Reds Win Series Opener Behind Stellar Efforts From Miley, Antone

by — April 13, 2021 in Game Recap

After dropping the final two games against the Diamondbacks, the Reds bounced back to win the series opener against the Giants on Monday night, 3-0. The offense showed some life and, despite only scoring three runs, was hitting the ball hard. Wade Miley and Tejay Antone stole the show, as their dominant performances on the mound only needed three runs in the shutout victory.

Offense

In the opening two innings of the game, it looked like the same story from the weekend for the Reds. They went in order in the first and second, with only Nick Senzel making solid contact, as he smoked a 101.5 MPH lineout with a .540 xBA.

Following a groundout from Jonathan India to start the third inning, Tucker Barnhart worked a walk that slowed the momentum Aaron Sanchez was building. Wade Miley was unable to get the sacrifice bunt down, but Jesse Winker launched his first home run of 2021 to center field to give the Reds a 2-0 lead. Winker’s home run was crushed, producing a 107.4 MPH exit velocity and .870 xBA.

The offense seemed back in a groove, as Nick Castellanos then had a 108.8 MPH single and Joey Votto smashed a 106 MPH groundout to end the inning with an xBA of .800.

Sanchez worked quickly in the fourth and fifth innings, only allowing Eugenio Suarez (HBP) and Winker (.380 xBA single) to reach. Left-hander Jarlin Garcia entered to start the sixth inning, and he was greeted by Joey Votto splashing a 384-foot, 104 MPH solo home run.

Suarez would follow with a 100.2 MPH double to left field, but he would be stranded.

The Reds went in order in the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings, with only Votto making noticeable damage. He posted a 103 MPH lineout with a .560 xBA, once again off the lefty Garcia.

Pitching

Wade Miley began 2021 with his best start as a Red, and he carried that momentum into his second outing tonight. Miley walked Austin Slater to start the game, but then induced a soft groundout from Donovan Solano for a fielder’s choice. He got another ground ball from Darin Ruf that was an inning-ending double play, but Ruf squared it up (104.5 MPH).

Miley retired the first two batters of the second inning before allowing a single to Buster Posey, but he induced another soft groundout from Mauricio Dubon to end the inning. After striking out the side in the third, Miley worked around a leadoff single from Solano to get out of the fourth. The writing was on the wall, though, as Solano (104.9 MPH) and Evan Longoria (102.3) hit the ball hard. Dubon would reach on an error with one out in the fifth, but Miley forced two more groundouts from Brandon Crawford and Tommy La Stella to close his outing.

Miley had an efficient night, throwing 73 pitches over 5 innings, allowing just two hits and one walk. Of the 14 batted balls he allowed, 10 were grounders. He is still yet to allow a run in 2021.

Tejay Antone entered in the sixth inning and faced the same fate as Miley, walking the first batter he faced. He responded by striking out Solano, then getting Alex Dickerson to ground into a double play.

The seventh and eighth innings were incredibly impressive from Antone. Longoria started the seventh with a .650 xBA flyout, but then Antone struck out Brandon Belt and Buster Posey. Antone opened the eighth by recording his third straight strikeout, mowing down Lamonte Wade Jr. with a 95.8 MPH sinker. Crawford smashed a 97.2 MPH groundout, then pinch hitter Mike Yastrzemski grounded out to end the inning.

Austin Slater struck out to begin the ninth, but Antone then hit Solano on a 3-2 slider. After getting a groundout from Dickerson on his 60th pitch, Antone was lifted for Lucas Sims. His stellar relief effort ended with 3.2 innings of no-hit ball, producing 22 called strikes and whiffs.

Sims promptly ended the game, getting Longoria to swing through a 94.2 MPH fastball. It was the first save of his career.

Stats

Hardest-Hit Balls

  • Nick Castellanos: 108.8 mph | Single in 3rd inning
  • Jesse Winker: 107.4 mph | Home run in 3rd inning
  • Joey Votto: 106 mph | Groundout in 3rd inning

Unluckiest Out of the Day

  • Joey Votto: .800 xBA | Groundout in 3rd inning

Highest Velocities By Pitcher

  • Tejay Antone: 98.7 mph
  • Tejay Antone: 98.4 mph
  • Tejay Antone: 98.2 mph

Highest Pitch Spins

  • Tejay Antone: 3,141 rpm | Curveball

Most Pitch Movement

  • Tejay Antone: 58 inches vertical movement | Curveball

Team Expected Batting Averages (xBA)

  • Giants: .227
  • Reds: .242
What’s Next?

The Reds continue their west coast swing with game two in San Francisco on Tuesday. First pitch is at 9:45 p.m. EST as Luis Castillo takes on former teammate Kevin Gausman.

Featured Image: Rick Ulreich (Icon Sportswire)

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Spenser Brown

Spenser Brown is a lifelong Reds fan born and raised in Cincinnati. He spent many days as a kid at Great American Ball Park with his parents and sister sitting in Section 119, where his Grandfather was the usher. He is a graduate of Ohio University and currently resides in Columbus, but returns to Cincinnati to attend games throughout the summer. You can follow him on Twitter at @spenserbrown_, where he is most commonly tweeting about the Reds or Ohio State Football.

5 Responses

  1. John Wan says:
    April 13, 2021 at 1:36 AM

    Joey Votto keeps hitting the unluckiest out each game. If this continues another two weeks, do we have to start looking at other explanations?

    Also, why are teams shifting so hard for him? Has he become a pull hitter?

    • MichaelA says:
      April 13, 2021 at 11:12 AM

      If you don’t already subscribe to the Morning Spin here on Reds Content Plus, I would HIGHLY recommend it! There was a line in there this morning about how LHH’s are disproportionately impacted by defensive shifts. I’ve personally only been able to see a few games this year, but I know in a couple of them Votto has crushed several balls that went right into the shift. We will see if he is able to start going the other way more to try to account for this.

  2. kmartin says:
    April 13, 2021 at 5:34 AM

    DeSclafani pitched six shutout innings with eight strikeouts and only one walk on Sunday. I don’t think he will pitch Tuesday.

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