The Walk Off: Reds bullpen finally ends dubious streak in win
Welcome to The Walk Off, the nightly MLB recap from Big League Stew. Here we’ll look at the top performers of the night, show you a must-see highlight and rundown the scoreboard. First, we start with a game you need to know about.
It’s no surprise the Cincinnati Reds are off to a slow start this season. After contending throughout the early part of the decade, they’re now in full blown rebuild mode, even as key veterans like Joey Votto, Brandon Phillps and Jay Bruce remain.
What is startling though is just how bad their bullpen has been. Entering play on Friday, Cincinnati relievers had allowed at least one run in a major league-record 23 consecutive games dating back to April 10.
[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Baseball contest now]
That’s a little bit beyond bad. That’s actually disastrous. Fortunately, like all streaks both good and bad, this one had an expiration date. In Friday’s 5-1 win against the Brewers, Cincinnati’s bullpen tossed four scoreless innings to secure the victory and mercifully end their pain.
Caleb Cotham did the bulk of the work, pitching a scoreless sixth and seventh. Blake Wood retired one batter in the eighth, then Tony Cingrani brought it by recording the final five outs.
There wasn’t a big celebration or anything, because that may have been weird. But the Reds relievers knew some pressure had been taken off.
”We were aware of it,” Cotham said after the game. ”It’s not something I would say drives us, but it definitely was on our mind. We take pride in our job. It hasn’t worked out so far.”
The outing lowered Cincinnati’s bullpen ERA to 6.28, which is still worst in the league by a wide margin. But hey, the Reds are only looking for positives after this one. With three straight wins under their belt now too, perhaps happier days are ahead.
TOP PERFORMERS
Jung Ho Kang: Playing in his first game since suffering a knee injury last September, Kang returned with a bang, connecting for two home runs in the Pirates 4-2 win over the Cardinals. Kang hit a two-run homer off Tyler Lyons in the fourth inning, which extended Pittsburgh’s lead to three runs. He then applied the finishing touches with a solo shot in the eighth. Needless to say, the Pirates are thrilled to have him back.
Cole Hamels: It took a gem from Hamels to finally get Detroit’s Jordan ZImmermann in the loss column. Hamels pitched seven shutout innings in the Rangers 5-1 win on Friday. He allowed just one hit, walked two and struck out nine to improve to 4-0. Zimmernann, who entered at 5-0, allowed just three earned runs over his eight innings.
Ben Zobrist: The Cubs second baseman is locked in right now. He connected for two more homers in Chicago’s 8-6 win over the Nationals on Friday afternoon, giving him four in his last three games. Zobrist hit a solo shot in the third and a three-run blast in the fifth, with both coming against Max Scherzer. Zobrist has 11 total RBIs over that three-game span.
Jose Ramirez: Cleveland’s third baseman had a career game in their 7-1 win against the Royals. Ramirez picked up three hits, including two doubles, while driving in a career-best five runs. Overall, Ramirez has been a solid contributor hitting out of the Indians’ nine spot. With Friday’s big game, he’s hitting .324.
MUST-SEE HIGHLIGHT
The red-hot Marlins won for the 11th time in 12 games on Friday, defeating the Phillies 6-4. The monsterous Giancarlo Stanton home run shown above provided the difference. You can read more about it, including how far it traveled, right here.
THE REST OF THE SCOREBOARD
A’s vs. Orioles: Postponed. Teams will play a split-admission doubleheader on Saturday, with the first game starting at 1:05 p.m. ET.
Yankees 3, Red Sox 2: This game featured a wild ending with David Ortiz and John Farrell getting ejected in the ninth. New York won thanks to Aaron Hicks’ seventh-inning home run.
Blue Jays 5, Dodgers 2: Kevin Pillar broke the tie with a three-run homer in the eighth inning.
Diamondbacks 7, Braves 2: Brandon Drury homered again and Zack Greinke pitched six solid inning as Arizona snapped its losing streak at six.
White Sox 10, Twins 4: With tempers flaring at U.S. Cellular Field, the White Sox became the first AL team to win 20 games.
Astros 6, Mariners 3: The big news came after the game, when Houston optioned Evan Gattis to Double-A to work on his catching.
Giants 6, Rockies 4: Powered by Brandon Crawford’s three-run homer, San Francisco scored six unanswered runs to even the series.
Rays 5, Angels 2: A lousy ending to a lousy day for the Angels.
Padres 2, Mets 0: Suddenly, the Mets offense is struggling. After being no-hit into the seventh inning on Thursday, New York managed just three hits on Friday.
More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:
– – – – – – –
Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
