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Reds 7 Guardians 2
The Reds bats perked up with hits, homers and stolen bases, TJ Friedl put on a show with his bat and glove, and Andrew Abbott tossed five strong innings as the Reds beat the Guardians 7-2 Tuesday night at GABP.
The Brewers lost to the Dodgers. The Reds and Cubs pull within 2.5 games in the NL Central. The Marlins lost. So, the Reds, Cubs and Marlins are in a three way tie for the 3rd Wild Card spot. The Cubs won on a Christian Morel three-run walk-off HR to beat the White Sox 4-3.
Hitting shoes: The Reds produced 11 hits, four players with multiple hits, two homers, five stolen bases and seven runs.
The ignitor! Friedl 3 H, 3 R, SB. He had his ML best 12th bunt single. He entered the night hitting just .213 with a .254 on-base since the all All-Star break.
He was the defensive star of the night, timing his jump perfectly at the wall in CF to take away a 2-run HR away from Ramon Laureano in the 3rd inning. He made a leaping catch and banged into the wall the very next inning to take away extra bases.
Matt McLain: 3 H, 2B, HR, 3 RBI. He clocked a two-run HR and had 3 RBI on his three hit night. The homer left the bat at 107.6 mph. He began the night 5 for last 32 (.156). He leads all qualified NL rookies in BA (.297), OBP (.362), SLG (.514) and OPS (.876).
The Daily Double: Friedl and McLain combined for 6 hits, 4 runs, 3 runs batted in, 2B, HR, 2 SB.
Abbott: 5 IN, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 5 K, 84 pitches/53 strikes. ERA at 2.99. He's at 135.1 innings. He threw 118 last year and a career high 119.2 in 2021 between college and minors. There was never a reason to shut him down. He can be managed: A start limited to 5 innings, a skipped start, a start pushed back a day or two, etc.
Challenge it! The Reds won a challenge in the 2nd inning. Gabriel Arias lined out to SS Mat McLain. He threw to 1B Joey Votto in an attempt to double up runner Brayan Rocchio. The throw got past Votto and Rocchio raced to 2B. But when he initially went back to 1B, he went past the base with both feet and did not re-touch 1B before going to 2B. I would have lost a bet on that one.
Bombs away: Stuart Fairchild started and contributed two hits, including the obliteration of a 427-foot, two-run HR to give the Reds a 3-1 lead.
Nice night: Joey Votto picked up two hits, drove in a run and scored a run.
Good eye: CES had a hit and his first multiple walk game of his MLB career. He entered with just four walks in 95 plate appearances.
Run game: They got guys on base. They stole bases......5......McLain (2), .Steer, Friedl's team high 23rd.....and De La Cruz.
History: McLain, Steer and Elly De La Cruz each have at least 10 HR nad 10 SB. Per Bally Sports, the Reds are the first team in MLB history to have three rookies reach 10/10 in the same season.
Fernando Cruz: 1 IN, 0 R..... Since June 12 he has made 27 appearances with an ERA of 2.57, 28 IN, 44 K.
Derek Law 1.0 IN, 0 R.......Last 10 appearances, 12 IN, 0 R, 3 H.
Sam Moll: 1 IN, 0R, 2 K....that's 7 appearances since the trade with 7.2 IN, 2 R, 11 K of 27 batters faced.
Clank: The Guardians committed four errors.
Next: Off Thursday. Friday vs Blue Jays at GABP. They will attempt to string together consecutive wins for the first time since July 30-31.
How the Reds scored:
1st: McLain RBI 2B, 1-0 Reds
4th: Fairchild 2-run HR, 3-1 Reds
4th: McLain 2-run HR, 5-1 Reds
5th: Votto scored on error by Bo Naylor (dropped ball at plate), 6-2
6th: Votto RB single, 7-2