RC+ Recap: Trevor Bauer can’t hold early lead, Reds swept by last-place Pirates

by — August 25, 2019 in Game Recap

The Reds offense woke up on Sunday, scoring its most runs since Aug. 14 and tallying three first-inning runs. But the team once again couldn’t sync it up with good starting pitching in another 9-7 loss to the Pirates. The loss sealed a sweep at the hands of the last-place Pirates, who entered the series 8-30 in the second half. The Reds have also lost 10 straight games at PNC Park. Woof.

The pattern of alternating good-bad starts continued Trevor Bauer, this time in the latter category. The right-hander had some bad breaks, to be sure. Phillip Ervin made a horrendous throwing error in the first inning that played a hand in two runs crossing the plate. The Pirates had a couple of soft base hits. But Bauer was erratic in his command today, struggling to locate his breaking pitches and not quite elevating his fastballs enough.

Kyle Farmer and Josh VanMeter homered for the Reds in the comeback effort. Farmer’s dinger (103.6 mph) pulled the Reds within three runs in the sixth inning, and VanMeter’s blast (101.2 mph) — which bounced in the Allegheny River — pulled them within one in the eighth.

The surge fell short, though. Amir Garrett gave up a run in relief in the bottom of the eighth inning. That loomed large, as Eugenio Suarez hit a solo home run to lead off the ninth inning before Pittsburgh closer Felipe Vazquez retired the next three hitters.

Reds Most Valuable Players

  • Josh VanMeter: .097 WPA | 1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, BB, 2 R
  • Aristides Aquino: .083 WPA (Win Probability Added) | 1-for-4, RBI, HBP, R
  • Jose Iglesias: .083 WPA | 3-for-5, RBI, R

Reds Least Valuable Players

  • Trevor Bauer: -.589 WPA | 3.0 IP, 8 R (7 ER), 2 BB, 2 K
  • Phillip Ervin: -.132 WPA | 0-for-4, 2 K
  • Amir Garrett: -.058 WPA | 1.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 K

Play of the Game

  • Aristides Aquino: .126 WPA | RBI single in 1st inning, Reds lead 1-0

Hardest-Hit Balls

  • Kyle Farmer: 103.6 mph home run in 6th inning
  • Derek Dietrich: 101.6 mph double in 5th inning
  • Jose Iglesias: 101.5 mph groundout in 9th inning

Luckiest Hit of the Day

  • Aristides Aquino: .280 xBA, 87.0 mph, 0° LA; Single

Unluckiest Out of the Day

  • Derek Dietrich: .570 xBA, 99.6 mph, 22° LA; Lineout

Highest Pitch Velocities by Pitcher

  • Michael Lorenzen: 98.3 mph four-seam fastball
  • Trevor Bauer: 96.3 mph four-seam fastball
  • Amir Garrett: 95.6 mph two-seam fastball
  • Robert Stephenson: 95.3 mph four-seam fastball
  • R.J. Alaniz: 94.6 mph four-seam fastball

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Matt Wilkes

Matt Wilkes got hooked on Reds baseball after attending his first game in Cinergy Field at 6 years old, and he hasn’t looked back. As a kid, he was often found imitating his favorite players — Ken Griffey Jr., Adam Dunn, Sean Casey, and Austin Kearns — in the backyard. When he finally went inside, he was leading the Reds to 162-0 seasons in MVP Baseball 2005 or keeping stats for whatever game was on TV. He started writing about baseball in 2014 and has become fascinated by analytics and all the new data in the game. Matt is also a graduate of The Ohio State University and currently lives in Chicago. Follow him on Twitter at @_MattWilkes.

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