It would be too simple to say the difference between new Reds manager Bryan Price notching career loss No. 1 before his first victory vs. the Cardinals was because of a Yadier Molina home run.
Sure, Molina’s seventh-inning long ball off of Johnny Cueto was the lone run in a 1-0 Reds defeat to St. Louis on Opening Day before a sold-out crowd of 43,134 fans at Great American Ball Park. There was still ample opportunity to have given Price a different outcome in his debut.
“It could have gone either way, to be honest with you. Both teams pitched beautifully,” Reds catcher Brayan Pena said. “One solo shot. If I’m behind home plate … and every time you tell me we’re only going to allow one run on a solo shot, I’ll take that every day, especially with the lineup that we have. We have a tremendous lineup. We’re not getting beat by one run that often.”
It was the first time since 1953 vs. the Milwaukee Braves that the Reds were shut out on Opening Day. That’s not exactly how Price envisioned the day would turn out.
“I was thinking there was a win at the end of it, for sure,” Price said.
Other things didn’t go as planned. In his first Opening Day in the big leagues, leadoff hitter Billy Hamilton went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts.
“I didn’t feel like I did what I wanted to do,” Hamilton said. “But it’s OK. There’s another day tomorrow. It’s learning for me.”
Hamilton and Price weren’t alone in the unfulfilled department. Cincinnati went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine on base.
Even the best laid plans defensively weren’t successful. Twice when Price ordered defensive shifts against lefty slugger Matt Adams, they were beaten by hits to the left side. Adams lined a single to left field in the second inning and a very slow roller past the unguarded third base for an unlikely double in the fifth.
Until Molina’s homer, Adams’ knocks were the only two hits St. Louis had mustered vs. Cueto.
“Johnny was terrific,” Price said. “We’re pretty accustomed to seeing that type of pitching from Johnny. Not only was he healthy, but he just seemed to be so free and easy letting it go. That was a really nice thing to see. He attacked their lineup and made good pitches.”
With one out in the top of the seventh inning, Molina attacked a first pitch and deposited into the left-field seats.
“It was a cutter. I wanted to throw it for a strike,” Cueto said via translator Tomas Vera. “He was really waiting for that pitch. He was really aggressive, and you know what happened.”
It was Molina’s first Opening Day homer since he hit a grand slam against the Reds in 2010, which the Cardinals also won.
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