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The Reds struggled on both sides of the ball in today’s game, giving up seven runs while failing to score. The struggles went deeper than that for the Reds, as they only recorded two hits. They leave Arizona having lost two of three after coming into the series on a five game winning streak.
Offense
The Reds’ bats struggled to get going early, with nobody reaching base the first time through the order. Five Reds struck out the first time at the plate, and of the four balls hit in play, only Jose De León’s line drive to right field had an expected batting average (xBA) of over .200. De León’s line drive, though hit just 83.7 mph, had an xBA of .700.
The second time through the order did not yield better results, as still no Reds batter recorded a hit. The contact quality was better, as Joey Votto (.830 xBA) and Kyle Farmer (.800 xBA) each posted an xBA over .800. Finally, in the top of the sixth inning, the 18th Reds batter to the plate reached base, as Alex Blandino was hit by a pitch.
Votto drew a four-pitch walk with one out in the seventh and then Eugenio Suárez slashed a ground ball single just to the left of the second base bag for the Reds’ first hit of the game. They were unable to make anything out of it though, stranding both runners.
Farmer singled to lead off the eighth against new pitcher Matt Peacock, on a ball that bounced off the pitcher and second baseman and had a .180 xBA. Tyler Stephenson then drew a walk. Once again, the Reds were unable to score, stranding two runners.
The Reds went quietly in a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
Pitching
José De León had a much better first inning than his last time out. He struck out leadoff hitter Tim Locastro, then allowed a single to former Red Josh VanMeter before retiring the next two batters to end the inning without damage.
The first damage was done in the second inning. Eduardo Escobar led off the second inning with a ground rule double hit 104.5 mph to right field. He then came around to score on a single by Pavin Smith. After Nick Ahmed popped out to first base, De León struck out Carson Kelly and pitcher Luke Weaver to get out of the inning allowing only one run.
The biggest damage came in the third inning. After again striking out Locastro, De León walked VanMeter and then allowed a single to Christian Walker. De León then threw a fastball that caught a little too much of the plate, as David Peralta turned on it and put it in the right field pool, making it a 4-0 game. He rebounded, striking out Escobar on an elevated fastball and Pavin Smith on a low slider.
De León got into trouble again in the fourth. Ahmed hit a ground ball up the middle that Suárez made a spectacular play on, but was still able to beat it out for a single. Kelly then drew a walk, pushing it to first and second. Weaver then struck out on a foul bunt, Locastro grounded out to first base, and then VanMeter drew another walk to load the bases. De León then got Walker to strike out on a slider to end the inning without damage.
In the fifth inning, Peralta led off with a double and then Escobar launched a 104.2 mph home run to right, pushing the score to 6-0. De León faced one more batter, striking out Pavin Smith, before David Bell made a double switch. De León ended up going 4.1 innings, allowing the six runs on eight hits (2 home runs) with three walks and nine strikeouts. He recorded 18 swinging strikes, though also allowed six hard hit balls.
Cam Bedrosian took over on the mound and Blandino took over for Moustakas at third base as part of the double switch. Bedrosian promptly struck out Ahmed on a pitch in the dirt before allowing a single to Kelly on a 103.1 mph line drive to left. Weaver followed with a single to right, and Locastro grounded a ball up the middle again. Farmer fielded the ball, flipped to a covering Suárez for an attempt to get the force at second, but the ball didn’t get there in time and the bases were loaded. VanMeter then drew his third walk of the game, this time forcing in a run and making it 7-0. Walker then struck out to end the inning.
Bedrosian stayed in for the bottom of the sixth, walking Peralta before getting a fly out and double play to get out of the inning unscathed.
Carson Fulmer pitched the seventh, allowing a single and walking a batter. He stayed in to pitch the eighth as well, allowing a leadoff double to VanMeter but getting out of the inning without allowing a run.
Stats
Hardest-Hit Balls
- Joey Votto: 108.4 mph | Lineout in 4th inning
- Kyle Farmer: 106.3 mph | Lineout in 6th inning
- Tyler Naquin: 103.7 mph | Force out in 8th inning
Unluckiest Out of the Day
- Joey Votto: .830 xBA | Lineout in 4th inning
Highest Velocities By Pitcher
- José De León: 95.1 mph
- Cam Bedrosian: 94.0 mph
- Carson Fulmer: 94.3 mph
Highest Pitch Spins
- Carson Fulmer: 2789 rpm | Curveball
Most Pitch Movement
- José De León: 52 inches vertical movement | Slider
- José De León: 19 inches horizontal movement | Changeup
Team Expected Batting Averages (xBA)
- Reds: .186
- Diamondbacks: .289
What’s Next?
The Reds travel to San Francisco to kick off a three game series against the Giants. Wade Miley will face off against Aaron Sanchez. The scheduled start time is 9:45 PM EST.
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