Cincinnati Reds lose thanks to wild pitch in eighth

Reds blow 3-1 lead, rally to tie game and then lose anyway

A fan, presumably of the Cleveland Indians, heckled Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto from the front row Monday. Another fan recorded the exchange and posted the video to Twitter.

“I remember when you used to be good,” the fan said.

“I remember when you used to be thin,” Votto said.

That was a great comeback by Votto. One night later, the Indians had a comeback of their own in an 8-7 victory against the Reds in the second game of the Ohio Cup. The series shifts to Progressive Field in Cleveland on Wednesday for the first of two games.

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The Reds blew an early 3-1 lead but then overcame a 7-3 deficit with four runs in the seventh. Eugenio Suarez tied the game with a three-run, pinch-hit home run. It was Suarez’s 10th home run.

The Indians reclaimed the lead an inning later. Former Red Edwin Encarnacion scored with two outs on a wild pitch by reliever Drew Storen.

Once again, the Reds dealt with a poor performance by their starting pitcher. Amir Garrett allowed seven earned runs on seven hits in five innings. In his last two starts, he has allowed 13 earned runs in nine innings.

“It’s two starts,” Reds manager Bryan Price said. “I know the game in Milwaukee wasn’t classic or vintage Amir, but it’s really tough to say. You want young guys to come up and set themselves apart from the others who come up and struggle and kind of go up and down. I think he has the temperament and the stuff to pitch up here and pitch effectively. However, he’s not going to be shielded from those times where he struggles a little bit, as he gets his legs under him at this level.”

Garrett’s ERA stood at 1.83 after his first three starts. In his last two starts, it has jumped from to 5.18 and now 6.00.

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Four of the five starters in the Reds rotation have ERAs between 6.00 and 6.75. Only Scott Feldman (3.99) has a respectable number.

The combined ERA for the starters climbed from 5.81 to 5.96. Through Monday, no other group of starters in baseball had an ERA worse than 5.18.

The Indians hit four home runs against Garrett. Encarnacion hit two of them.

“When he’s been hurt, it’s been the multiple-run inning,” Price said. “What he’s going to have to do along the way is learn how to find that big out, find that double-play ball to avoid that big inning from happening. Be able to slow the game down a little bit and make the pitches he needs to.”


WEDNESDAY’S GAME

Reds at Indians, 6:10 p.m., FS Ohio, 700, 1410

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