFather would test Venable’s ability in Center Field again, and again Venable would prove mismatched. This time the ball launched passed a misjudging Venable and would roll to the wall to drive in Votto from second. 6-1 Reds.

Matt Kemp would prove to be a worthy opponent again in the top of the fifth inning. With Justin Upton and Derek Norris on base, Kemp would double over the outstretched arms of Jay Bruce in Right Field to drive in two more. The Score now rested at 6-3.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Padres showed that their defense again would falter. With the bases juiced and two outs, Bruce would pop up to the left side, only to fall in for a single. Votto would score and Frazier would be thrown out at the plate to end the inning. 7-3 Reds.

Then the Wheels fell off. As stated above, Mattheus was able to record the first two outs of the inning. Norris would single,  Upton would walk, and then Kemp would walk. Reds Manager Bryan Price would bring in Tony Cingrani with bases loaded and two outs and on a 3-2 pitch, former Red Yonder Alonso went yard. Tied at 7.

The Reds would not score again during the game.

The eighth inning was not an easy one to watch either. Abraham Almonte would double off Jumbo Diaz to start the inning. Diaz would then get two quick outs. One being a strikeout on a 101 MPH fastball. Then Norris would again walk, along with Upton to load the bases for Matt Kemp. Kemp would single to Left Field to bring to the score up to 9-7 where it would stay.