KSReds: Cincinnati Reds beat Los Angeles Angels

If you can win two-thirds of your games, you ultimately have a chance to be the best team in baseball. The Cincinnati Reds have done just that over their last nine games, but it’s been done in a unique way. It all showed with a dominant sweep of the Chicago White Sox, outscoring them 27-5 in three games. Next, the Reds headed west and found themselves on the receiving end of a sweep against the Seattle Mariners. Finally, the brooms were out again with a sweep of the Los Angeles Angels upon their return to Great American Ball Park.

Elly De La Cruz is red hot at the plate, Tyler Stephenson impressed with his first career grand slam and the Reds bullpen teamed up for some excellent work. Those were highlights in Cincinnati over the weekend that led to three wins. However, fans held their collective breath Sunday afternoon after starter Frankie Montas was hit in the right arm with a hard-hit line drive up the middle. He should leave the game, but According to initial reports, he may only miss one start. That would be a small price to pay for an injury that could have been much worse.

There is currently no peace on the horizon for the Reds. They’ll be back in action Monday night, with Hunter Greene taking the mound against the Philadelphia Phillies at 6:40 PM Eastern Time. Andrew Abbott, Nick Lodolo and Graham Ashcraft will also start during the four-match series. The Reds are now 12-9 on the season and two and a half games out of first place in the National League Central. The Milwaukee Brewers go first, while the Chicago Cubs also have a half-game lead over the Reds.

Timely hitting leads to the opening victory of the series

It’s not often that you score seven against five and still win the game in a big way. However, that’s what the Cincinnati Reds did on Friday night as they took advantage of every mistake the Los Angeles Angels made.

Elly De La Cruz scored in the most Elly De La Cruz fashion in the bottom of the second inning. After a single with two outs, De La Cruz stole both second and third base. When he stole third, the ball was thrown into left field, allowing him to score. All he had to do was get on base for him to run all the way around and score. Los Angeles tied the game in the fifth inning, but Tyler Stephenson answered in the bottom of the sixth with a solo home run. That 2-1 lead would hold until the eighth inning.

Once again the Reds created a few scoring chances. Jonathan India walked to open the inning and advanced to second base on a single by Spencer Steer. The runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Stuart Fairchild and Tyler Stephenson walked to load the bases with one out. Cincinnati would then score two runs without even having to make contact. Nick Martini was hit by a pitch to make it 3-1. Then Steer scored on a wild pitch to make the lead 4-1. That’s when De La Cruz stepped up to the plate and hammered the nail into the proverbial coffin. The Reds star shortstop parked a three-run home run into the left field seats to increase the lead to 7-1. That would be the final score as Cincinnati took the series opener from Los Angeles to stay above .500.

Nick Lodolo was once again outstanding on the mound. The young left-hander makes his second start of the season went six and a third innings and allowed just one run on seven hits while striking out six. Behind him, Fernando Cruz, Lucas Sims and Buck Farmer were excellent in relief. Lodolo is 2-0 in his two starts after allowing just one run. He also has 16 strikeouts, compared to just one walk. It’s obviously still early in the season, but he looks like a potential top prospect after two starts.

Tyler Stephenson Grand Slam Powers Reds

Saturday night’s first inning was full of fireworks. The Los Angeles Angels got on the board and scored a pair of points first in the top half of the opening frame. However, the Cincinnati Reds wasted no time in answering the right back. Spencer Steer reached on an infield single and advanced to second base on a throwing error. Stuart Fairchild was next, plating Steer with a double. Then, Jeimer Candelario and Elly De La Cruz both walked to load the bases. That brought Tyler Stephenson to the plate and he squeaked one over the right field wall for his first career grand slam. What had been an early 2-0 deficit turned into a 5-2 lead before the first inning ended.

Miguel Sano launched a two-run home run in the sixth and the Angeles would push another across to get within two runs at 7-5. However, that would prove to be as close as they could get. Nick Martinez was outstanding again in a long relief role, posting three shutout innings. Alexis Diaz was then able to come in and slam the door on his third save of the season as the Cincinnati Reds clinched the series with a 7-5 win.

Graham Ashcraft was not his sharpest, but moved to 3-1 in the young season. He allowed five runs on five hits in five innings of work. The Reds’ bats and relief pitching really got going on Saturday.

Get the brooms out in Cincinnati

The brooms have been busy lately. A week ago, the Cincinnati Reds completed a sweep of the Chicago White Sox before heading west and being swept by the Seattle Mariners. Now, after returning to Great American Ball Park, the brooms are out again. The Reds completed a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels and moved to 12-9 on the season.

Sunday’s match didn’t seem to start well. Frankie Montas was hit in the right arm by a blistering line drive, forcing him to leave the game after recording just two outs. That left the burden on Brent Suter to eat some innings in long relief. Luckily he did just that. Suter threw three and a third shutout innings to get through the fourth. He then turned the ball over to Emilio Pagan, who had two more shutout innings. Pagan would ultimately emerge victorious. Fernando Cruz, Lucas Sims and Alexis Diaz were all solid in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings respectively. It was the second save in as many games for Diaz to cap off the combined shutout.

At the plate, the Cincinnati Reds did all their work in the bottom of the sixth inning. After threatening the previous two innings, Christian Encarnacion-Strand doubled to deep centerfield, scoring Nick Martini and Elly De La Cruz. Jeimer Candelario added another with a triple, making the final score 3-0. The sweep moved the Reds to 12-9 on the season.