The final score of this one doesn’t reflect how the game was going for the first two-thirds of it. It was 1-0 after the 6th inning, but the wheels absolutely fell off for Cincinnati after that and a 6-run bottom of the 7th doomed the Reds in an 8-0 loss to the Seattle Mariners to open up the series in the Pacific Northwest.
Seattle hadn’t been doing much early in the game, but with two outs in the bottom of the 2nd they got a little something brewing. Cole Young worked a 7-pitch walk to keep the inning alive and then Victor Robles singled to put two men on for the home team. Andrew Abbott got out of the jam, though, striking out Buddy Kennedy to strand both runners.
The Reds found themselves in a good spot in the top of the 3rd when Edwin Arroyo and Ke’Bryan Hayes led off with singles and then found themselves with runners on the corners with just one out and Sal Stewart at the plate. George Kirby jammed Stewart, though, and he hit a shallow fly ball into right field. Arroyo, though, tagged up and tried to score on a ball that could have been caught by the second baseman had he not been called off and right fielder Victor Robles easily threw him out at the plate for an inning-ending double play.
The Mariners would grab the lead in the bottom of the 5th inning thanks to some defensive miscues. Victor Robles led off with a single and then stole second base with two outs. On that steal, though, the throw short-hopped Edwin Arroyo and went into the outfield, allowing Robles to take third base. An infield chopper to shortstop saw Elly De La Cruz have to double-clutch his throw, then he threw it a bit wide to first. Robles scored on the play that was some home-cooking on being ruled a base hit. Abbott then struck out Dominic Canzone to end the frame.
After six strong innings from Andrew Abbott where he was charged with just one unearned run, Cincinnati turned to the bullpen and brought in Pierce Johnson to start the 7th. Things did not go well for the right-handed reliever. He gave up two singles before a sacrifice fly from Colt Emerson padded the Seattle lead. Another single followed to put two men on for Weston Wilson. He doubled into right field to make it 3-0 and led to another pitching change as Caleb Ferguson entered the game to try and avoid any further damage. That is not what happened. Ferguson intentionally walked Dominic Canzone to face Cal Raleigh with the bases loaded. The first pitch Raleigh saw he hit 408 feet for a grand slam.
Chase Petty would technically allow a run in the 8th inning. With the bases loaded and one out he got a tailor made double play ball to Edwin Arroyo, but he couldn’t come up with it cleanly. Miraculously the ball rolled out of his glove to Elly De La Cruz who was standing at the bag waiting for the throw and the Reds got one out of the play so there was no error, but a run scored to make it 8-0. That would be the final run of the game as Seattle held on for the win in the series opener.
Key Moment of the Game
The entirety of the bottom of the 7th inning, but probably in particular the grand slam by Cal Raleigh that turned a 3-0 game into a 7-0 game that took away any idea of a comeback.
Notes Worth Noting
Andrew Abbott was the pitcher credited with the loss in this game. He gave up zero earned runs while the bullpen gave up seven of them in two innings. Pitcher wins need to be eliminated. Back to Abbott, though, his ERA dropped back under four and now sits at 3.89.
Cincinnati had three hits in the game. All three were singles. All three came from the 7-8-9 hitters in the lineup. The Reds 1-6 hitters went 0-20 with one walk.
Teams look beyond ERA these days, but Pierce Johnson started the second half with a 2.41 ERA. Two outings later it’s 3.98. He allowed one home run in the 1st half. He’s given up two in 1.2 innings in the second half. Not exactly improving his trade value as the deadline approaches.
After the Cal Raleigh grand slam the Mariners had two more hits. One of them occurred because Edwin Arroyo ran into the umpire trying to make the play up the middle. You can’t make things like that up. It was just that kind of night/season for the Reds.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs Seattle Mariners
Tuesday July 21st, 9:40pm ET
Chase Burns (11-1, 2.54 ERA) vs Luis Castillo (3-8, 4.93 ERA)
