Reds still finding rhythm at end of first series

CINCINNATI -- The Reds were in all three games of their first series against the Giants but only came away with one victory. At times, it felt like a few of their 2024 shortcomings drifted into ‘25 -- especially at inopportune times.

Here are some takeaways after Sunday's 6-3 loss to San Francisco at Great American Ball Park.

The offense is still finding a rhythm

Cincinnati's lineup is shorthanded with Tyler Stephenson (left oblique strain) and Austin Hays (left calf strain) on the injured list and Spencer Steer not at full strength as he works back from a right shoulder injury. The lack of firepower has shown as the club scored 10 runs in the three games.

“Obviously, when we get Stevo and Haysie back and Spence fully healthy, all those things are going to help," left fielder Gavin Lux said. "But at the same time, I think we took really good at-bats and competitive at-bats against a really good staff.”

On Thursday, the Reds couldn’t add on after an early 3-0 lead and scored a fourth run only after the Giants rallied ahead in the top of the ninth inning for a 6-4 Cincinnati loss. On Saturday, it was a 3-2 Reds win with some stellar pitching and defense that helped hold it together. As for Sunday, Giants starter Robbie Ray was perfect through five innings until Lux hit a leadoff single in the sixth.

That opened the door for Austin Wynns to hit a two-run homer to left field with one out, followed by Matt McLain's second homer in two games. The only other inning with a Reds hit on Sunday was Blake Dunn's eighth-inning single.

Windy conditions didn't help as some hard-hit balls by Elly De La Cruz, McLain and Lux were held up from clearing the fences.

“Probably any other day, we hit four home runs," Lux said. "That’s baseball. At the same time, honestly, I think we took good at-bats the whole series. Maybe there were a couple too short where we could have given them a battle with two strikes and worked a count."

Mistakes hurt

De La Cruz led the Majors with 29 errors last season, many on routine plays. On Sunday, Cincinnati trailed, 4-3, in the eighth when Tyler Fitzgerald hit a routine grounder to shortstop. De La Cruz's throw to first base went into the dirt, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand couldn't scoop it.

The error led to a pair of unearned runs against reliever Taylor Rogers that effectively put the game away.

“Elly rushed it a little bit, and [it’s] probably a pickable ball that doesn’t get picked," Reds manager Terry Francona said.

During a Reds rally with runners on second and third base with one out in the bottom of the eighth, bad baserunning took them out of an inning. Santiago Espinal hit a grounder to third baseman Matt Chapman. Although the ball was in front of Jacob Hurtubise running from second base, he tried to advance anyway and ran out of the baseline to avoid Chapman's tag, getting called out. Chapman threw out Espinal at first base for the inning-ending double play that killed the rally.

“We’ve got human beings. Every time they make an error, we’re not going to scream at them," Francona said. "When they make a baserunning mistake, we address it and talk to them and tell them why, so we try not to do it again.”

Martinez strong early before rough sixth

Reds starter Nick Martinez matched Ray for dueling perfect games going through four innings. San Francisco was the first to break through in the fifth inning when Heliot Ramos hit a 1-1 pitch for a one-out home run to left field.

The Giants expanded their lead with three more runs in the top of the sixth inning. With two outs, Jung Hoo Lee hit an RBI double, and Chapman made it 4-0 with a two-run homer to left field.

“I felt good pretty much all day. Good until it wasn’t," said Martinez, who threw 83 pitches (54 strikes). “I didn’t execute my pitch to Chapman, and he capitalized. I was trying to execute a fastball up and in and didn’t get it there. Left it thigh-high right where he likes it, and he punished it.”

Martinez finished with four earned runs allowed on four hits and one walk over six innings with five strikeouts.