The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Jesse Winker did not lead off today, but he sure as heck did what Jesse Winker has become known for doing at the plate - getting on base, and getting on base often. The Cincinnati Reds LF had a 1 for 2 day that featured an opposite-field double that bounced over the wall, and he added a walk for good measure.

The kid should be in the lineup somehow, somewhere as often as physically possible in 2018. More days like today for him this spring will help make that more inevitable.

Honorable Mentions are due to: Rosell Herrera, who dingered for the second straight game; Alex Blandino, who doubled, scored twice, and turned a nifty double play (that was nearly a triple play); and Kyle Crockett, who fired a pair of scoreless innings with just a lone hit allowed (and 2 Ks).

Key Plays

The Reds wasted little time hitting the ball hard off Colorado starter Yency Almonte. Billy Hamilton lined out sharply to CF to begin things in the Bottom of the 1st, but Dilson Herrera followed with a sharp single and moved to 3B when Winker poked a ground-rule double over the LF wall. Devin Mesoraco then plated Herrera with a laser to CF that was caught deep enough to allow the runner to tag, and the Reds led early, 1-0.

Colorado got that back in the Top of the 2nd, though, with some help from the Reds. A 2-out double blooped into LF by Jordan Patterson got things rolling, and he scored a batter later when Tom Murphy struckout swinging - the wild pitch got away from Devin Mesoraco, and his attempt to throw out Murphy at 1B went wide for an error to bring in the run. Game tied, 1-1.

Nolan Arenado is a very good baseball player. He very good baseball playered a massive, massive solo homer off Cody Reed in the Top of the 3rd on an 0-2 count, which was rather unfortunate. Reds trailed, 2-1.

Ryan McMahon and Patterson greeted Reed with a single-double combo in the Top of the 4th, and they both later scored on Brian Mundell’s single into CF. Shawn O’Malley then replaced Mundell on base after a force-out slash failed double-play, and O’Malley then scored on Raimel Tapia’s double. While that’s frustrating, it’s even more frustrating when you factor in that each of McMahon, Patterson, and Tapia were lefties hitting off the lefty Reed. Reds trailed, 5-1.

Dylan Floro took over for the Top of the 5th, walked a pair of hitters, and allowed a run-scoring single to Patterson into CF (that got past Phil Ervin). Welcome to the Reds, Dylan. Reds trailed, 6-1.

Bad defense and a jam-shot single up the middle off Ariel Hernandez in the Top of the 7th brought in a pair of Rockies you’ve never heard of, and the Reds trailed 8-1. Another error, a walk by Hernandez, and an RBI single into CF later, and the Reds were down 9-1 with zero outs still recorded in the inning. Dear god it’s still going...the 7th inning...it will not end...it’s 11-1...

Blandino’s double came in the Bottom of the 7th after a nine-hour top of the inning, and he eventually scored on Rosell Herrera’s productive groundout to short. Reds trailed, 11-2.

Zack Weiss struck out Anthony Bemboom in the Top of the 9th, which is cool both because Zack Weiss is quite good and because typing ‘Bemboom’ will never not be fun. The Reds then got Blandino to 2B on a botched attempt at a fly ball catch in the OF by the Rockies in the Bottom of the 9th, and he scored when Rosell Herrera followed with a 2-run dinger. That, though, mercifully ended things, and the Reds lost 11-4.

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Other Notes