Pagán wins key 14-pitch battle, blesses Reds with win on Pope Hat night in Chicago

CHICAGO -- On a night when 38,113 fans filled Rate Field wearing papal-style hats, Emilio Pagán -- whose name offered its own apparent irony -- supplied the final and most important blessing for Cincinnati.

Just don’t mispronounce it.

“It’s Pagán,” he joked. “Don’t forget the accent.”

Pagán tried the top of the zone. Sam Antonacci fouled it away.

He went down and in. Antonacci fought that off, too. Pagán showed him a splitter beyond the plate, but Antonacci refused to chase. Fourteen pitches into the defining confrontation of Tuesday night, Pagán had seemingly emptied his arsenal. Almost.

One location remained.

Pagán fired a 95.6 mph four-seam fastball up and in. Antonacci finally missed, foul-tipping it into Tyler Stephenson’s mitt for strike three and allowing Pagán to release a roar that had been building through nine foul balls and seven consecutive full-count offerings.

“This is so much fun,” Pagán remembered thinking. “Just super high competition, intense moment. I’ve dreamed about being in spots like that since I was a kid.”

The dream ended happily. Pagán followed the remarkable strikeout with two quick popouts, stranding Chicago’s automatic runner at second and sealing the Reds’ improbable 5-4, 10-inning comeback win over the White Sox at Rate Field.

For six innings, as manager Terry Francona put it, there was little for Cincinnati to savor. But after losing three straight in Washington, the Reds climbed off the mat, erased a three-run deficit in the eighth and finally took their first lead on Elly De La Cruz’s sacrifice fly in the 10th.

Then came Pagán’s battle with the tying run at second, meaning any ball in play could alter the inning. Instead, Pagán kept attacking in a game Cincinnati badly needed.

Ten of his 14 pitches were four-seam fastballs. Six of his final seven were heaters, including the last three. Antonacci fouled off nine pitches overall, yet Pagán never interpreted the stubborn resistance as a reason for frustration.

“Never,” Pagán said. “I threw some really good pitches up and away, which is kind of my go-to whiff pitch. Got the breaking ball in on him, he fouled that off too. Laid off a split off the plate. I kind of threw him everything I had.”

Everything except one final fastball up and in. Pagán saved the best for last and executed it perfectly.

Francona’s nerves endured every foul ball, but he knew his closer viewed the tension differently.

“The kid had a great at-bat,” Francona said. “Give that kid a ton of credit, but I would also say give Pagán a ton of credit. The saving grace for me is I know Pagán was loving every minute of it.”

The Reds needed that mentality after Sean Burke overwhelmed them for seven innings. Cincinnati managed three hits against the White Sox starter, with Eugenio Suárez’s fifth-inning solo homer providing its only run. Burke struck out eight without issuing a walk.

Once Burke departed, the game changed instantly. Matt McLain, Michael Toglia and De La Cruz opened the eighth with consecutive singles, with De La Cruz driving in McLain. Sal Stewart advanced both runners with a flyout, JJ Bleday walked and Stephenson lined a two-run single to right. De La Cruz dove home from second with the tying run.

McLain began the 10th at second, advanced on Toglia’s deep flyout and scored on another from De La Cruz. Cincinnati had its first lead. Pagán made sure it kept it.

“You just keep playing,” Francona said. “We just came off a series where we didn’t. So you keep playing because later they make you go home. Sometimes some good things happen.”

The rally also rescued Nick Lodolo in his first start since July 11. Activated from the injured list after another left index finger blister, Lodolo surrendered three solo homers and four runs across four innings. Still, he struck out five without a walk and found encouraging results with the adjusted breaking-ball grip designed to curb the recurring blister problem.

“I thought he threw the ball really well,” Francona said. “He made a couple mistakes and paid for it, but his breaking ball was good. He didn’t walk anybody. He threw strikes. I thought he was crisp.”

Lodolo was less satisfied with fastball command but called the breaking pitch “definitely something to go off.” He was far more emphatic about Pagán.

“That was nuts,” Lodolo said. “He wasn’t even just throwing strikes; he was throwing really good pitches.”