And the door to a wild card berth keeps cracking open a little more each day.
Ah, the first inning.
Tampa Bay put its first two runners on base against Reds starter Brady Singer. And didn’t score.
Cincinnati puts it first two runners on base against Rays starter Shane Baz. And both scored.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
TAMPA BAY FIRST: Chandler Simpson ripped Brady Singer’s second pitch for a single. On the first pitch to Yandy Diaz, Simpson broke for second, trying for his 33rd steal. Catcher Jose Trevino’s picture-perfect throw wiped him out.
Singer then hit Diaz with a pitch, but struck out Jonathan Aranda and coaxed a weak grounder to the mound from All-Star Junior Caminero.
“We threw out one of the fastest guys in the league (Simpson) and it’s hard to get him,” Reds manager Tito Francona told reporters after the game. “That certainly helps.”
CINCINNATI FIRST: TJ Friedl poked a 1-and-2 pitch to left field for a single to lead it off and Matt McLain singled to left. Elly De La Cruz struck out.
Austin Hays rolled a dribbler behind the mound and shortstop Taylor Walls couldn’t make a play. The ball ricocheted off his glove and Friedl scored from second.
McLain and Hays pulled a double steal, putting McLain on third from where he could score on Gavin Lux’s weak grounder to first base.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
And that was it for the Reds. The last 16 Reds went down in order.
It didn’t matter because Singer, Tony Santillan and Emilio Pagan turned Tampa Bay bats into nothing more than decorative ornaments the Rays carried to home plate.
From the second through one out in the eighth Singer gave up just one hit and no Tampa Bay runner touched second base.
Singer retired eight in a row until with one out in the eighth Taylor Walls hit a home run, cutting the lead to 2-1.
That was it for Singer — 7 1/3 innings, one run, three hits, one walk, two hit batsman and eight strikeouts. It was his best start of the season after his worst. In his previous start in Washington he gave up seven runs in 2 1/3 innings.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
On this day, he threw strikes with monotonous regularity, stayed ahead in the count, pounded the strike zone like a master carpenter.
Francona turned matters over to Santillan and Pagan, the third straight appearance in the series for both.
Santillan cleaned up the eighth for Singer on a strikeout and a fly ball. Pagan went 1-2-3 in the ninth for his 22nd save.
For the three games, Santillan pitched 2 1/3 innings and gave up no runs, two hits, walked none and struck out five. Pagan was perfect — three innings, no runs, no hits, no walks, one strikeout.
After his awful effort in the nation’s capital, Singer knew Sunday was ultra-important.
“I was able to command the ball where I wanted to,” he told reporters after leveling his record to 8-8. “I was calm and just tried to make pitches.”
Calm?
“I woke up this morning and tried not to put too much pressure on myself,” he said. “Just go out there and let the guys do the work. Just go out there and see what happens.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
What happened was the Reds’ fifth series sweep of the season, their 18th win in 27 games against the Tampa Bay franchise.
“I thought his two-seamer (fastball) really had good movement,” Francona said about Singer. “And he was throwing for strikes. He worked ahead a lot. A lot of his games he would get a little deep, a lot of 2-and-1 and 3-and-1 counts. He worked ahead way better today.
“When you pitch good, you always have a chance. And today was a good example,” he added. “We scored two and they were meaningful, very meaningful. They came on hustle plays, too. We didn’t knock the ball around the ball park (five hits, all singles).
“But we ran the bases, ran hard down the line, kept their heads up and because of that the music is playing.”
And how about his use of his set-up man and closer in three straight games. Santillan is not a workhorse, he is a Clydesdale and leads the league in appearances.
“I already knew it,” Francona said of the availability of both relief pitchers. “They take immense pride in being available. I’ve been around some pretty special (relief pitchers) ... and they should feel good going into a game. It makes you feel good about your ballclub.”
Pagan’s attitude is, “Give me the ball and stand back.”
Pagan aimed credit at pitching coach Derek Johnson and said, “D.J. has talked to us a lot about controlling our emotions. Both me and Tony get pumped up easily and love throwing fastballs.
“He tells us to try not to get too excited and concentrate on pulling the ball down in the zone, be picky where and when we throw our fastballs.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
The Reds have won 16 of their last 22 home games, but the degree of difficulty heightens Monday through Wednesday, a three-game series against Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Said Francona with a bit of a smirk, “Now we get to face a real good, fun Dodger team.”
Or, as Singer put it, “We got the Dodgers coming to town and it’ll be a good test for us. We’re ready to go. We got 25 guys in that clubhouse who want to be in the playoffs and want to make a push. We’re excited to see what happens.”
NEXT GAME
Who: Los Angeles Dodgers at Cincinnati
When: 7:10 p.m.
TV: FanDuel Sports
Radio: 1410-AM, 700-AM
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