It’s not even March, but today’s game is an example of why I couldn’t fully buy in on this Red Sox roster. Starting pitching is great, but when the offense can’t support it, you’re always in danger of one swing changing the game. Connelly Early pitched well, although it wasn’t a dominant performance, but his offense only gave him two runs of support. A single and a walk later, and the go-ahead run was at the plate for Cincinnati. Greg Weissert left a pitch over the plate, and the Reds had a lead in the sixth inning.
The Red Sox threatened in the eighth inning, but Jarren Duran was picked off to give away an out. Andruw Monasterio doubled in the ninth inning, but Ceddanne Rafaela and Trevor Story couldn’t get him home. Timely hitting comes and goes throughout a 162-game season, but it’s fair to wonder if the offense isn’t good enough after a slow start. For the record, I think they’ll be better, but hitting with runners in scoring position has been a problem to this (incredibly early) point.
Back to Early. 5.1 innings of one-run baseball is great. At the same time, he wasn’t as sharp as he was at the end of last season. His four-seam fastball caught a lot of the strike zone and generated just two whiffs on 37 pitches. He did a good job of jumping ahead of hitters, but had a hard time putting them away. Reds hitters fouled off nine two-strike pitches, forcing Early to work hard for outs. His curveball, in particular, was fouled off several times and didn’t return a swing and miss. It’s a good start to build off of for Early, but better two-strike execution and fastball command will help him get deeper into games.
The Reds held on to win the game and the series by a run and a game. We’ll travel to Houston for a three-game set with the Astros on Monday.
Wilyer Abreu (3-4, HR, 2B)
Abreu continues to swing a hot bat. He went yard again in the fourth inning after fouling off nine pitches. He also doubled to the opposite field off a lefty later in the game, and singled to continue a rally in the eighth inning. He’s seeing the ball really well right now.
Jovani Moran (2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 ER)
Moran handled the seventh and eighth innings, keeping the deficit at one. His command wasn’t sharp, but his fastball shape is going to miss bats, and the changeup has always been a good pitch for him. Nice start to the season for the lefty.
How about Connor Wong? He singled early in the game, and then stuck his bat out at a ball off the plate that somehow flew to the warning track for a double. It’s nice to see him get a couple of early hits and start his numbers off without being anchored by a frigid streak. Decent day for Wong.
Greg Weissert (0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 ER)
Weissert came in in relief of Connelly Early with a runner on and one out. He walked Sal Stewart on five pitches, and then got ahead of Eugenio Suarez 0-2. He tried to elevate a four-seam to punch Suarez out, but channeled his inner Italian, throwing a meatball directly in the turbo zone. Suarez hit the ball almost to Italy to put the Reds in front in the sixth inning.
Side note: I saw a lot of “what was Weissert thinking?” in response to him throwing that pitch. I’m sure he was thinking, “I’m going to throw this above the zone”, not “I’m going to throw this in the perfect spot for him to hit it 500 feet.”
Tony Santillan pitched on Saturday and walked two of the five hitters he faced. He walked Jarren Duran, and then went down 3-0 to Willson Contreras. Given those two facts, you absolutely cannot be picked off of first base representing the tying run in the eighth inning. Credit to Santillan, it was a good move, but Duran can’t let it happen.
Durbin is now 0-12 with three strikeouts to begin the season. He was acquired in part because he doesn’t strike out frequently, but struck out in a huge spot late in Sunday’s game. Let’s hope he picks it up offensively soon.
