Rookie Tony Cingrani is a left-handed starting pitcher by trade with a not-so-distant future in the Reds’ rotation. But in the here and now, Cingrani is a late-inning reliever charged with getting lefties out in high-leverage situations.
The matchup on Thursday afternoon against the Pirates was optimal, as the Reds summoned Cingrani to face a pair of lefty sluggers in the seventh inning. But the situation was anything but optimal, since the bases were loaded when he entered.
Cingrani, working for the second time in less than 24 hours, gave up Pedro Alvarez’s three-run double, and the Reds took a 5-3 loss to split the four-game series with the Pirates.
“I felt perfectly fine. I just made a bad pitch,” said Cingrani, who is pitching in the role usually filled by the injured Sean Marshall. “It was up and over the middle of the plate.”
Alvarez also had a home run and drove in all five Pirates runs.
“It was the third baseman five and us three,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said.
It was a 2-2 game when Reds reliever Alfredo Simon took over for the seventh. Simon’s first two batters — pitcher Bryan Morris and Starling Marte — each hit singles to set the stage for what became a big rally.
“The big blow was the leadoff single to Morris,” Baker said, referencing the reliever’s first career hit. “The fact that their bullpen was a little short and they were short on the bench a man because they called up another relief pitcher, that didn’t surprise me that [Morris] hit. It surprised me when he comes through and gets a hit.”
After Jordy Mercer popped out on a bunt attempt, Simon walked Andrew McCutchen to load the bases for Garrett Jones, and Cingrani was brought on.
In Wednesday’s 13-inning, 2-1 win over Pittsburgh, Cingrani faced three batters and struck out the side — including Alvarez.
In an eight-pitch barrage of fastballs vs. Jones on Thursday that featured four foul balls, Cingrani struck him out on a 95-mph pitch. Cingrani was not so fortunate against Alvarez.
“You just have to be ready to hit with him,” Alvarez said. “He’s a very tough pitcher. He’s got a very good fastball. He’s got good stuff. From pitch one to the very last pitch of the at-bat, it’s a grind, so you just have to go up there and be ready to battle your behind off with him.”
Alvarez ripped a 94-mph 0-1 pitch from Cingrani to the right-field corner.
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