Williamson twirls gem to keep Reds' rotation rolling after weekend sweep

MIAMI -- Brandon Williamson delivered a dominant performance on the mound, and the Cincinnati Reds’ pitching carried them to a 2-0 victory over the Miami Marlins at loanDepot park on Monday night.

Williamson (1-1) held the Marlins to three hits over 6 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out four and walking just one. The Reds left-hander retired nine of the final 11 batters he faced.

The left-hander relied mostly on the changeup and cutter, throwing 93 pitches with 59 strikes.

Cincinnati’s first run came courtesy of a Sal Stewart single, driving in Elly De La Cruz as the go-ahead run in the fourth. The Reds added an insurance run with Tyler Stephenson hitting a home run to left field in the top of the eighth.

The victory keeps the Reds unbeaten in close games this season. Cincinnati has now improved to 7-0 in games decided by two runs or fewer, highlighting the early-season effectiveness of a pitching staff that entered Monday with a 3.25 ERA, fifth best in the Majors behind the Braves, Yankees, Mets and Mariners.

Williamson's gem lowered the Reds' starting pitchers' ERA to 3.00, coming on the heels of Rhett Lowder's scoreless six-inning start on Saturday and Chase Burns allowing just one run in six frames on Sunday. This marks the first time Cincinnati has had three starters combine for at least 18 2/3 innings and one or fewer earned runs over a three-game span since Hunter Greene (seven scoreless frames), Graham Ashcraft (one run in 4 2/3 innings) and Andrew Abbott (seven scoreless) did so July 6-8, 2024, per the Elias Sports Bureau.