Rays return the favor, crush Reds 10-0

Woof.

Well, the Cincinnati Reds weren’t going to keep the Rays down for long. On a night where the Reds needed a strong outing from Nick Lodolo to give a very taxed bullpen some relief, the Tampa Bay Rays did what they have done all year and exploded for 8 runs in the first 4 innings to crush the Reds, 10-1.

After a clean 1st inning, the Rays erupted for 4-runs in the top of the 2nd. Taylor Walls hit a 1-out solo home run to put the Rays on top. With the way that Taj Bradley was pitching tonight, that would have been a comfortable lead for the Rays. Yandy Diaz wanted to add a few more for good measure, as he launched a 3-run bomb to left to put the Rays up 4-0. Honestly, the rest doesn’t matter. Tampa Bay put up a 3-spot in the 3rd and put it on cruise control the rest of the way.

Offensively, the Reds had no answer for Taj Bradley. He was electric, throwing 5.1 shutout innings and allowing only 3 hits and 1 walk while striking out 9. That’s an impressive outing for his 2nd career start, no matter the opponent.

Now, the Reds turn to Levi Stoudt, who was added to the taxi squad today and will be making his Major League debut, in a rubber match game where the Reds desperately need a long outing. Lodolo’s 4.2 innings tonight was the longest outing by a starting pitcher since Saturday. The Reds won’t have another off day until next Thursday, so it’s imperative that Stoudt put in a solid outing. That’s quite the ask for a young pitcher against a team like this.

[Link to interactive FanGraphs WPA chart and box score]

Other Notes

• In case you somehow missed it, the Reds locked up Hunter Greene for the next 6 years.
• In injury news, a couple of Reds will be back in the fray. First, Lucas Sims was activated from the IL and Kevin Herget was optioned to Louisville. Second, Luke Weaver will be activated on Thursday and will make his season debut. The corresponding roster is TBD, obviously.
• The Reds get another chance to take the series tomorrow. As mentioned earlier, Levi Stoudt will be making his Major League debut. He’ll be facing off against Drew Rasmussen (2-1, 2.60 ERA). First pitch is set for 12:35 PM EDT.
• Tunes.