CLEVELAND -- There’s a well-known rivalry between the Guardians and the Reds, even if Cleveland has retained the Ohio Cup for 10 consecutive years. It’s a perfect time for Guardians fans to break out their “Cincinnati is in Kentucky” punchlines, prompting playful banter on social media between the two fan bases.
Well, a bunt single by Reds outfielder TJ Friedl to break up a combined perfect game in the seventh inning only made it easier for Clevelanders to break out the jokes.
What started as a bullpen game to help the Guardians’ rotation get in order for the playoffs suddenly was on the verge of history. Andrew Walters (1 2/3 innings), Erik Sabrowski (1 1/3 innings), Cade Smith (one inning) and Eli Morgan (two innings) had combined to keep the Reds off the bases for the first six innings. That was until Friedl got to the plate to lead off the seventh.
The Guardians had just brought in lefty Tim Herrin to pitch. The left-handed Friedl knew his best chance to reach base was squaring to bunt. So he did just that and dragged the bunt down the first-base line, where Herrin fielded it, though he threw to first too late.
“That’s what I do, there’s no surprise,” Friedl said. “I’ve gotten a lot of bunt hits off lefties, and I’m playing the ballgame. It was a 2-0 game, and they had a perfect game. My job is to get on base for the guys behind me, and I did it all last year. That’s not going to change.”
There were boos from the stands at Progressive Field and Reds play-by-play announcer John Sadak answered the jeers: "Go ahead and boo, it's still a game, it's 2-0." Guardians manager Stephen Vogt agreed.
“It’s a 2-0 game,” Vogt said. “Yeah, there’s a perfect game on the line, but they’re trying to win a game. It’s a tough left-on-left matchup. … It’s a good baseball play. You can’t knock him for trying to get something going. Like I said, left-handed hitter trying to face Tim Herrin. He’s got to try to find a way to get on base.”
“He’s one of the best bunters in the league,” Reds interim manager Freddie Benavides said. “[Herrin’s] tough, so it was the perfect situation for him.”
Friedl moved to second on an errant pickoff throw, then he scored on an Elly De La Cruz single to also break up Cleveland's shutout attempt.
Friedl did admit that the fact that it was a combined perfect game in the making played a part in his decision.
“If it was a starter in the seventh inning, that’s a little different than a bullpen game with their fifth pitcher on the mound,” Friedl said. “I’m trying to win a ballgame, and for me to do that, I’ve got to try to get on base.”
It would have been the first combined perfect game in Major League history, but instead, it set the Guardians up to have José Ramírez be the hero with a go-ahead blast in the eighth inning. And it gave the rivalry between the two fan bases something new to jest about.