Cincinnati Reds blast back to back homers for walk-off victory over Nationals
What a day in GABP!
Christian Encarnacion-Strand stepped into the batter’s box in the Bottom of the 9th having yet to record a hit so far in the nascent 2024 Major League Baseball season. That became a footnote in a millisecond, though, as that was just about the amount of time it took for the meatball hurled his way by Washington Nationals reliever Kyle Finnegan to hit the seats beyond the left field wall for a Cincinnati Reds walk-off victory.
It was the kind of resilient day from the Reds in Great American Ball Park that was almost exactly the inverse of the energy in their bullpen implosion on Saturday. Despite leaving man after man on-base (and grounding into a trio of double plays - two by CES himself - the Reds managed to battle back and win a game that, for a time, seemed like it was just destined to not go their way.
A huge portion of that turnaround came from Jonathan India, who worked his way through a 10-pitch at-bat in the Bottom of the 9th with 2-outs that resulted in a double into the LF corner, a tone-setter that brought Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game Will Benson to the plate. Benson, as he’s becoming wont to do, came through with the first of the gigantic hits for the Reds on the day, parking a 2-run tater over the CF wall off Finnegan that brought the sparse GABP crowd (on a chilly Easter day) to its feet. CES then followed by parking the second pitch he saw into the LF stands, and the improbable 6-5 comeback was theirs.
There were still flaws in this game, of course. The bullpen, revamped as it was over the winter, struggled once again - this time with several different faces on the bump than those who faltered on Saturday. Buck Farmer served up a dinger, while Tejay Antone couldn’t find the strikezone for the life of him when he allowed a hit and a pair of walks before exiting without recording an out. That backed an up and down outing by Nick Martinez in a starting role, as he allowed 6 hits, a homer, a trio of earned runs, and a walk while fanning 3 in a 5.0 IP outing that required 90 pitches.
We’ll save the nit-picking for later, however. The Reds gutted their way into a 6-5 win that sealed a series victory in the opening set of the season, reversing the fortunes of a super disappointing loss on Saturday.
Tony Graphanino
[Link to FanGraphs WPA chart & box score]
Other Notes
- Benson finished the game 3 for 5 with a double, run scored, and a trio of ribbies. That led a strong day from the Cincinnati outfield, as Jake Fraley (3 for 4) and Spencer Steer (2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored).
- Elly De La Cruz tripled once, took 3B from 1B on an otherwise routine grounder to the SS, later scored a run, and made a stellar catch over his shoulder in shallow LF later in the game.
- The Reds head to Philadelphia next, and they’re scheduled to take on the Phillies over the next three days. That said, the forecast in Philly for the next few days is rather abysmal, so we’ll see just how their actual schedule is impacted. Andrew Abbott is currently slated to get the next start for the club tomorrow in a 6:40 PM ET start.
- Tunes.