CINCINNATI – Despite the defensive miscues behind him, Spencer Arrighetti blamed only himself for being unable to limit the damage during a three-run fifth inning that led to a 3-1 loss to the Reds on Saturday at Great American Ball Park.
“I really like keeping runs off the board,” Arrighetti said. “Got away from me a little bit in the fifth inning. Obviously, I think I could have made some better pitches to get myself out of it. At the end of the day, I’m only mad at myself. We’re a team. My job is to pick those guys up.”
Things began to unravel for Arrighetti in the fifth when right fielder Cam Smith dropped a routine fly ball to load the bases.
Following Smith’s error, Matt McLain singled to drive in two runs and give Cincinnati a 2-1 lead. Left fielder Zach Cole was charged with a throwing error on the play.
“Cam Smith is one of the best defenders in the game,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “It happens to the best of them. We had chances to get out of that inning. We just have to pick each other up.”
A walk to TJ Friedl loaded the bases with two outs, and Elly De La Cruz drove in a run with a single to make the score 3-1. McLain was thrown out at the plate by Cole to end the inning.
“The changeup to Elly, I had it in my scouting report that it was a really good pitch to him,” Arrighetti said. “I really believed in the pitches I was throwing.”
Arrighetti (4-1) has every reason to trust his stuff. His ERA through five starts dropped to 1.88 on Saturday after being charged with just one earned run. In each of his five starts, he has pitched five or more innings and allowed two earned runs or fewer.
Arrighetti began the year in Triple-A and joined the club when it moved to a six-man rotation. He came into Saturday’s start averaging 5.48 walks per nine innings, which is the only blemish on his performances. He walked three on Saturday.
“He's pitching ahead. He's creating swing-and-miss with his ability of staying ahead in the count, his stuff, he's been really good,” Espada said. “He's competing. He's working fast.”
Great American Ball Park has been a bit of a house of horrors for Arrighetti, who allowed a career-high nine runs in two-thirds of an inning in his last outing there, a 12-5 loss on Sept. 4, 2024.
As for the dropped fly ball, Smith said he rushed the catch to quickly throw behind the runner at second base.
“I tried to rush that and do one of those spin plays off the catch and throw to second base,” Smith said. “It’s unacceptable. Kind of took the ball out of Spencer’s hand, and I completely take the blame for that.”
Arrighetti rolled through the first four innings, allowing only one hit with four strikeouts.
“Feel like I’m throwing really quality pitches in quality locations, getting early outs, getting guys to swing and miss,” Arrighetti said. “Can’t be too upset with the first four [innings].”
Braden Shewmake’s solo home run off Reds right-hander Chase Burns in the fifth put the Astros ahead, 1-0. It was his third home run of the season.
The Astros didn’t have many other scoring chances on Saturday.
Yordan Alvarez doubled to begin the sixth, but he was stranded. Jose Altuve’s drive to the wall in center was caught by Dane Myers in the eighth. Myers also made a running grab of Christian Walker’s line drive to the wall in the ninth.
“Baseball is a game of luck,” Arrighetti said. “I’ve been getting pretty lucky before this one. I just have to be better when the things that I can’t control do go wrong around me. Stuff happens. I just have to be better and get myself out of it.”