After the Cincinnati Reds got trounced in the series opener of this week’s series against the Nationals, manager Terry Francona huddled with his two bench coaches and general manager Brad Meador long after the game to talk about their ailing lineup.
“I said, ‘Let me hear it,’ “ Francona said.
By the time the next game rolled around, so had many names in the Reds lineup, with 3-4 hitters Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart moving up a spot each for the first time this season, and slumping leadoff man TJ Friedl joining slumping Matt McLain at the bottom.
And then the Reds batted around in the first for a five-run lead.
Now if they could just fix the pitching. Including all those walks. They might need an all-nighter for that one. And a bigger room.
The 55 home runs allowed this season – including the no-doubter off Tony Santillan in Wednesday’s 10th inning – haven’t helped.
Daylen Lile’s third home run in two nights – this one more than halfway up the right-field bleachers – gave the Nationals a two-run shot and the 8-7 series-clincher.
Spencer Steer nearly tied it in the bottom of the 10th on a line drive to the top of the wall in left, but a fan who caught the ball just out over the wall was ruled to have interfered, keeping the hit to a run-scoring double instead of the tying homer – a call “confirmed” after an umpire crew review.
It dropped the Reds to their 10th loss in 12 games this month.
On a day the Reds signed Chris Paddack off the Miami Marlins’ scrap heap out of dire need for an injury-depleted rotation, Nick Lodolo made his second start of the season since spending the first six weeks of the season fixing a blister issue.
He needed 87 pitches just to get through four innings, and aside from an eight-strike run in a three-strikeout first, he had trouble with command.
In 9 1/3 innings since returning from the IL, Lodolo has given up nine runs on 11 hits and four walks, and he’s hit two batters.
Lodolo is far from the problem for the Reds staff, at least yet. He just hasn’t provided the anticipated boost, at least yet.
But when he walked home the Nationals’ fifth run of the game in the third inning to tie the game, it underscored a season-long Achilles’ heel of a pitching staff that has sprung leaks almost everywhere since a stirring, high-wire act in April.
The National League team leader in issuing walks so far this season has issued 15 of them with the bases loaded already this season. That’s only two off the MLB-leading 17 issued by the Red Sox staff last year and nearly double the next team on the list so far this season (Astros and White Sox tied with eight).
The shaky pitching on this night by Lodolo blew a five-run first-inning lead that nearly matched the Reds’ best output for a game this month. Their seven for the game did match the May high (both in losses).
It started with a one-out single by De La Cruz and two-out RBI double by new cleanup hitter JJ Bleday.
Steer then pulled off one of the most consequential ABS challenges of the first-year system for the Reds so far, successfully challenging a strike-3 call to turn the count to 2-2 before eventually drawing a walk.
After Nathaniel Lowe followed with another walk, Tyler Stephenson unloaded on a 1-1 pitch for his third home run of the season, and third career grand slam.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds blow big early lead vs. Nationals, lose for 10th time in 12 games
