| Final | R | H | me |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (6-1) |
6 | eleven | 0 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks (2-6) |
5 | 6 | 1 |
| W: Perez (1-0) L: Young (0-2) SV: Garrett (1) |
|||
| Statcast | Cash Score | Game thread | |||
Tucker Barnhart’s third hit of the game hit Eugenio Suarez from third base in the top of the 10th inning to give the Cincinnati Reds a 6-5 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night in the first Arizona home game.
Cincinnati was able to escape with the victory, its sixth in a row, after blowing a 5-0 lead after six and a half innings. Barnhart’s hit off losing pitcher Alex Young was his second of the game against a southpaw. In the past, Barnhart has fought mightily against left-handed pitchers.
Amir Garrett retired the home team in the bottom of the 10th inning to earn his first save. After a cross pitch between Garrett and Barnhart resulted in runners moving to second and third on a two-out pass, Carson Kelly was intentionally walked to load the bases. Garrett then retired Pavin Smith on a groundout to second baseman Kyle Farmer to seal the victory.
Offense
Barnhart was one of the two Reds with three hits, and another of the red-hot hitters from the start of the season continued his astonishing performance.
Question: Who currently leads the league in home runs?
Answer: Tyler Naquin pic.twitter.com/bMX1htC8RV
– Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) April 10, 2021
After his home run in the fourth inning, Naquin led the majors in home runs (5), RBIs (14), slugging (1,048) and OPS (1,488). At the end of the night, Naquin’s slugging stood at 1,000 and his OPS at 1,444, third overall behind Nick Castellanos and Yermin Mercedes.
Jesse Winker had hits in his first three plate appearances, but was pulled out of the game after scoring on a sacrifice fly by Eugenio Suarez in the fifth. Winker appeared to jump unusually a couple of times during his trip from third home, and then again as he made his way to the dugout. Later in the game it was reported that Winker had tension in his calf muscles.
Pitching
Starter Tyler Mahle pitched four no-hit innings, but it took 92 pitches to do it. At this point in the season, that’s probably the upper throwing threshold any Reds pitcher will be able to throw.
Then we had the pleasure of seeing Tejay Antone. Television host John Sadak reported an Antone pitch in the fifth inning at 100 mph. Baseballsavant.com had it at 99.5.
This is not the first time you will hear this, nor the last time: Antone MUST move into rotation. He may have the best on the team, and having him in what is currently a mid and long relief role is a misuse of his talents. Baseballsavant.com says that the AVERAGE vertical break of his curveball is 53 inches. That is four feet, five inches. Try to make a throw that breaks so much. And try to do it knowing that the pitch is most of the time going to be a strike.
Cam Bedrosian was tagged with three Arizona runs in the seventh inning. He has been the least effective member of the bullpen and would appear to be on a very short chord. The bullpen as a whole was a disappointment, with non-Antone relievers walking four in four innings.
Noteworthy notes
Everything is working for Cincinnati right now.
The Reds’ starting pitchers have thrown 21 consecutive scoreless innings (De León 4ip, Miley 6ip, Castillo 7ip, Mahle 4ip).
– Reds Media Relations (@RedsPR) April 10, 2021
Up next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
Saturday, April 10, 8:10 p.m. ET
Jeff Hoffman (1.80 ERA, 1-0) vs. Riley Smith (3.60 ERA, 0-0)