Michael Toglia smashed a grounder down the 1B line to plate Leo Balcazar in the Bottom of the 9th inning in Goodyear Ballpark on Tuesday afternoon, and doing so pushed the Cincinnati Reds to a 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals.
It marked the first win of Cactus League play for the Reds, who now sit 1-2 after a day off on Monday.
Here’s how things shook down:
The Good
Elly De La Cruz and Eugenio Suarez went back to back in the Bottom of the 5th inning, with each’s homer being their respective first of the spring.
Elly’s traveled 432 feet through the thin Arizona air.
No data from the Reds on Geno’s blast, but it sure sounded good.
Sal Stewart and Edwin Arroyo helped level the score in the Bottom of the 9th, as each singled (sandwiched around Balcazar’s single) with the latter scoring Sal from 3B. I have very high hopes for this trio this season.
Also, the Cincinnati bullpen looked a far cry better than their disastrous performance on Sunday, with the crew cobbling together five consecutive scoreless frames to finish the game, with the likes of Pierce Johnson and Sam Moll firing scoreless frames.
The Bad
Let’s preface it with this – Brandon Williamson returned to a mound in a competitive game, and that’s way more good than bad. If anything, I pulled him out for this section to highlight what went well for him despite the fact that he was tagged for a pair of ER on 3 hits in 2.0 IP.
He didn’t walk anyone, which kicks tail. He also struck out 4 in his pair of frames, and the stuff that’s reportedly looked so good early in camp definitely had its perks.
Williamson wasn’t bad, truly. The only thing that was ‘bad’ was that Jac Caglianone tagged him for a 460 foot moonshot, and that kinda stings.
The Ugly
Only that it ended, really. I suppose Andrew Abbott, who allowed 2 ER on a dinger in his second frame of the day, would’ve liked to have been a bit better, though he did look excellent in the Top of the 1st in his first inning of the season.
What’s Next
Nick Lodolo will start tomorrow as the Reds hit the road for Camelback Ranch to face the Chicago White Sox. First pitch is once again set for 3:05 PM ET, and it once again won’t be televised anywhere.
You’ll be able to follow along the Reds radio feed via 700 WLW, however.
