Offense shows up in 5-1 win over the Cubs

by — May 30, 2021 in Game Recap

After two deflating losses, that saw the Reds score only twice and going 1-18 with runners in scoring position, the offense backed up a really good game from Tyler Mahle to give the Reds a much needed 5-1 win over the Chicago Cubs. With the win, the Reds improve to 23-28 and will head back to Cincinnati having split the six games of the road trip.

Offense

The Reds’ offense looked to get things going early. After an Eugénio Suárez fly out, Jesse Winker got out in front of an inside breaking ball hitting it into right field and Nick Castellanos hit a ball just over shortstop Javier Baez’ glove for back-to-back singles. This extended Castellanos’ MLB-best hitting-streak to 16 games. Next, Tyler Stephenson worked a walk on a great ten-pitch at bat to load the bases. Tyler Naquin then hit a sac fly into left center field, allowing Winker to score from third and giving the Reds a 1-0 lead.

Kyle Farmer would hit a slow dribbler that skipped past the moving Stephenson, and was bobbled by Kris Bryant who then flipped the ball to Báez covering second. The throw was late, though, and the bases were once again loaded for the Reds. Next, Tucker Barnhart was hit by an errant Jake Arrieta pitch to give the Reds a 2-0 lead, before Jonathan India legged out a weakly hit ball to third for an infield single. 3-0 Reds. Mahle would strike out to end the inning, but a great start for the Reds.

The second inning would unfold almost identically to the first. After a Suárez groundout, Winker drew a walk before Castellanos rocked a single through the infield into left center field. Stephenson then hit a deep fly out to right field, that allowed Winker to tag at second and advance to third. Naquin would hit a weak ground ball to second to end the inning, however, stranding both hitters. After a torrid start, Naquin has cooled down considerably, unfortunately. Comparing his April and May splits, Naquin’s SLG% has dropped from .563 to .446 and his wRC+ has dropped from 145 to 105.

After a quiet third inning, the Reds’ offense was at it again in the fourth. This time, it was Suárez who launched a home run (EV 109.2 mph, 433 ft.) that left the stadium and gave the Reds a 4-0 lead.

While batting first in the lineup, Suárez has a phenomenal wOBA of .480 in seventeen plate appearances. Encouraging to see from a hitter the Reds desperately need to get going.

Next, Winker would walk, before Castellanos then grounded into an easy 6-4-3 double play. Just when it looked like the Reds were done, Stephenson reached base on a throwing error, and advanced to second on a wild pitch. With a chance to extend the Reds’ lead, Naquin delivered with a hard hit single into center field, scoring Stephenson from second and chasing Arrieta from the ballgame. After Naquin stole second, though, Farmer would fly out to end the inning.

The Cubs’ bullpen did its job well, as the Reds’ offense could muster only a single in the following three innings. In the eighth, however, the Reds had a chance to extend their lead as pinch hitter Shogo Akiyama drew a lead-off walk and advanced to third on two wild pitches. Castellanos would line out to end the inning.

The Reds would go down 1-2-3 in the ninth.

Pitching

On the mound for the Reds was right-hander Tyler Mahle, who was coming off a great start against Max Scherzer and the Nationals on Tuesday. In that game, Mahle went 5.1 innings and gave up just three hits and a walk, while allowing no runs.

Through his first four innings, Mahle was perfect, allowing no hits and no walks while striking out five batters. He was also the beneficiary of some really good defense with India snagging a line drive in the second inning (.820 xBA) and Farmer leaping to his right for a groundout  in the third inning (.680 xBA), standing out as especially excellent.

In the fifth, however, things got a little murky. After a four-pitch walk to Ian Happ, Mahle gave up a single to Willson Contreras, giving the Cubs runners on first and second with nobody out. Mahle, however, was able to bounce back in spectacular fashion, as he struck out the next three batters to escape the inning unscathed.

On the day, Mahle looked great as he went five innings, allowing one hit, one walk, while striking out eight batters. His slider/fastball combination worked really well, and he was able to keep hard hit contact to a minimum with an avg EV of 80.6 mph. The image below, showing Mahle’s strikeouts, illustrate how well he was mixing his pitches and locating them for strikes.

Coming out for the sixth inning was left-hander Amir Garrett, who was hoping for better results than yesterday when he went less than an inning but walked two and allowed two earned runs. The inning started well for Garrett as he got pinch hitter Sergio Alcantára to pop out to lead off the inning. Next, however, the control issues showed themselves again as Garrett walked Joc Pederson, but Bryant would ground into a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning. On the day, Garrett switched up his pitches from yesterday, relying more on his fastball and throwing fewer sliders.

Taking over for the Reds in the seventh inning was right-hander Lucas Sims. Sims got off to a great start striking out Báez with a beautiful slider, but walked the next batter Happ. Sims got a pop out from Contreras and struck out Rafael Ortega to end the inning. Sims relied on a nice one-two punch of 4-seam fastball and curveball, with the curve working especially well with five whiffs on 6 pitches.

Left-hander Cionel Pérez was tasked with taking care of the eighth inning for the Reds. After a lead-off single that beat the shift in the left side of the infield, Pérez induced a ground ball that resulted in a 6-4-3 double play. The inning was not over, however, as Pérez then walked pinch hitter P.J. Higgins before giving up a single to Pederson. With two outs, Bryant hit a bloop single that scored Higgins from second and advanced Pederson to third. This would be Pérez’ last batter faced. Pérez threw his 4-seam fastball and slider.

David Bell called on right-hander Tejay Antone to get the final out. With two outs, runners on the corners and a full count, Antone induced a groundout from Báez to end the inning with the score 5-1. The ninth was perfect for Antone as he would get Happ and Ortega to ground out and struck out Contreras looking on an absolutely stunning slider. Antone threw his slider, sinker and occasional curveball.

Stats

Hardest-Hit Balls

  • Eugénio Suárez: 109.2 mph | Home Run in 4th Inning
  • Tyler Naquin: 108.1 mph | Single in 4th Inning
  • Nick Castellanos: 104.8 mph | Lineout in 8th Inning

Unluckiest Out of the Day

  • Eugénio Suárez: .840 xBA | Lineout in 5th Inning

Highest Velocities By Pitcher

  • Tyler Mahle: 96.7 mph
  • Amir Garrett: 95.7 mph
  • Lucas Sims: 96.6 mph
  • Cionel Pérez: 98.3 mph
  • Tejay Antone: 99.1 mph

Highest Pitch Spins

  • Lucas Sims: 3192 rpm | Curveball

Most Pitch Movement

  • Tejay Antone: 56 Inches Vertical Break | Curveball
  • Tyler Mahle: 18 Inches Horizontal Break | Splitter

Team Expected Batting Averages (xBA)

  • Cubs: .186
  • Reds: .272
What’s Next? 

The Reds return to Cincinnati tomorrow to open a new series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Starting for the Redlegs will be left-hander Wade Miley and for the Phillies, it will be right-hander Vince Velasquez. Velasquez’ ERA looks intimidating at 2.95, but due in large part to walk issues (14.4% BB%), his FIP is quite a bit higher at 4.95. First pitch will be at 2:10 PM EDT.

[Featured Image: https://twitter.com/Reds/status/1152002035077640192]

Tags:

Steffen Taudal

Steffen has been a huge Reds fan since watching his very first baseball game during the 2018 season. Despite the Reds finishing 5th in the NL Central for the fourth season in a row, he found himself drawn to the team's storied past and infinitely likable players such as Eugenio Suárez and Joey Votto. Since then, his love of baseball has led to a deep interest in the game's analytics and advanced statistics. Steffen is from Denmark and recently graduated from Aarhus University. You can follow him on twitter @TaudalSteffen

Subscribe to RC+ via Email

Get an email every time we publish a new post!

Reds Content Plus is a site for passionate fans of the Cincinnati Reds. Our staff of independent writers covers the performance of Reds players and the strategies of the Reds manager and front office. Our content builds on what you’ll find at other Reds fan sites. What separates RC+ is our use of (and explaining) advanced statistical measures. Whether it’s a sacrifice bunt, intentional walk, stolen base, bullpen use, pinch hitting or pulling the starting pitcher, we’ll dig into the numbers. If you want to support us, check out our Support Page.