Bullpen Struggles Mightily as Reds Fall to Diamondbacks 14-11

by — April 22, 2021 in Game Recap

Despite a shaky performance from some members of the Reds’ bullpen, the offense came to life at key moments to keep the Reds in this back and forth battle on Thursday. But a 6-run 10th inning for the Diamondbacks buried the Reds, as they lost 14-11 at home. With this loss, the Diamondbacks complete the sweep of the Reds, who drop to a 9-9 record.

Offense 

It was a fast start for the Reds’ offense as Jesse Winker rocked a Taylor Widener fastball into the stands for a leadoff home run (EV 109.6 mph, 403 ft.). 1-0 Reds.

After this, however, the Reds’ offense went very quiet. For the next four innings, the Reds could muster only two baserunners: a Jeff Hoffman single and a Jonathan India walk.

When the Reds really needed runs, however, the offense came to life. In the bottom of the 6th inning, Nick Castellanos sent a down and in changeup over the left field wall (EV 96.8 mph, 349 ft.) for a leadoff home run.

After this, Joey Votto ripped a single over the right side of the infield, before Eugénio Suárez clobbered a fastball (EV 110.2 mph, 441 ft.) into the stands, tying the ballgame 4-4.

After the bullpen allowed four runs in the top of the seventh, the bottom of the inning got off to a good start. Alex Blandino hit a ball into the gap for a double before Winker hit a Riley Smith sinker, which hung up in the zone, over the center field wall for his second home run of the game (EV 104.8 mph, 415 ft.).

The Reds were not done, as Votto would then hit the Reds’ fifth home run of the day (EV 104.1 mph, 395 ft.) off excellent Diamondbacks reliever Kevin Ginkel.

The Reds were unable to put up more runs in the inning, but were suddenly right back in the game, down only 8-7.

Thankfully, the Reds’ offense was not done, as India would lead off the bottom of the 8th inning with his first career home run (EV 103.1 mph, 388 ft.), tying the game at 8-8.

Tucker Barnhart would fly out and Tyler Naquin struck out, before Blandino fought off an inside pitch for a single into center field. Winker would work a walk, but Castellanos was unable to bring them home, as he lined out to end the inning.

With the Reds’ offense facing very tough odds in the bottom of the 10th, down 14-8, they would not go out quietly. Barnhart kept his hot start to the season going, knocking a single into right field to score the phantom runner from second. After a Naquin single, a Tyler Stephenson ground ball that would result in a forceout at third, and a Winker walk, the bases were loaded for Castellanos. Castellanos delivered with a ball (EV 71.9 mph) that blooped into left field, scoring Naquin and Stephenson. It would be for nothing, however, as Votto struck out to end the game.

Pitching 

Command was a bit of a struggle for Jeff Hoffman to begin the game. He only issued 1 walk, but the command problems resulted in a couple of long at-bats that ran up his pitch count, as his 72 pitches thrown in the first four innings showed. Hoffman primarily used his 4-seam fastball (avg velo: 94.2 mph) with the occasional curveball, changeup and slider. Hoffman had all these pitches working well, but the 4-seamer was especially effective, as Hoffman allowed an avg EV of just 87.4 mph. Overall, Hoffman went 5 innings, allowed 2 runs, 4 hits, and 1 walk and struck out 4.

It wasn’t until the 3rd inning that Hoffman found himself in some trouble. After Josh Rojas singled on a ball that skipped off Suárez’s glove, opposing pitcher Taylor Widener bunted a ball straight back to the mound. Hoffman, trying to go to second base, delivered a poor throw, resulting in both runners being safe. Next, Pavin Smith lined a ball (EV 95.4 mph) down the left field line, scoring Rojas from second and advancing Widener to third.

Widener would then score on a sac fly from Wyatt Mathison, giving the Diamondbacks a 2-1 lead. After walking Josh VanMeter, however, Hoffman got out of the inning. On a groundball hit back to the mound, Hoffman showed some nice reflexes as he snagged the ball out of the air, and this time delivered a good throw to second for a 1-6-3 double play.

Hoffman rebounded from a rough inning very well, as he threw another two scoreless innings before being pulled for pinch hitter Mark Payton in the bottom of the 5th inning.

Carson Fulmer took over for Hoffman in the 6th. Fulmer walked VanMeter to begin the inning, and then offered up a fastball in the zone that David Peralta launched into the seats for a home run (EV 111.8 mph, 401 ft.). The right hander was able to get three quick outs after that, but the damage was done as the Diamondbacks now led 4-1. Fulmer was sent out to start the 7th inning, and this time he walked the first two batters he faced before being taken out of the game. Fulmer threw four pitches: mostly his 4-seam fastball (avg velo: 92.2 mph), but mixed in his cutter, curveball and changeup.

Sean Doolittle was tasked with cleaning up a bit of a mess. With two on and no outs, Doolittle got Pavin Smith to fly out, but then gave up a single to Mathison (EV 108.1 mph), which scored Rojas from second. Doolittle then walked Nick Heath to load the bases before giving up a line drive single (EV 97.1 mph) to Peralta, which plated another two runners. The Diamondbacks’ lead was now 7-4. Another walk would load the bases again, and Doolittle’s third walk of the inning brought in the fourth D-backs run in the frame. A flyout and a strikeout would end the inning for Doolittle, but it was a forgettable one for what Reds’ fans hoped would be a reliable set of relievers. To the surprise of no one, Doolittle threw almost exclusively 4-seam fastballs (avg velo: 92.5 mph), mixing in just a single curveball.

Sal Romano would take over in the top of the 8th. After giving up a leadoff single to Kole Calhoun, Romano was excellent, retiring the next three batters on a flyout, popout and strikeout. Romano was tasked with getting three outs again in the 9th and gave up a leadoff single to (who else?) David Peralta. A groundout would advance Peralta to second before Romano was taken out of the game. Romano threw two pitches: primarily his sinker (avg vert. break: 21 inches) and his slider.

Lucas Sims entered the game with one out and a runner on second. Sims showed his mettle, as he got Escobar to fly out and struck out pinch-hitter Asdrúbal Cabrera. Sims would stay in the game to begin the top of the 10th, and this time he would be less impressive. With the phantom runner at second, Sims allowed a Rojas single (EV 97.3, xBA .280) that scored the runner, and then another single to Stephen Vogt. The Reds’ 8th walk of the day loaded the bases with nobody out. Sims struck out Mathisen and was then taken out of the game. Sims threw three pitches: his slider (avg vert. break: 39 inches), his 4-seam fastball and his curveball.

Cionel Pérez took over for Sims and inhereted a mess. With the bases loaded and only one out, Pérez induced a ground ball that Suárez threw to home for the forceout. Next up was the perpetual thorn in the Reds’ side, David Peralta, who hit a line drive into center field (EV106.8 mph) that would bounce over Naquin’s glove for a 3 RBI triple. Carson Kelly would then definitively put the Reds out of their misery with a two-run home run (EV 107 mph) to make it 14-8 Diamondbacks. Pérez threw two pitches: his 4-seam fastball (avg velo: 95.5 mph) and his slider.

Stats

Hardest Hit Balls 

  • Eugénio Suárez: 110.2 mph | Home Run in the 6th inning
  • Jesse Winker: 109.6 mph | Home Run in the 1st inning
  • Tyler Naquin: 109.0 mph | Single in the 10th inning

Unluckiest Out of the Day 

  • Nick Senzel: xBA .770 | Flyout in the 4th inning

Highest Pitch Velocity

  • Jeff Hoffman: 95.9 mph
  • Carson Fulmer: 93.5 mph
  • Sean Doolittle: 93.8 mph
  • Sal Romano: 94.6 mph
  • Lucas Sims: 95.4 mph
  • Cionel Pérez: 96.3 mph

Highest Pitch Spin 

  • Lucas Sims: 3310 rpm | Slider

Most Pitch Movement

  • Jeff Hoffman: 65 inches vertical break | Curveball
  • Sal Romano: 21 inches horizontal break | Sinker

Team Expected Batting Averages

  • Reds: .372
  • Diamondbacks: .289
What’s Next? 

The Reds start a new series tomorrow against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. For the Reds, Sonny Gray will make his second start of the season, and for the Cardinals, it will be Kwang Hyun Kim on the mound. First pitch will be at 8:15 PM EDT.

Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire

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Steffen Taudal

Steffen has been a huge Reds fan since watching his very first baseball game during the 2018 season. Despite the Reds finishing 5th in the NL Central for the fourth season in a row, he found himself drawn to the team's storied past and infinitely likable players such as Eugenio Suárez and Joey Votto. Since then, his love of baseball has led to a deep interest in the game's analytics and advanced statistics. Steffen is from Denmark and recently graduated from Aarhus University. You can follow him on twitter @TaudalSteffen

2 Responses

  1. kmartin says:
    April 23, 2021 at 8:23 AM

    Thank you for the excellent game recap Steffen. I just read the Morning Spin and the “stat of the day” is a defensive stat, Outs Above Average. To no one’s surprise the Reds rank 29th. I think this is pretty depressing because, unlike the relief corp, not much can be done. Almost one month into the season I think die has been cast on what the defense will be like for the rest of the season. It would be nice to have the starters go longer, but with a bad defense their pitch count gets inflated. I think on Tuesday Castillo threw 70 pitches through the first three innings.

    • Steffen Taudal says:
      April 23, 2021 at 10:00 AM

      Thanks for the kind words! I completely agree with that assessment. The Reds’ defense is pretty awful, but it was always going to be bad (they ranked 25th in OOA in 2020). The Reds, right now, have to hope that the offensive production of players like Suárez, Votto and even Castellanos starts to outweigh how awful they are defensively. At the same time, the Reds have to find bullpen arms, besides Antone, whom they can trust in high leverage situations, and also pray that Castillo’s rough start is just a brief slump. I really hope this happens, because if it does, the Reds are a playoff team, but I’m sceptical.

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