It’s not every game you can score three runs on three hits in nine innings, but that’s what the Cincinnati Reds did on Tuesday night, stealing a rather weird game from the Kansas City Royals despite being largely shut down offensively.
Royals starter Noah Cameron was dominant despite not picking up the win. He retired 21 of the 22 batters he faced, with the one exception being a Spencer Steer home run in the fifth inning.
The Reds were unable to get anything going against Cameron, striking out eight times. They reached base only three times in nine innings, all on home runs.
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Starter Andrew Abbott was solid, even while allowing three runs against Cameron, who looked like a second fiddle. He struggled with walks, allowing four free passes in his 5 2/3 innings of work, but he allowed only three runs, keeping Cincinnati within striking distance.
It looked like it was going to be another quiet offensive game for the Reds, as players like Sal Stewart and Eugenio Suarez were retired over and over. When Spencer Steer stepped to the plate in the seventh inning to face Matt Strahm, it felt like he was the Reds’ only chance not just to score, but to get on base, and he did just that, lining an opposite-field home run over the right-field fence to make it a one-run game.
In the ninth inning, Royals closer Lucas Erceg came in to try to earn a save, which has at times been a big struggle. He entered the game with the most blown saves in the major leagues with five, and he was forced to tack on another after Will Benson’s pinch-hit home run in the ninth tied the game at 3. Benson is hitting just .179 with two home runs on the season after his clutch blast.
However, the Reds still had to keep the Royals off the board in the 10th with a runner in scoring position. Cincinnati’s bullpen struggles have been apparent over the last week, but Terry Francona gave the ball to left-handed reliever Brock Burke.
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Burke yielded a ground ball to first base, moving Carter Jensen to third. With one out, Burke walked Nick Loftin, setting up the double play opportunity. Caglianone popped up to shortstop, and then Burke recorded a massive strikeout of Kyle Isbel to end the inning, giving the Reds a great chance to win it in the 10th.
With one out in the 10th inning, Reds outfielder Blake Dunn stayed on an offspeed pitch, lining it over the second baseman’s head. Royals outfielder Jac Caglianone’s throw beat Dunn to the plate but was up the line, allowing Spencer Steer to score and giving Cincinnati a 4-3 win.
Dunn’s walk-off single was the fourth hit of the game for Cincinnati. The Reds are now 31-29 and seven games back of first place in the NL Central. They are just 1.5 games behind the second-place Pittsburgh Pirates.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source sports.yahoo.com ’
