Mahle Solid, but Reds Offense Shut Out in 3-0 Loss to Giants

by — April 14, 2021 in Game Recap

Despite a good day from Mahle and the bullpen, it was a very disappointing game for the Reds as the bats went quiet in a 3-0 loss to the San Francisco Giants. With the defeat, the Reds lost the series against the Giants, went 2-4 on the road trip and drop to a 7-5 record.

Pitching

Tyler Mahle took the mound for his third start. The right-hander looked sharp to begin the ballgame, retiring twelve of his first thirteen batters, including seven strikeouts, six of which were on his 4-seam fastball. Mahle’s fastball (avg. velo: 94.5 mph) worked very well today, and he was able to mix in a couple of really good sliders (avg vert. break: 29 inches) as the game went on.

The efficiency of his pitches allowed Mahle to be very aggressive in attacking the strike zone, as he entered the fifth inning with a CSW%, which calculates the percentage of his pitches that was a called strike or a whiff, of 42%. For comparison, Johnny Cueto’s CSW% at that time was 21%.

Mahle carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning, where Donovan Solano then hit a bloop single into right field. After an Eugénio Suarez drop led to a force out of Solano at second, Austin Slater hit a Mahle 4-seam fastball (EV 100.6 mph) into the gap between center and right that scored Brandon Crawford. 1-0 Giants. A passed ball by Tyler Stephenson allowed Slater to advance to third. Curt Casali then hit a ground ball to Suarez at short, but his throw to the plate was a little off target and Slater scored. 2-0 Giants. Next, Tommy La Stella hit a ball (EV 97.7 mph) that landed in front of Nick Castellanos, and despite a less than perfect throw from the right fielder, it was determined, after a quick review, that Casali was out at home.

Mahle was pulled to begin the sixth inning, in favor of left-hander Sean Doolittle. Unsurprisingly, Doolittle relied almost entirely on his 4-seam fastball (avg velo: 93.3 mph), throwing 18 such pitches in the inning. After a rough outing last time, it was nice to see Doolittle have success, as he struck out his first two batters before Brandon Belt got on base with a bunt single. After which, Stephenson caught Belt trying to steal second.

Sal Romano came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh. After giving up a lead-off single to La Stella, Romano got Crawford to ground into a 6-3 double play. Next, he struck out Slater on a sinker to end the inning. Romano would stay in to pitch the eighth inning, and got two quick outs before walking Evan Longoria. A balk would advance Longoria to second, and an intentional walk of Mike Yastrzemski meant runners at first and second. Mauricio Dubon then hit a pop up (EV 61.2) into very shallow right field, which Jonathan India was unable to catch, allowing Longoria to score from second. 3-0 Giants. Romano then got Brandon Belt to ground out. Inning over. Romano relied mostly on his sinker (avg velo 93.9 mph, avg vert. break 24 inches, avg horiz. break 17 inches) and the occasional slider (avg vert. break 34 inches).

Offense

The Reds bats were largely silent today.

Former Red Johnny Cueto got off to a very good start, as well. After giving up a lead-off single to Jesse Winker in the first inning, Cueto retired eleven of the next 12 batters he faced. The Reds’ first extra base hit came in the top of the fourth inning, when Mike Moustakas hit a sharp groundball (EV 106.4 mph) into left center field for a double. But Tyler Naquin then struck out to end the inning for the Reds’ offense.

What happened for the Reds’ offense after that? Nothing much, as the next ten Reds batters would fail to reach base. In the eighth inning, the Reds’ offense finally looked to get something going, as India drew a lead-off walk. Stephenson would then ground into a double play, and Nick Senzel would ground out. Inning over.

In the ninth, the Reds’ offense looked to go out quietly as Winker popped out and Castellanos flied out, before Joey Votto hit a hard ground single into left field (EV 108.0 mph) off Giants closer Jake McGee. It would amount to nothing, however, as McGee then struck out Suarez. Game over.

Stats

Hardest-hit Balls

  • Joey Votto: 108 mph | Single in 9th inning
  • Mike Moustakas: 106.4 mph | Double in 4th inning
  • Joey Votto: 106.3 mph | Flyout in 4th inning

Unluckiest Out of the Day 

  • Jonathan India: .290 xBA | Lineout in 2nd inning

Highest Velocity by Pitcher

  • Tyler Mahle: 96.8 mph
  • Sean Doolittle: 94.7 mph
  • Sal Romano: 95.1 mph

Highest Pitch Spins

  • Tyler Mahle: 3036 rpm | 4-Seam Fastball

Most Pitch Movement

  • Sean Doolittle: 44 inches vertical movement | Curveball
  • Sal Romano: 21 inches horizontal movement | Sinker

What’s Next?

The Reds have the day off tomorrow, and will come back to GABP to begin a new series against the Cleveland Indians on Friday. First pitch is at 7:10 PM ET.

[Feature Image: https://twitter.com/Reds/status/1137134044695547904]

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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

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