As the Reds near the non-waiver Trade Deadline on Thursday, they’ve showed that they need more than just a bat to reverse their post-All Star break swoon.
That could not have been more apparent than during a six-hit effort over 15 innings before the Reds were handed a 2-1 defeat by the D-backs at Great American Ball Park on Monday night.
“I can’t be critical of the effort, because it’s been outstanding. But we’re not producing, at all. And we need to,” Reds manager Bryan Price said. “We can’t waste this type of pitching. You can’t play a game like that in this ballpark and play 15 innings and score a run. That can’t happen.”
Cincinnati, which has dropped nine of its last 10 games, has scored only 17 runs in that span — an average of 1.7 runs per game. Three of the last four games, including Saturday’s 1-0 win, have seen only one run produced.
The Reds are batting .171 since the break and .100 (6-for-60) with runners in scoring position. Now 52-53, it’s their first time below .500 they were 36-37 on June 21. Of course, there is no assurance one bat, or multiple ones, can be added to help at this point.
Reliever J.J. Hoover was back for his second inning of work when he walked Martin Prado with one out in the 15th. Prado moved to second base on a Didi Gregorius groundout to first base where Brayan Pena fell down as he snagged the ball and had only the play at first. A Nick Ahmed single to left field provided the go-ahead run.
“We just kept pushing,” D-backs manager Kirk Gibson said. “You don’t score, you get into games like this and everybody’s trying to end it. You try to tell yourself not to do it but the reality of it is, that’s what happens.”
Reds pitchers recorded a combined 12 strikeouts, only to be outdone by the Arizona staff’s 18 K’s in the game. The top three spots in both lineups were a combined 1-for-33 with 16 strikeouts.
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