The Cincinnati Reds had plenty of run-scoring chances on Friday night but they came up empty time after time. They would strand multiple runners on the bases several times and left 10 men on base throughout the game. Baltimore didn’t do much better but three runs was more than enough for the Orioles to pull out the win to open up the series.
FinalRHEBaltimore Orioles (41-48)340Cincinnati Reds (40-47)041W: Rogers (6-7) L: Singer (3-8) SV: Wells (1)Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread
Walks will haunt. So will errors. In the 1st inning of the game on Friday night that’s what happened when Brady Singer led off the game with a walk to Gunnar Henderson. After taking second base on a single he would steal third base and on the throw to third from Tyler Stephenson he came in to score when Stephenson airmailed the throw into left field to put the Orioles up 1-0.
Two innings later saw Baltimore add to their lead, but things could have been worse. The Orioles got a ground-rule double and then a walk to start the inning but Pete Alonso grounded into a double play to erase one of those runners. Five pitches later Samuel Basallo hit a 2-run home run to make it a 3-0 lead for the road team.
In the bottom of the inning the Reds would draw two walks but were unable to do anything with them. It was the second time in the game that Cincinnati had two men on base and stranded them both. The same thing happened again in the 5th inning. It happened again in the 6th inning.
From there neither team did a whole lot. The Reds got four shutout innings of relief from Caleb Ferguson, Chase Petty, and Julian Garcia to keep it 3-0, but in the bottom of the 9th they went down in order as the Orioles took the first game of the weekend series.
Key Moment of the Game
Samuel Basallo hitting a 2-run home run in the 3rd inning to make it a 3-run game.
Notes Worth Noting
Both teams managed just four hits. Both teams issued plenty of walks. The Reds went 0-5 with runners in scoring position while the Orioles went 1-4.
Elly De La Cruz had a steal in the bottom of the 3rd inning. It was the 150th steal of his career. That made him the youngest Reds player to reach 150 steals in their career since they began keeping track of them at some point in the 1880’s.
Ke’Bryan Hayes went 1-3 with a run scored while in his first rehab game with the High-A Dayton Dragons. He grounded out to third in his first at-bat, singled up the middle in the third inning at 103 MPH, and he grounded out weakly to shortstop in his final at-bat.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Baltimore Orioles vs Cincinnati Reds
Saturday July 4th, 7:10pm ET
Brandon Young (6-2, 3.11 ERA) vs Hunter Greene (season debut)
