The Cincinnati Reds entered their series against the Pittsburgh Pirates looking for a little redemption. The sweep at the hands of the Royals destroyed all of the momentum they’d gained from dismantling the St. Louis Cardinals. They managed to gain some of that back by taking two out of three from the Toronto Blue Jays. The Reda scored 11 straight runs in exciting fashion to take the finale and the series. Though expectations have dampened a bit for the Reds they went into Pittsburgh looking to keep up the hit offense they put on display in Toronto.
Game 1
But in game 1, Paul Skenes happened. The Pirates’ young ace has been dominant all year and game one in the series was no different. In just six innings Skenes struck out nine and gave up just two hits. His amazing rookie year continues as he’s now 8-2 with an ERA of 2.16 at 22 years of age. The Reds managed just two more hits against Pittsburg’s bullpen but none of those runners crossed the plate. Cincinnati has now been shut out three times in August.
Unfortunately for Reds fans, things did not go so well for their own young pitcher. Nick Lodolo’s struggles continued as he looked very sharp through almost five innings. But then the wheels fell off, as did the Reds’ chances of keeping the game close. Lodolo ended up surrendering five earned runs in another frustrating outing. Despite nine strikeouts of his own, Lodolo took the loss, dropping him to 9-6 on the year. Over his last seven starts he is 1-3 with a 7.78 ERA. These are hardly comforting numbers with Hunter Greene on the injured list.
Game 2
If game one was tough for fans to watch, game two likely made them pull out their hair in frustration. The Reds blew a five run lead to fall 6-5. They roughed up starter Bailey Falter but went hitless over the last four innings and struck out six times. While they had baserunners and chances to tie the game, nothing materialized. The Reds ultimately went 1-7 with runners in scoring position and left 6 men on base.
Injuries called on the Reds to promote and send Alan Busenitz to the mound in relief. He promptly gave up three earned runs before Justin Wilson allowed two more to take the loss. It was an improvised bullpen day due to an injury to starter Andrew Abbott. That injury was yet another blow to Cincinnati’s rotation. With Greene and Abbott injured and Lodolo faltering, what once was one of the Reds’ primary strengths is quickly turning into a liability.
Game 3
The bats awakened once again for the Cincinnati Reds in game three. They scored 10 runs, all without a ball leaving the park. They did wrack up four doubles and went a blazing 6-8 with runners in scoring position. Elly had a huge game going 3-4 with 3 runs and 2 RBIs to go along with some great decisions on the base paths that created major chaos. Plenty of other usual suspects chipped in, including Tyler Stephenson with another hit. Spencer Steer also had two more RBIs.
Most importantly was a great start for Julian Aguiar. The rookie made his second start of the year. He gave up just two runs on three hits in six very important innings. For a player at just 23 years of age it was a great performance to help the Reds get back into the series. And on top of that, Kasey Kelly notched his first major league save.
Game 4
And then all those good vibes went out the door and Sunday’s debacle hit like a thousand pounds of bricks. The Reds offense struggled out of the gate, going scoreless through seven innings against Pirates starter Luis Ortiz. That seventh inning was a thrilling one where Elly De La Cruz singled, scoring Noelvi Marte. An error on a sacrifice bunt by TJ Friedl scored Jonathan India. Shortly afterwards Spencer Steer drew a walk that brought Elly home. And just like that it was 3-2 Reds.
To be fair the Reds got another good outing from Nick Martinez in a tough spot. Martinez has filled so many roles for the team this year. From starting games to opening them, to long relief, he has answered every call. And he did that again on Sunday. But even more impressive was the bounce back from Carson Spiers. After giving up nine earned runs in his last start and a mind boggling 22 earned runs in his last four outings total, he really focused in game three. Spiers threw three scoreless innings against the Pirates and gave up only three hits. It was a small vibratory to see him refocus and start fresh after he struggles he’s had.
Speaking of struggles, though, Alexis Diaz entered the game with a one run lead in the bottom of the ninth. The Reds closer got Rowdy Tellez to ground out for the first out but hit Bryan De La Cruz to put him on first. It was then up to Pirates catcher Yasmani Grandal. He didn’t disappoint Pittsburg fans as he planted an Alexis Diaz 1-2 fastball deep into right-center for a walk off win for the Buccos. This was just Diaz’s first blown save in his last 18 chances.
The Remainder of The 2024 Season
Sunday’s blown lead was the latest soul-crushing loss for the Reds. It was one that makes you question so much about the current composition of this team and its coaching staff. The game was winnable and your closer was on the mound with a chance to even the series on the road. The Reds had fought back and refused to give up and Alexis Diaz was ahead in the count. And yet, all it took was one pitch to watch it all fall apart. At this point, the Reds are who they are and losses like this aren’t as surprising as they might be for a deeper or more talented team. But that doesn’t make them any less frustrating to watch. The 2024 Reds have some of the fight and grit of the 2023 team but not the killer instinct to win tight games as they did last year. Sunday’s game was yet another painful reminder of that. They are now 3-50 when trailing after six innings.
We’ve reached the point of the season, or perhaps we’ve passed it already, where it’s clear that the postseason is out of reach. To be entirely honest, this team as it is currently constructed, is farther away from contention than most fans expected. This is a hard pill to swallow for so many of us who have heard “don’t worry, they’ll be better next year!” for our entire adult lives.
The metrics for success, then, are how well our young players continue to develop and whether this team can give the fans some hope for real success next year. There may yet still be some moments of genuine fun baseball for the 2024 Reds, we all might just have to look a little harder to find them.
Cover photo credit Matt Freed from the Associated Press
