Reds squander four-run lead in Saturday's loss to Nationals
Momentum is supposed to be a hard thing to lose, but the Cincinnati Reds had no problem doing that on Saturday night in a 10-8 loss at Great American Ball Park.
After a five-run fifth inning gave the Reds a 7-3 lead over the Washington Nationals, the Reds proceeded to fumble the game away, allowing seven runs over the final three innings.
"They are going to happen like you said over the course of a long year," Reds manager David Bell said of the loss. "And really, we haven't had too many like this. When we get a lead our bullpen’s done a nice job for the most part. We had it kind of lined up the way we wanted. It was really just a tough day for a few guys in our bullpen, but like I said, for the most part, most times we've been in that situation, we've gotten the job done.”
Right-hander Tyler Mahle's day was done after the sixth inning, in line for the win with a four-run lead following a solid start with three earned runs and six strikeouts.
Mahle gave way to reliever Alexis Diaz and that's when the trouble started. Diaz gave up a double, a single and a three-run home run to Juan Soto to make it a one-run game.
"He's been so good. He is going to have these kinds of days," Bell said of Diaz. "Maybe a little bit too strong. I don't know that for sure. He was on three days' rest. He had been pitching a lot before that. Just looked like he had the velocity, he had the life like he always does, had the break on his breaking ball, but he had a tough time keeping it in the zone, really. It was just maybe he could have been too strong. We'll have to take a look or just turn the page and move on to the next time. He's been so good all year.”
Diaz, through an interpreter, said, “It’s normal, right? Everyone goes through highs and lows throughout the year. That’s how baseball is. Today happened and the next time, I will just give 100 percent the best of my ability to go out there and try to get a better outing.”
In the eighth inning, Reds reliever Tony Santillan got in more trouble. Maikel Franco singled and advanced to third base on a wild pitch, then Luis Garcia doubled behind him to tie the game, 7-7.
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In the ninth inning, the Reds went to right-hander Hunter Strickland and more trouble followed. Strickland allowed back-to-back singles to start the inning to Nelson Cruz and Josh Bell, followed by singles from Franco and Garcia that drove in three more runs to make it 10-7.
Brandon Drury added a solo homer for the Reds in the bottom of the ninth, but that was it.
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It looked as if the Reds were in complete control after the fifth. Third baseman Mike Moustakas had an 11-pitch at-bat with two outs and the bases loaded that resulted in an RBI walk to tie the game, 3-3, after which Albert Almora Jr. belted his second career grand slam to extend the lead to 7-3.
"It sucks, the outcome of the game," said Almora. "We definitely want to win that. A lot of credit goes to the at-bats before me. (Stevenson) and Farmer and Moose having those kinds of at-bats, especially Moose seeing all those pitches. People don’t know how much that is important on deck. I was able to get his timing really well and see all the pitches he threw."
That momentum lasted all of one inning for the Reds, now 18-34 on the season.
The four-game series with the Nationals wraps up on Sunday at 1:40 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds squander four-run lead in Saturday's loss to Nationals
