McCoy: Minor falls to 1-10 as Reds lose to Phillies

For no apparent reason that makes common sense, the Cincinnati Reds continue to send Mike Minor to the mound every fifth day.

And every fifth day the Reds lose another game.

That was the scenario Monday night in Great American Ball Park against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Minor started, the Reds lost for the sixth time in seven games, 4-3, and Minor’s record hit a 1-and-10 sinkhole.

Minor wasn’t gosh-awful — four runs and 10 hits (and for once no home runs) in five innings.

But the Phillies staggered into town after being shut out three times in their last four games, a run-starved team trying desperately to hold on to the National League’s third wild card spot.

And the Phillies were playing without their two best offensive weapons, Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber.

The Reds were facing Noah Syndergaard, who once threw 100 and 101 mph while pitching for the New York Mets.

He was a different dude Monday night while making his third start for the Phillies since a deadline deal with the Los Angeles Angels.

With his long pony-tail braided and tucked to one side, Syndergaard was a strike-throwing metronome. Through six innings, he threw just 13 pitches out of the strike zone.

He had the Reds swinging early, often and futilely. For example, Joey Votto swung at the first pitch three straight times and flied out all three times.

The Reds grabbed 2-0 lead in the second inning from an unusual batter.

The Reds put their first two batters on in the second on Albert Almora Jr.’s double and a Matt Reynolds single.

But Aristides Aquino lined to third and Jose Barrero struck out for the 23rd time in 39 at bats.

So with two outs, the rally seemed dead because the hitter, catcher Michael Papierski was 1 for 28. But he broke his bat and blooped a two-run single to left.

The Phillies, though, scored three times in the third with two outs. J.T. Realmuto singled to put runners on second and first.

Former Reds right fielder Nick Castellanos singled to left, cutting Cincinnati’s lead to 2-1,

That brought up Edmundo Sosa, he of the .189 batting average. After Castellanos stole second, Jean Segura walked to fill the bases.

Sosa singled sharply to left for two runs and a 3-2 lead.

The Phillies added a run in the fifth, also after two outs. Segura doubled and Sosa struck again, a run-scoring double to left.

Meanwhile, Syndergaard cruised … until the eighth. Jake Fraley led off with a home run and Syndergaard’s night was done.

He was replaced by David Robertson and Kyle Farmer singled with one out. But for the fourth straight time, Votto swung at a first pitch and grounded into an inning-ending double play, leaving the Reds behind, 4-3.

Syndergaard pitched seven-plus innings and gave up three runs, eight hits, walked none and struck out six. He threw 77 pitches, 61 for strikes.

Hunter Strickland pitched the ninth for the Reds and gave up a one-out double off the top of the left field wall to Realmuto.

With Castellanos batting, Realmuto stole third, his 15th theft in 15 tries. Strickland struck out Castellanos on a full count and backed it up by striking out Segura looking at a slider on 3-and-2.

Seranthony Dominguez, the Phillies’ best out of the bullpen, arrived for the ninth. Almora Jr. struck out on a foul tip, Reynolds grounded to third, Aristides Aquino grounded out and that was that.

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