CINCINNATI – Derek Dietrich and the Reds appeared well on their way to having a laugher of a win vs. the Giants on Friday. But no one was laughing inside the clubhouse when the game ended with a 12-11 Cincinnati loss in 11 innings.
During a 3-for-4 night, Dietrich slugged a pair of three-run home runs in his first two at-bats for a career-high six RBIs as the Reds jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the third inning. But starting pitcher Sonny Gray and the bullpen couldn’t hold it.
“In our ballpark, you can put some runs on the board quickly. A lesson that we’ll continue to learn and it’s something to think about. You can never give up,” Dietrich said. “You have to give credit to the guys on that side over there. They could have easily put their heads down and crawled to the finish line. But they gave a good effort and our hats off to them. We’ve got to get that win for us.”
In the bottom of the first inning against pitcher Tyler Beede, the Reds notched a pair of two-out hits. Dietrich was in an 0-2 count when he lifted a Beede changeup an estimated 348 feet to right field for a three-run homer and 3-0 lead.
The Reds applied more pressure on Beede in the third inning when Nick Senzel reached with a one-out walk and Jesse Winker hit a double down the right-field line. Senzel scored on a fielder’s choice mishandled by shortstop Brandon Crawford.
That set up Dietrich, who clobbered a 1-0 fastball to right field for another three-run homer, that traveled 410 feet and gave the Reds a 7-0 lead.
It was Dietrich’s second two-homer game of the season and the fourth of his career. José Iglesias added a double and scored on Kyle Farmer’s RBI single for the eight-run lead.
“What a great game. That was fun to see. He’s been doing a good job all year,” Reds manager David Bell said of Dietrich, who started the game at second base.
Gray labored through a 33-pitch top of the fourth inning where San Francisco scored three runs. A four-run sixth against reliever Wandy Peralta narrowed the lead some more and a three-run top of the eighth against Michael Lorenzen and Amir Garrett made it a one-run game. Raisel Iglesias surrendered the tying run with two outs in the ninth on Stephen Vogt’s first-pitch homer to right field.
In the top of the 11th against Jared Hughes, Evan Longoria slugged a leadoff homer to left field.
The last time the Reds blew an eight-run lead and lost was on June 20, 2014, vs. Toronto. They also lost a game in which they scored over 11 runs last season, 13-12 vs. the Brewers on Aug. 29. Before that, they had lost two such games in the previous 33 seasons.
“They’re all tough, but sometimes they do feel worse,” Bell said. “Our guys in the bullpen have been doing such a great job. We finally score some runs and we’re not able to hold it. It happens. It’s a great test to bounce back from. This was a tough game to lose. A lot of good things happened, and we weren’t able to hold the lead.”
Ironically, the Reds' offense is ranked last in the Majors in hitting while the pitching staff came in leading the National League in ERA.
“We scored. We hit. It’s one of those days. Our pitching has been really good, especially out of the ‘pen,” Dietrich said. “We have put it out of our minds. There’s another game tomorrow. We still have a chance to win three more games and take the series. It starts again tomorrow. That’s how baseball works.”