Reds miss late chances, drop finale

PHILADELPHIA -- For a few moments, it looked like Scooter Gennett was going to give the Reds the lead.
Gennett crushed a deep fly ball to center field in the 10th inning, but it never made it over the fence. Phillies outfielder Odúbel Herrera made a spectacular leaping grab, robbing Gennett of a home run and continuing the Reds' 2018 misfortunes.
The Reds let a few late opportunities slip away as they were swept out of Philadelphia with a 4-3 loss in 12 innings Wednesday night. Phillies rookie Scott Kingery hit a walk-off sacrifice fly in an inning that began with a Gennett throwing error. The Reds are now 2-9 on the season and carry a four-game losing streak back to Cincinnati.
"For him to bring it back, that's just kind of the way the season has been going for us," Gennett said of Herrera's catch. "That one right there, it would've been nice to go over the fence and catch a break."
Gennett was also the reason the Reds forced extra innings. He led off the ninth with a double off the top of the left-field wall, missing a homer off Phillies closer Héctor Neris by inches. Gennett scored on a Phillip Ervin single, which gave the Reds two runners on with nobody out.

Tucker Barnhart, the Reds' last available position player, was used as a pinch-hitter and laid down a sacrifice bunt to move runners to second and third with one out. But they wouldn't get any further. Cliff Pennington and Billy Hamilton both struck against Neris, leaving the game tied, 3-3.
"In that situation, the onus is on the defense to make great pitches and great defensive plays. And they made the pitches they needed to do to get out of the inning," Reds manager Bryan Price said, explaining why he had Barnhart sacrifice bunt. "With the bunt, I got two shots. If Tucker hits into a double play, I only get one shot to get that guy in from third base.
"I wanted to get the heat on them, get the infield in and create a bigger field for our hitters to hit in. We just weren't able to get it done."
Gennett started the home half of the 12th inning with a throwing error that allowed Pedro Florimón to reach second base. Florimon scored two batters later when Kingery lifted a fly ball to right field.
Austin Brice took the loss, but the Reds' bullpen had six pitchers combine to throw 5 2/3 innings without giving up an earned run. Luis Castillo had his best start of the season for Cincinnati, going six innings. Castillo gave up five hits, but two of them were home runs from J.P. Crawford and César Hernández.

"Certainly a much more polished effort and certainly a nice rebound game from the first two starts," Price said of Castillo, who gave up 10 earned runs in his first 10 innings of the season.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Hamilton robs Hernandez: Hamilton robbed Hernandez of extra bases in the second inning. Hamilton made a leaping grab right in front of the center-field fence on a ball Hernandez hit 386 feet and had an 80 percent hit probability, according to Statcast™.

The catch ended the inning and came right after Castillo allowed a two-run homer to Crawford.
Peraza out at the plate:José Peraza tried to score from second on a Joey Votto single in the sixth inning. Trying to tie the game, Peraza was waived home with no outs in the frame. The throw from left fielder Kingery was at the plate before Peraza, who was tagged out by catcher Jorge Alfaro without sliding.

QUOTABLE
"They brought that fifth infielder in. They're looking for a double play right there. They have a sinker pitcher in there. First three pitches were down. I was just looking for something up, something I could just get deep enough in the outfield in the air where Flo could score." -- Kingery, on his walk-off. The Reds opted to bring Hamilton from center field to the infield for Kingery's at-bat
MITEL REPLAY OF THE DAY
Gennett hit a ball on top of the left-field wall to start the ninth inning. He cruised into second base for a double, but the Reds asked to review the play, thinking it could have been a home run. The call was confirmed.

WHAT'S NEXT
The Reds return home Thursday after a tough road trip through Pennsylvania. Right-hander Sal Romano (0-0, 5.73 ERA) will make the start in the opener of a four-game series against the Cardinals on Thursday night at 6:40 p.m ET.
Watch every out-of-market regular-season game live on MLB.TV.