Reds win on pinch hit walk-off single by Stephenson

by — April 17, 2021 in Game Recap

The Reds were unable to get Sonny Gray a win in his first start back from the IL, but it wasn’t all bad for the Reds. Coming into the inning down a run, the Reds’ offense made a late push in the ninth inning to force an extra inning game. The Reds prevailed in the tenth on a walk-off pinch hit single by Tyler Stephenson, winning 3-2.

Offense

The Reds threatened early with two baserunners in the first inning. After Nick Castellanos drew a one-out walk, Joey Votto laced a 107 mph single into right field. Then, after Eugenio Suárez struck out, both runners advanced a base on a balk. However, they were both left stranded on base.

In the second inning, Jonathan India narrowly missed his first career home run, hitting a 101.4 mph fly ball to center field that was caught on the warning track. The next batter, Tucker Barnhart did him one better, hitting the ball 104.1 mph into the right center field stands and giving the Reds the early 1-0 lead.

Jesse Winker led off the third inning with a double into right center field. Two batters later, Votto drew a four-pitch walk. The Reds were unable to make anything out of it, stranding both.

Barnhart again reached in the fourth inning on a one-out single that had just a 33% hit probability. Kyle Farmer then worked a walk. With action in the Reds’ bullpen, David Bell opted to send Sonny Gray to the plate to put down a bunt. Gray’s bunt was not great, as the pitcher was able to field and go to third base for the force out. Winker then got under a pitch, flying out to center field to end the inning.

In the fifth, Votto again reached on a one-out, four pitch walk. The next batter, Suárez lined out to third on a 102.7 mph line drive with an 80% hit probability. Tyler Naquin then golfed a double to right field, but Votto was thrown out at home plate on a play that wasn’t particularly close after the initial throw missed the cutoff man.

Farmer drew a two-out walk in the sixth, prompting Bell to pinch hit for Tejay Antone with the newly recalled Max Schrock, who flew out to end the inning.

Winker led off with a 111 mph double in the seventh, but ran into an out on the basepaths when he attempted to advance on a pitch in the dirt, ending the scoring threat.

The Reds’ bats went quietly in the eighth, with Cleveland reliever James Karinchak striking out the side. Reds batters whiffed on eight of their nine swings against him, with the only contact being a foul ball by India.

The ninth inning started the same way for the Reds, with two routine groundouts to first base off of flamethrower Emmanuel Clase. The third batter of the inning, Schrock, did the same, though the ball went under the glove of first baseman Josh Naylor for an error. Nick Senzel came on to pinch run for Schrock, who advanced to second on the error. Winker then grounded a 109.3 mph single past a diving shortstop, scoring Senzel and tying the game. Castellanos then singled to center on a 108.3 mph line drive, making it first and second. Votto then got an infield single on a half swing perfectly placed in what John Sadak referred to as “no man’s land.” However, Suárez lined out to right field to end the inning and push the game into extra innings.

The tenth inning started with Suárez at second base and Naquin at the plate, against lefty Óliver Pérez. Naquin hit a fly ball to center field, deep enough to allow Suárez to tag and advance to third. Cleveland then intentionally walked India, and the Reds countered by pinch hitting for Barnhart with Tyler Stephenson. Stephenson then hit a fly ball to the right field wall that fell for a hit, scoring Suárez and winning the game.

Pitching

Sonny Gray, coming off the IL to make his first start of the season, got off to a great start in the first inning. He retired Cleveland in order, striking out two.

The first Cleveland batter to reach base against Gray was Josh Naylor, who drew a two out, four-pitch walk in the second inning. One batter later, Andrés Giménez hit a double to right field, moving Naylor to third. With two outs and the pitcher due up next, the Reds opted to intentionally walk Austin Hedges. The decision worked out for the Reds, as Gray retired Triston McKenzie on a ground ball to second base to end the inning without a run.

The first Cleveland run came in the third inning. Gray first allowed a leadoff single to Amed Rosario. After getting two flyouts, Eddie Rosario ripped a triple into the right field corner to tie the game. Gray rebounded to strike out Franmil Reyes to end the inning without further damage.

Cleveland took their first lead in the fourth, on a one out solo home run from Giménez, hit 106.2 mph into the right field seats. Later in the inning, Gray allowed a hit to McKenzie but retired Amed Rosario on a hard hit out to right field to end the inning and keep the game at 2-1.

Gray returned to the mound to start the fifth, retiring one batter on a ground ball and then allowing a single to Jose Ramirez. David Bell then came to the mound to make a pitching change. Gray went 4 1/3 innings, throwing 71 pitches. He allowed two runs on six hits, walking two and striking out six. He also got 10 whiffs and recorded a 32% CSW (called strikes plus whiffs) rate, a rate better than his career average and on par with his 2020 number. Three of the six strikeouts were on the fastball, the other three were on curveballs.

Tejay Antone was called on in relief of Gray, getting a groundout and a strikeout to end the inning. Antone stayed in for the sixth inning, retiring the side in order and striking out two. Notably, Antone had a 52% CSW rate, and also got whiffs on half of the swings against him.

José De León pitched the seventh, striking out a pair and walking one. He also got five whiffs on six swings, with four coming on the changeup.

Amir Garrett came on to pitch the eighth. He allowed a leadoff single on a hard hit ball to India that ended up getting through. After a stolen base, Garrett then allowed another single past a diving Suárez to make it first and third. The next batter, Votto made a wonderful play on a line drive, snagging it on a fly, tagging Reyes at first, and throwing to third to triple up Eddie Rosario, who attempted to score not knowing the ball was caught on a fly. That was the Reds’ first triple play since July of 2017.

Lucas Sims pitched the ninth. He allowed one baserunner, a hit by pitch, and struck out two.

Sean Doolittle came on to pitch the tenth inning, with Amed Rosario starting the inning as the runner on second base. He retired the first batter on a groundout to shortstop, holding Rosario at second. Then, the Reds opted to intentionally walk José Ramirez to make it first and second. Doolittle then got a flyout and strikeout to end the inning, keeping the game tied.

Stats

Hardest-Hit Balls

  • Jesse Winker: 111.0 mph | Double in 7th inning
  • Jesse Winker: 109.3 mph | Single in 9th inning
  • Nick Castellanos: 108.3 mph | Single in 9th inning

Luckiest Hit of the Day

  • Joey Votto: .120 xBA | Single in 9th inning

Unluckiest Out of the Day

  • Eugenio Suárez: .800 xBA | Lineout in 5th inning

Highest Velocities By Pitcher

  • Sonny Gray: 94.4 mph
  • Tejay Antone: 97.9 mph
  • José De León: 93.9 mph
  • Amir Garrett: 95.7 mph
  • Lucas Sims: 96.1 mph
  • Sean Doolittle: 94.4 mph

Highest Pitch Spins

  • Tejay Antone: 3269 rpm | Curveball
  • Lucas Sims: 3227 rpm | Curveball
  • Lucas Sims: 3130 rpm | Slider

Most Pitch Movement

  • Sonny Gray: 62 inches vertical movement | Curveball
  • Sonny Gray: 22 inches horizontal movement | Curveball

Team Expected Batting Averages (xBA)

  • Cleveland: .259
  • Reds: .278
What’s Next?

The Reds conclude the series with an afternoon game at Great American Ball Park. First pitch is at 1:10 p.m. EST as Wade Miley faces off against reigning Cy Young winner Shane Bieber.

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Kyle Berger

Kyle Berger is a lifelong Reds fan who has lived in the Cincinnati area for his entire life. Kyle has always been interested in the analytics side of baseball, and recently graduated from Miami University with a degree in Business Analytics. You can follow him on Twitter @KB_48, where most of his Tweets are about the Reds or baseball in general.

7 Responses

  1. pinson343 says:
    April 17, 2021 at 9:54 PM

    Here’s a thought. If Votto had walked over to 3rd base and stepped on the bag instead of tossing it to Schrock, it would have been an unassisted triple play, one of the rarest plays in baseball (18 times in ML history). Not that he should have, of course.

    • Steve Mancuso says:
      April 18, 2021 at 7:15 PM

      I wonder if it had crossed his mind. Or if it had, whether he would have done it. The runner had already crossed home and was either in or almost in the dugout. I’ve seen one triple play in person. It was at a Cubs-Giants game at Candlestick. I was in the area on the way to Sonoma for wine tasting. We stopped in for an afternoon game and got a scalped ticket in the front row by one of the dugouts. I don’t remember which team it was, but it was third base side. I think this is the triple play, but I’m not sure of the date. https://apnews.com/article/c765a11554b07047e57c2ef10b347fb6

  2. pinson343 says:
    April 17, 2021 at 10:03 PM

    I was surprised that the first 3 hitters against Clase managed weak ground balls to first base rather than striking out against his cutter. And that 3rd ground ball turned into a game saving break for the Reds. Winker looked so relaxed at 0-2 against Clase. If he can stay healthy, this could be his breakout season.

    • pinson343 says:
      April 18, 2021 at 6:17 AM

      Upon video review, Schrock’s ground ball was hit fairly sharply, but of course still should have been an easy out. Larkin explained that the Indians’ 1st baseman had his right foot out of position – too far back – when setting up to make the play. Listening to Larkin is like listening to an infield coach (in a good way).

    • Steve Mancuso says:
      April 18, 2021 at 7:16 PM

      Big year coming for Winker if he can stay on the field.

  3. pinson343 says:
    April 17, 2021 at 10:12 PM

    A key AB was Naquin against Oliver Perez, who is still tough against LHed hitters. Naquin managed to hit it just far enough to CF for Suarez to advance, given that Rosario was out there. Larkin pointed out that Rosario did not catch the ball properly in terms of making a strong throw to 3rd, and that Suarez read the situation well.

  4. Brian Van Hook says:
    April 18, 2021 at 12:26 AM

    I guess I’ll never understand why Bell wouldn’t pinch hit for Gray in the fourth with two runners on base and down a run, when he was going to get pulled by allowing one baserunner in the fifth. I recall that happening with Bell’s predecessors as well, so there must be logic to it, but I I don’t get it.

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