Reds quiet offense spoils terrific start by Luke Weaver in loss to Cardinals
When Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Luke Weaver was a top prospect and then a standout young starter for the St. Louis Cardinals, the Cardinals organization had days like Thursday in mind. Weaver had all of his pitches working, threw a changeup that looked unhittable and showed his expertise in mixing pitches to shut down hitters for 6 1/3 innings.
The Cardinals traded Weaver five years ago, and the former top prospect turned into a 29-year-old veteran who’s looking to prove that he still belongs in an MLB rotation. Weaver signed a prove-it one-year deal with the Reds last offseason, and he continued his encouraging start to 2023 with a terrific outing against the team that drafted him.
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Weaver pitched 6 ⅓ shutout innings, but the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Reds, 2-1, at Great American Ball Park on Thursday in front of a crowd of 15,978. The Reds had a great chance to win the four-game series and move up into fourth place in the NL Central, but they didn't take advantage of that opportunity in a close loss. Reds catcher Luke Maile batted with the tying run on base, but he struck out to end the game.
Reds reliever Lucas Sims replaced Weaver on the mound in the seventh inning with two runners on base. While Sims got out of that jam, he allowed the go-ahead double by Cardinals designated hitter Nolan Gorman in the eighth inning.
Sims has been one of the Reds’ best pitchers this season, finding success with a calmer approach on the mound. His devastating breaking ball has led to strikeouts all season, but Gorman crushed a slider that landed outside of the strike zone and pulled it down the right field line to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead. Sims allowed another run on a wild pitch as the Cardinals pulled ahead.
The Reds couldn’t take advantage of one of the best performances that they’ve had all season by a starting pitcher.
In Weaver’s first five starts of 2023, he showed that he was on the verge of a breakthrough but saw a few inopportune home runs turn into a disappointing final stat line.
Against the Cardinals, Weaver put all of the pieces together.
He was a wizard mixing pitches. His fastball set up his changeup, which set up his slider. The Cardinals were extremely aggressive and swinging early in counts, and Weaver only needed to throw 71 pitches across the first six innings. He also struck out six batters as the Cardinals whiffed at most of his changeups.
Weaver’s potential has been clear since his MLB debut in 2016, but injuries prevented him from solidifying a spot in the rotation. After the Cardinals traded him to the Diamondbacks, Weaver had three inconsistent years in Arizona’s rotation before the Diamondbacks moved him to the bullpen in 2022.
The Reds gave Weaver a chance to be a starter this season. Reds manager David Bell worked with Weaver when they both were with the Cardinals, and Weaver has exceeded expectations as a dependable veteran starting pitcher with the Reds in 2023.
Takeaways from Reds vs. Cardinals
1. Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas looked as sharp as Weaver did on Thursday, pitching seven shutout innings. Mikolas wasn’t getting big swings and misses, but he forced a lot of weak contact against a Reds lineup that was aggressive early in counts. The Reds tried a few hit and runs. Center fielder TJ Friedl made a bold decision to try to score on a groundball in the infield but was caught out at the plate in the sixth inning. The Reds got the go-ahead run to the plate in the eighth inning against Cardinals reliever Drew VerHagen, but Jonathan India popped out and Jake Fraley grounded out to end the inning.
2. Reds right fielder Stuart Fairchild prevented a Cardinals rally in the seventh inning with a leaping catch at the warning track on a high fly ball from Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong. Fairchild was starting in right field in the place of Wil Myers, who Bell said is dealing with a minor injury. Fairchild had his best game of the season in Wednesday’s win, and he made an impact again Thursday because of his defense. Fairchild prevented a leadoff double against Weaver and played a big part in keeping the shutout since Weaver allowed two baserunners later in the inning.
3. When he followed Weaver out of the bullpen, Sims looked as sharp as he has been all season. He inherited two runners on base and easily escaped the inning. He started with a three-pitch strikeout against Cardinals second baseman Tommy Edman, who swung at a slider that nearly hit him. Then in the third pitch of the next at-bat, Reds catcher Luke Maile picked off the runner on first base to end the inning. But Sims couldn’t carry that momentum into the eighth inning.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds quiet offense spoils terrific start by Luke Weaver
