Reds get badly needed win over Padres as pressure mounts

Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell threw the folding chair so hard it bounced, and he wasn’t done with it yet. He picked it back up and slammed it into the bat rack with the level of frustration that matched a team that had a 3-14 record in May.

In between the first and second inning on Tuesday, outfielder Jake Fraley left the game after getting hit by a pitch in the hand. It was the third time in May a key Reds player had to miss time for that reason. The record has spiraled and the Reds fell to last place in the NL Central after a poor West Coast road trip.

The rest of the day on Tuesday was a small step in the right direction, or at least a chance for the Reds to catch their breath during a month that has been full of adversity. They went on to beat the San Diego Padres, 2-0, at Great American Ball Park. X-Rays were negative on Fraley’s right hand. The Reds’ lineup had success with a more patient approach, and shortstop Elly De La Cruz hit an RBI hustle double in a two-run second inning.

“DB has always been behind us,” starting pitcher Andrew Abbott said. “To show emotion like that further makes that point known to us. It should light a fire under us. How many guys we’ve had get hit in the hand this year or miss time because of getting hit by a pitch or unfortunate circumstances. DB has always had our back. He continues to tell us to do our job and that we’re going to get out of this.”

Bell throwing the chair worked as an alarm bell. Reds players describe Bell’s consistency as one of the sixth-year manager’s biggest strengths. He does have a fiery side, but Bell usually only publicly shows that when he gets ejected. Through a pandemic-shortened season, a 100-loss year and a rebuild that formed a team with playoff aspirations, Bell has been the same guy.

Before Tuesday’s game, when asked about the Reds’ poor performance, Bell said, “I just want to kind of explain where I’m coming from.”

“I don’t want to speak on things that I don’t think about or that I don’t spend energy on,” Bell said. “I understand what’s happening. I understand where we are more than anyone. At the same time, I’ve learned from it and I’m ready for tonight’s game to start right now and the four-and-a-half months we have ahead of us. I feel like it’s fair to our team to just focus on what I’m focusing on.”

This message was the same tone Bell has had throughout the last six years. Throwing a chair later that day was a departure from the norm.

“We’ve had a lot of guys hit in the hand,” Bell said. “It was all about, we’ve had a lot. Enough is enough. There's not a whole lot that I can do.”

Center fielder TJ Friedl and first baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand are both on the injured list after getting hit by pitches in the hand, and catcher Tyler Stephenson also missed time in early May after getting hit by a pitch in the hand.

“It’s kind of ridiculous at this point how many guys we’ve had get hit in the wrist or hand,” Fraley said. “I can’t put a thought to it other than it’s just the nature of the game. Guys will try to throw up and in. You think in the big leagues you have more control. It’s been multiple guys and multiple pitchers. There’s obviously a part of bad luck to it.”

Bell stressed that he wasn't frustrated with the way the Reds have been playing.

“The team knows how I feel about them,” Bell said. “It would never have anything to do with that."

Even before he threw the chair, Bell has made some decisions that highlight the urgency to turn this season around. Last week, after Friedl fractured his wrist, the Reds called up prospect Jacob Hurtubise, who was in the middle of a minor league rehab assignment and didn’t have much Triple-A experience yet. Hurtubise came off the bench for most of his first week in the big leagues.

On Tuesday, he was batting leadoff.

A lineup change helped spark the offense against the Padres. Hurtubise hit a sacrifice fly that gave the Reds a 1-0 lead. First baseman Jeimer Candelario moved up to the middle of the order and worked tough at-bats, and the Reds drove up San Diego Padres starter Joe Musgrove’s pitch count so quickly that he only pitched three innings.

De La Cruz, who notched two hits, had a bounce back game after a tough showing in the clutch last Sunday.

Abbott was the latest Reds starting pitcher to provide a winning performance. During the Reds’ slide in May, the starting rotation has consistently pitched at a high level but hasn’t received enough run support. Abbott, who expertly sequenced pitches and used the entire strike zone, generated one groundout after another on his way to pitching seven shutout innings.

Abbott’s performance took some pressure off of a lineup that has been pressing.

With the win on Tuesday, the Reds’ record for the season improved to 20-28. They’re still in last place in the NL Central, and they still haven’t won a series since April.

The win over the Padres on Tuesday was badly needed.

“There’s a lot of things that haven't been going our way,” Fraley said. “That’s baseball. That’s why you play 162.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds get badly needed win over San Diego Padres to start homestand