Andrew Abbott continues historic run and leads Reds to a win over the Padres
On Sunday at Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Andrew Abbott looked like the veteran star with overwhelming talent and the ability to get the better of any baseball player on the other side. When they faced Abbott, San Diego Padres stars Fernando Tatis Jr., Juan Soto, Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts were the ones who looked like rookies.
Abbott is in the middle of one of the best starts to an MLB career in Reds history. The 24-year-old is one of the youngest starting pitchers in baseball, but he has the confidence and the savvy to routinely deliver performances like Sunday’s when he allowed just one run in 7 ⅔ innings in a 4-3 Reds win over the Padres.
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The Padres’ four best hitters have combined for 14 All-Star Game appearances and 11 Silver Slugger awards. Abbott was only making his sixth start in MLB.
But for the sixth time in his six big league games, Abbott was incredible. He left the game with a 1.21 ERA, which is the second-best ERA through six career appearances in Reds history.
The Padres tied the score in the eighth inning with a home run off Reds reliever Lucas Sims, but catcher Tyler Stephenson stepped up and delivered his biggest swing of the season. Coming off the bench as a pinch-hitter, Stephenson drove a high fly ball over the fence in right field for a two-run home run as the Reds took a 4-2 lead.
Stephenson has been in the middle of a challenging year. He has lost a few starts a month at designated hitter, he’s splitting time at catcher with two other players and he entered Sunday with a career-worst .255 batting average and .701 OPS. But Stephenson has been turning a corner recently, including a big home run in Friday’s win over the Padres.
Stephenson’s home run on Sunday clinched the series win.
To get the Reds to that point, Abbott had one of the best individual games of this entire Reds season.
One inning, Tatis whiffed at a changeup in the dirt and swung at a strike three fastball that was over his head. Later, Soto mis-timed a slider and lunged at a strike. Machado spun around as he chased a strike three curveball. Bogaerts whiffed at a fastball over his head.
They all routinely had off-balanced swings against Abbott, who was mixing all four of his pitches to catch some of the best hitters in baseball off-guard.
Through the first five innings, the Padres whiffed on over half of their swings against Abbott, who sequenced pitches perfectly and overpowered them with fastballs at the top of the strike zone. He only allowed four hits and struck out a career-high 12 batters.
Abbott got the chance to complete the eighth inning, but he surrendered his first run of the game with two outs on a solo home run by Padres second baseman Ha-Seong Kim. Sims gave up the lead for the Reds, but the Reds’ young and dynamic lineup delivered another late-game moment to remember.
Takeaways from Reds vs. Padres
1. Abbott got better as the game went on, including two strikeouts in the seventh inning during the longest outing of Abbott’s career. With two outs in the inning against two-time All-Star Jake Cronenworth, Abbott fell behind 2-0 in the count. He got Cronenworth to whiff at a high fastball and a high slider to get even. Then, Abbott got strike three looking with a perfectly placed fastball on the outside part of the plate. Even in a high pressure situation late in the game during his third trip through the lineup, Abbott still identifies ways to strike batters out. He also struck out two batters in the eighth inning.
2. Reds first baseman Spencer Steer also continued his run as an NL Rookie of the Year candidate. His 14th home run of the season gave the Reds a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning as Steer crushed one of the longest home runs of the season for the Reds. Steer blasted a high fly ball deep into the second deck in left field. As a prospect, Steer was known for his ability to hit for contact and for his mature approach at the plate. He now has a case as the Reds’ second-best power hitter behind Elly De La Cruz.
3. Reds rookie shortstop Matt McLain changed the sixth inning with his defense. With one out and a runner on first base, McLain made a diving stop on a sharp ground ball up the middle and flipped the ball with his glove to get the out at second base. McLain has been one of the best hitting shortstops in baseball this season, but he also has the tools to stand out defensively.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Andrew Abbott continues historic run as Reds beat the Padres
