The Cincinnati Reds ended their series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on a sour note, dropping 2 of the final 3 games.
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On Friday night, the Reds fell 10-8. Arizona’s offense kickstarted in the fourth, scoring 5 runs in the frame to take a 5-1 lead.
Cincinnati made it a one run game in the top of the 6th with a 3-run home run by Nick Martini. The Diamondbacks answered with one run in the 6th, 2 in the 7th, and 2 in the 8th, to give them a 6-run cushion going into the top of the 9th .
The Reds didn’t go away quietly as Will Benson hit a Grand Slam to make it a 10-8 game. Unfortunately, that was it for Cincinnati’s offense, as Tyler Stephenson and TJ Friedl both struck out to end the game.
Hunter Greene (2-6) took the loss on the mound for the Reds, allowing 5 runs in 3 and 2/3 innings work.
Nick Martini went 2-3 at the plate with a home run and 3 RBI.
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The Reds nearly squandered their comeback, but held on to win 8-7 in 11 innings on Saturday.
Cincinnati trailed 4-0 in the the top of the 6th before scoring 4 runs in the next 4 innings to tie the game at 4 to send the game to extras. Matt McClain’s home run jump started the offense in the 6th. Nick Martini followed it up in the 8th with an RBI single. Then, in the 9th, a Tyler Stephenson’s double and a Matt McLain groundout tied the game up.
That was not it for Cincinnati’s offense, as the Reds would plate 3 more runs in the top of the 10th on a Spencer Steer double, a Nick Martini ground rule double, and a Christian Encarnacion-Strand single, giving them a 7-4 lead going into the bottom of the 10th
That lead wouldn’t last long, as Arizona would tie the game 7-7 in the 10th. The first run of the inning scored on a Geraldo Perdomo RBI single. An fielding error by Matt McClain allowed the second run of the inning to come in. The tying run scored on a sacrifice fly by Christian Walker.
However, the Reds regained the lead back in an unconventional way, as TJ Friedl would score on a balk by Arizona reliever Nabil Crismatti in the 11th, which ultimately gave Cincinnati the 8-7 victory.
Nick Martini finished the game 3-4 at the plate with a double and 2 RBI.
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A 3-run 8th led to Arizona defeating Cincinnati 5-2 in the series finale on Sunday.
The game was tied at 2-2 in the bottom of the 8th before Christian Walker’s sacrifice fly would give the Diamondbacks a 3-2 lead. An Evan Longoria sacrifice fly and an Alek Thomas single score 2 more insurance runs to give the Diamondbacks a 3-run lead that they would hold onto in the 9th.
Reds reliever Ian Gibaut dropped to 8-3 on the season, allowing 2-runs in 1/3 innings work.
With Sunday’s loss, Cincinnati (68-64) is now 1.5 games back of Arizona (69-62) for the final Wildcard spot in the National League.
The Reds kickoff a 3-game road series against the San Francisco Giants tonight. Coverage on 103.9 WRBI begins at 9:15.