Reds win the third game in a row with an exclamation point from Rob Manfred’s enemy

It was just four games, but the energy and passion of the 2021 Cincinnati Reds are palpable. Since the first nightmare entry on Opening Day, the Reds have been playing inspired baseball. They competed in all the beats. Each pitcher took on his role and prospered. The Reds stayed behind tonight, but the offensive continued to attack the batons until they finally made it through.

Pirates jumped to a 2-0 lead on a pair of solo home runs against José De León on Monday night. The Reds entered the table in 2nd place, when De León helped himself to an RBI single. It was his first MLB success.

De León adapted and shot from a great deal of confusion caused by a mistake by Suárez in the third entry to place two runners at the base. De León eliminated the Pirates hitters 2-5. He crossed from that point on and ended the night with nine eliminations. Mike Moustakas tied the game on the 5th inning with an absolute missile.

The Reds bullpen continued its dominance at the start of the season to keep the score tied for the 7th inning. That’s when Nick Castellanos said “stop it”. It is rumored that the Cardinals had to interrupt the game in Miami for some time.

Lucas Sims threw a perfect 8th in his debut in 2021. Jonathan India and Aristides Aquino drove insurance races in 8th.


Amir Garrett fought on his debut in 2021, but was able to finish Pirates in a beautiful play by Eugenio Suárez to preserve the victory. The Cincinnati Reds are 3-1.

Biggest game in the game

According to Fangraphs’ WPA statistic (win percentage added), the most important play in the game was Nick Castellanos’ individual home run with 1 eliminated at the end of the 7th, giving the Reds a 3-2 advantage. This move increased the likelihood of the Reds winning by 21.0% (from 55.2% to 76.2%).

Positives

José De León gave the Reds everything they could ask for: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 9 K. The most impressive thing of the night for me was that he only walked 2 scouts at night, something he has been fighting against his small career in MLB and this spring.

Nick Castellanos is hitting an average of 0.533 / 0.588 / 1.333 after a home run and a walk tonight. The bomb had 108.9 EV and reached 431 feet.

Mike Moustakas reached its first tater of the year and made it worthwhile: 110.2 EV, 430 feet. He also tore a double at the end of the night.

Jonathan India he has now safely landed in all four games to start his major league career. He chose in a big insurance run on the 8th.

O Red Bullpen it just continues to dominate. Cionel Perez and Sean Doolittle each launched a perfect inning with two eliminations. Lucas sims also threw a perfect inning on its debut in 2021.

Negatives

Eugenio Suárez made another very serious mistake. The Pirates had a runner first. There was a hitting ball for Votto, he gently threw a ball for Suárez that he fell face down on. Suárez seemed to be in a hurry to try to make a double play. He made a solid move to end the game by coming in and making a good throw. It was the type of game in which if he had run very fast, he could have thrown the ball into the stands and allowed the Pirates to tie the game.

Amir Garrett was unstable on his debut in 2021. He gave up on a single, home run and a walk. He survived, but his walking speed is a concern if he wants to be the most important guy in the Reds’ bullpen.

Not so random thoughts …………

How good it is John Sadak? He’s so much fun to hear. You can simply feel the joy in your transmission. It is so refreshing to have someone at the booth who clearly appreciates the opportunity to call the Reds from the games.

Best Tweet of the day summarizing how ridiculous Castellanos’ suspension was.

Next:

Pirates at Reds
Tuesday, 6:40 pm
TV: Bally Sports Ohio
Wade Miley (8.1 IP, 11 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 7 K *) vs Trevor Cahill (3.2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K *)
* spring training 2021 statistics

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