Padres take advantage of the Reds' sixth-inning mistakes
The ground ball went right to Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz. In the top of the sixth inning on Saturday, the Reds were on the verge of shutting down the star-studded top of the San Diego Padres’ order for the third time in the game.
With a runner on first and no outs and the score tied, De La Cruz had a chance to turn the double play. Instead, he booted the ball for a fielding error. Instead of a bases empty, two out situation, the Padres had two runners on and the chance for their first big rally of the game.
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Seven pitches later, the Padres had a four-run lead.
San Diego took the second game of the series at Great American Ball Park, beating the Reds, 12-5. De La Cruz’s error opened the door for the Padres to break through against Reds reliever Buck Farmer, who allowed home runs to Padrese left fielder Juan Soto and third baseman Manny Machado.
Facing two of the best hitters in baseball, Farmer saw Soto crush a changeup right down the middle and Machado take advantage of a high fastball. Both swings were no-doubt home runs off the bat as the Padres took a 5-1 lead.
As recently as last week, Farmer was one of the more consistent relievers in baseball. Between May 1 and June 27, he had a 1.75 ERA across 24 appearances, and hitters had just a .189 batting average against him during that span.
But for a Reds team that wasn’t getting long starts out of its rotation and needed its best setup relievers to pitch much more often, the Reds had Farmer pitch in nine games over a 15-day stretch. In that 15th game, Farmer allowed three runs and gave up the lead against the Baltimore Orioles.Bell gave Farmer an extra day off following that game, using Ian Gibaut, Alex Young and Daniel Duarte instead of Farmer in extra innings during Friday’s win. Farmer was back on the mound on Saturday, and he had one of his worst performances of the season.
The Reds eventually fell behind by nine runs, but they rallied in the seventh inning and managed to get back in the game. Jonathan India hit a grand slam that cut the Reds’ deficit back down to five, but the Reds didn’t get any closer than that.
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Takeaways from Reds vs. Padres
1. Reds starting pitcher Brandon Williamson’s final line showed that he allowed two runs in five innings, but the numbers don’t reflect the fact that he had his most impressive outing of the season. He had all five of his pitches working, and his fastball looked the best that it had been since he was a standout Mariners prospect in 2021. He overpowered Padres hitters, but he didn’t get to pitch into the sixth inning. After Williamson allowed a single to start that frame, Bell went to Farmer.
2. Reds second baseman Matt McLain had a two-double game, including an RBI double off the wall that tied the score at 1 in the third inning. McLain is showing more and more power as he gains more experience in MLB, and he’s showing a consistency that’s rare for a rookie.
3. Reds right-hander Alec Mills made his debut with the team, and the veteran starting pitcher had a disastrous seventh inning that took away any shot that the Reds had to come back. Mills, the former Cubs starting pitcher who the Reds hoped could develop into a long reliever, allowed five runs and plenty of hard contact as the Padres took a 10-1 lead. Following India’s grand slam, the five runs that Mills allowed represented the difference in the score.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Padres take advantage of the Reds' sixth-inning mistakes
