Closer Emilio Pagan went 1-2-3 in the ninth for his 20th save, then presented the baseball to Francona while the entire team surrounded their much-loved manager.
And he felt it to the marrow in his bones.
Asked if he is an emotional man, Francona told reporters in Cincinnati, “No, I’m usually the first one to be a smart-ass,” he said. “But that kinda buckled me a little bit.”
Typically, Francona was more pleased with winning Sunday’s game and acted as if it was his 535th win or his 742nd win or his 1,612st win.
“I don’t know if you’ll really believe me, but I wanted to win today so bad to get us three games over .500 (50-47),” he said. “I was so nervous about that. I stay in the moment. That’s the best way to be.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Nevertheless, in his 24th season, he is only the 13th manager all-time to win 2,000 games, something he accomplished while managing Philadelphia, Boston to two World Series championships, Cleveland and now Cincinnati.
“I don’t think I’ve ever tried to delude myself because some of those names up there (other 2,000-win managers) are baseball royalty. If there is an adjective for baseball lifer, that’s me. I’m not overly smart. I’m second-semester freshman at Arizona State. I just love the game. Probably too much.
“And I hope, I hope, I treat the players like you are supposed to,” he added. “That’s what I always try to do.”
The response of his players after the game said it all after the Reds staggered during the three-game series to win two against the 74-loss Rockies.
Despite going 3 for 30 with runners in scoring position during the three games, the Reds took the final two that included Saturday’s ninth-inning 4-3 walk-off win despite going 0 for 15 with runners in scoring position.
The Sunday game got off quickly in Cincinnati’s favor when leadoff hitter TJ Friedl homered, the third straight game the Reds grabbed a 1-0 lead.
And for the third straight game, the Rockies took a 2-1 lead, this time on number nine hitter Ryan Ritter’s two-run single in the third against Reds starter Nick Martinez.
But that’s all they got. Martinez went 5 1/3 innings and gave up those two runs and five hits. Then Francona’s usual string of relief pitchers — Scott Barlow, Graham Ashcraft, Tony Santillan and Emilio Pagan stopped the Rockies on no runs and two hits over the final 3 2/3 innings.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
The Reds tied it in the third on a one-out walk to Friedl, a single by Matt McLain and a two-out single by Austin Hays.
With the score 3-3 in the fifth with the bases loaded and two outs, Noelvi Marte hit a ground ball that shortstop Ritter’s grandmother could have fielded. But he kicked it for a run-scoring error that scored Friedl.
Friedl was on base four times and scored three of Cincinnati’s four runs.
The fourth run came in the seventh when Elly De La Cruz doubled on a pop fly that fell untouched in shallow center field, second baseman and former Reds player Kyle Farmer misplayed a grounder by Hayes for an error and De La Cruz scored on Spencer Steer’s single.
And that produced a ‘W,’ which is all Francona cared about.
Asked about how much his players respect and care for him, Francona said, “I guarantee you it is reciprocated. It is not often that I get a little choked up. That hit me pretty hard.”
For health reasons, Francona retired as manager of the Cleveland Guardians after the 2023 season and took 2024 off. The Reds talked him out of retirement.
“This is a good place, there are a lot of good people here,” he said. “Let me amend that, it’s a great place. I’m so glad that we won today, I’m telling you. That’s the way I’m built. I wanted to win so bad today. I wanted us to win so bad yesterday. And I want us to win so bad Friday (after the four-day All-Star break).”
After winning 50 games before the All-Star break, the Reds are in fourth place in the National League Central, 7 1/2 games behind the division-leading Cubs.
What is Francona looking for over the final 65 games?
“You hope you play yourself into a position where when you show up at the ball park you get a little nervous,” he said. “That’s fun if you got a little anxiety. To me, that’s what this is all about.
“We really gotta push, but I still think our better games are ahead of us,” he added. “I think it is going to be very exciting. And it doesn’t matter where we are. We are where we are and it’s why we gotta win Friday. That’s the best formula. If I felt differently, I’d tell ya. That’s how I feel about it.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
So have those 2,000 wins seemingly gone by quickly?
“Have you seen my body?” he asked. “It looks like I was in the Vietnam War...maybe the Korean War.”
Francona continued to emphasize how happy he is to be in Cincinnati.
“I know, I love coming to this ball park,” he said. “It is well-documented that I needed to step away. Coming here, with the people here has been a blessing for me and I know that.”
And it is a blessing for the Cincinnati Reds to have a 2,000-win manager with a ticket to Cooperstown already punched.
NEXT GAME
Who: Cincinnati at New York Mets
When: 7:10 p.m., Friday, July 18th
TV: FanDuel Sports
Radio: 1410-AM, 700-AM
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