The Cincinnati Reds closed out their 3-game road series with the Toronto Blue Jays on a sour note, losing the final two
games of the series.
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On Saturday, the Reds lost a close one, 4-3. All the 7 runs were scored over the course of two innings (the 4th and 5th).
Toronto struck first, putting three up in the top of the fourth on RBI singles by Daulton Varsho, Whit Merrifield, and Bo Bichette. Cincinnati did have an answer, however. In the bottom of the inning, TJ Friedl cut into the deficit with a solo home run in the bottom of the inning Then, Elly De La Cruz knocked in Matt McClain on a triple, but would also score himself thanks to a throwing error by Toronto, tying the game at 3.
The Blue Jays broke the tie an inning later on a Davis Schneider solo home run, making it a 4-3 Toronto lead.
The Reds would have a chance to tie or win the game in the 9th, with runners on second and third with 1 out. However, the Reds were unable to capitalize.
Brandon Williamson took the loss on the mound, allowing 4 runs on 9 hits in 5 and 2/3 innings of work.
De La Cruz went 2-4 with a double, a triple, and an RBI.
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Sunday’s game marked the first start since June 17th for Reds pitcher Hunter Greene (2-5). It would not be one to remember for the right-hander as he allowed 8 earned runs in 3 innings on the mound in a 10-3 loss.
The Reds fell behind 5-0 after 2 innings. The first run was scored on a throwing error by Matt McClain. The next 4 runs scored in the second on 2-run home runs by Kevin Kiermaier and Brandon Belt.
Cincinnati did answer with two runs of their own in the second inning, with Spencer Steer and Christian Encarnacion-Strand scoring on a Toronto throwing error to make it 5-2.
In the fourth inning, the Reds would fall behind 9-2 after Hunter Greene allowed 3 home runs before being replaced by Buck Farmer.
After Greene was subbed out, the Reds allowed just one run the rest of the game. Cincinnati scored just one more run the rest of the game, with Tyler Stephenson hitting a solo home run in the bottom of the 7th.
With the back-to-back losses, the Reds drop to 64-61 on the season. They now sit in third in the NL Central, one game back of 2nd place Chicago, and 4 games back of 1st place Milwaukee.
Cincinnati heads to L.A. tonight to begin a 3-game road series with the Angels. Coverage on 103.9 WRBI begins at 9:08.