Reds only get two hits in 9-0 loss to White Sox

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The Reds found themselves down 7-0 after four innings following a nightmarish start by Jeff Hoffman, followed by a lackluster relief appearance from Jose De Leon. To compound the trouble from the mound, the Reds offense was next to non-existent tonight. The Reds had no answer for Dylan Cease at the plate or on the mound. The White Sox pitcher had more hits (3) than the entire Reds team and threw six innings of one hit baseball.

Offense

Tonight’s offensive performance will be best if quickly forgotten. The top four in the batting order combined for eight strikeouts with two apiece. The Reds did not advance a man past second base, only connecting with three pitches deemed hard-hit balls (EV of 95 mph or greater). 

Dylan Cease dealt for six full innings, striking out a career-high 11 batters. Cease stayed with his heavy fastball usage (54% tonight) but mixed in his slider and spotted pitches well to keep the Reds off-balance. Eugenio Suarez walked in the 2nd along with Jesse Winker and Jonathan India in the 3rd, but it was not until a single in the 5th by Tucker Barnhart that broke up the no-hitter. Below you can see Cease’s fastball location broken out to right-handed and left-handed hitters.

Seeing relievers did not seem to help, as Jose Ruiz and Alex McRae finished up the rest of the game only allowing two more baserunners. Barnhart followed up his single with a hard-hit double to right-center in the 7th inning for the second of two hits on the game for the Reds, and the 100th double of his career. Tyler Stephenson walked in the 9th before the next three went down in order.

Pitching

The two pitchers that battled for the 5th spot in the rotation as Sonny Gray came back from the IL did not pitch well through the first four innings tonight. Jeff Hoffman and Jose De Leon combined for seven earned runs and only five strikeouts. Neither avoided contact very well, combining for a 62.5% hard-hit rate amongst balls put in play.

Hoffman only lasted two and one-third innings, giving up three runs in the second and leaving men on first and third base with one out in the third. Even through the 1-2-3 first inning, Hoffman gave up three hard-hit balls (99.7 mph, 95.1 mph, and 102.2 mph exit velocities). Hoffman saw an average of 99.3 mph exit velocity off the eight balls in play — the minimum coming in at 84.9 mph. The 417 foot home run (104.5 mph) by Jose Abreu to lead off the second highlighted these hard hits.  

De Leon came on in relief with runners on the corners with one down. After giving up a sac fly to Andrew Vaughn, De Leon got Yasmani Grandal to fly out to right field to end the inning. However, De Leon ran into trouble quickly in the fourth inning. De Leon started with a walk to Leury García, followed by a Cease double off the base of the wall in right field for his second hit of the game. Tim Anderson followed up with another RBI single to center, scoring García from third. A fielder’s choice later, Yoan Moncada shot a line-drive single to right field to score Cease and make it 6-0. Abreu followed with a sacrifice fly to deep left that did not even draw a throw before an Adam Eaton strikeout ended the inning.

Sal Romano started the fifth inning out of the pen with a groundball to short. Suarez misplayed the ball, not attacking the big hop. While the scorekeeper ruled it a single, it’s a play that needs to be made. Grandal walked before Romano struck out García looking. Cease continued his hot night with another hard-hit single to right field. Romano struck out Anderson for what should have been the third out, but Nick Madrigal made the Reds pay in the next at-bat with another single to right, increasing the score to 8-0.

Carson Fulmer took over in the seventh inning with a three-up and three-down inning. The eighth began with a strikeout, followed by a hard-hit single up the middle by Madrigal. A walk put runners at first and second, and Abreu took advantage with another single to make it 9-0. 

Alex Blandino made his second appearance in less than a week on the mound, throwing a scoreless ninth inning.

Stats

Hardest-Hit Balls

• Kyle Farmer: 105.1 mph | Lineout in 8th inning
• Tucker Barnhart: 101.6 mph | Double in 7th inning
• Tyler Naquin: 96.5 mph | Groundout in 7th inning

Unluckiest Out of the Day

• Kyle Farmer: .580 xBA | Lineout in 8th inning

Highest Velocities By Pitcher

• Jeff Hoffman: 96.1 mph
• Jose De Leon: 92.8 mph
• Sal Romano: 93.5 mph
• Carson Fulmer: 94.9 mph
• Alex Blandino: 88.9 mph

Highest Pitch Spins

• Carson Fulmer: 3,002 rpm | Cutter

Most Pitch Movement

• Cam Bedrosian: 62 inches vertical movement | Curveball

Team Expected Batting Averages (xBA)

• White Sox: .248
• Reds: .081

What’s Next?

The Reds will attempt to split the two-game set with the White Sox in an afternoon game at Great American Ball Park. First pitch is at 12:35 p.m. EST as Sonny Gray faces off against Dallas Keuchel.

Photo: PI/Zuma Press/Icon Sportswire

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