The Cincinnati Reds managed only one hit in nine innings Thursday afternoon. And that includes two bench-clearing squabbles.
Landon Roupp struck out six Reds in six one-hit innings and a trio of relievers allowed just one baserunner in the San Francisco Giants’ 3-0 win over the Reds. Jung Hoo lee went 3-for-4 and delivered an RBI single in the Giants’ three-run 7th inning, when all the game’s offensive fireworks happened.
The other fireworks were slowly simmering as Roupp didn’t just star a new win
streak after the Giants’ four-game skid. He started a beanball war.
One night after Spencer Steer annoyed JT Brubaker with a late timeout, then had some profane advice about throwing the friggin’ ball, Roupp nailed Steer with the first pitch he saw. It was Roupp’s lone four-seam fastball of the game and it hit Steer directly in the back.
Roupp also hit TJ Friedl in the 6th inning, but that was with a changeup on the sixth pitch of hit at-bat, with a runner on. It doesn’t appear that Friedl shouted a single curse word at the Giants during a rules dispute, either.
But the Reds finally took revenge, as predicted by Reds broadcaster and former unreliable Giants closer Jeff Brantley, who suggested that Willy Adames armor up before his next at-bat.
Brantley was right, though Reds manager Terry Francona waited until there were two outs and no one on in the 8th to order the Code Red. Connor Phillips missed Adames with his first fastball, but his second attempt hit the target, and the umpires immediately ejected Phillips. The Giants got payback, the Reds got payback, and the excitement had peaked with the benches and bullpens *almost* clearing.
Until the 9th inning, when Erik Miller struck out Tuesday’s hero, Sal Stewart, to earn his first career save. It looked like Stewart took issue with Miller’s relatively mild celebration, then Miller did his best Spencer Steer imitation, shouting expletives and suggesting Stewart should sit down. No one was sitting, benches cleared, and because this was a baseball fight, a lot of necklaces dangled, seeds sprayed all over the place, and not a single punch was thrown.
The drama overshadowed a remarkably strong performance by the Giants pitchers. The Reds got six baserunners all game, and two were erased on double plays. Miller walked Matt McLain in the 9th with one out, but struck out De La Cruz and Stewart to end it. Thankfully, McLain had taken second on fielder’s indifference, so he was far away from the almost-violence near home plate.
Reds starter Chase Burns matched Roupp with four strikeouts in six shoutout innings of his own, facing the minimum thanks to a caught stealing and two inning-ending double plays. But Burns was starting only his 13th career game, and the 23-year-old got pulled after 87 pitches.
That was gift to the struggling Giants offense, which had managed only two hits off Burns. Lefty Brock Burke (1-1) reached on a De La Cruz error. After two strikeouts, Matt Chapman delivered an RBI double off the wall in left-center.
Lee worked his way back from an 0-2 count that included an automatic strike to flip a single to left to score Chapman. In your face, pitch clock! (Tony Vitello is going to have Logan Webb bean the pitch clock tomorrow.)
Pinch-hitting for the second straight game, Heliot Ramos worked a six-pitch walk off of Phillips before
Defensive-specialist-turned-everyday-designated-hitter Casey Schmidt wrapped up the scoring with another RBI single to score Lee, as Ramos took third in some aggressive, unwise, and ultimately successful baserunning.
It’s hard to say that the beanball woke up the Giants, since it took them another 90 minutes to get a runner past first base. But it may have thrown off the Reds hitters, who were matching the Giants relievers scowl for scowl and “You want a piece of me?” for “Let’s go, bitch!” After six homers in the first two games off the series, Cincinnati didn’t have an extra-base hit Thursday.
The biggest topic after the game was the Giants’ catcher position. After Patrick Bailey struck out twice and grounded into a double play, he’s now hitting .128 on the season. After the game, Vitello suggested the Giants would try to involve Daniel Susac “as much as possible. See if we get into an every other day situation or whatever that might be.”
However, Bailey did just catch a combined one-hit shutout, featuring three relievers. He successful challenged two calls in the 9th, stealing two extra strikes for Miller, as Bailey’s eye is even more accurate than the ABS system. At least when he’s catching.
The brawling Giants will swagger on the the nation’s capital where they’ll wrap up their 10-day road trip with the 9-10 Washington Nationals, facing old friend Zack Littell Friday night, as he shows he’s more than just an opener with an amazing beard.
Can the Giants salvage the road trip and win the series in D.C.? Let’s say they’ve got a puncher’s chance.
