ST. LOUIS – It has been a rough enough road for the Reds' bullpen thus far this season that the sheer law of averages made it likely that something would break in their direction sooner than later. And if it was going to break for anyone, it makes sense that it would be a reliever who has walked an incredibly difficult path to return to a Big League mound, but who has already reasserted himself as one of the Reds’ most reliable options.
It also makes sense that it wouldn’t be enough to hold on.
Tejay Antone executed a full Houdini on Saturday afternoon, turning a bases-loaded spot with no one out in the sixth inning into a harmless double play and grounder to short. Antone got out with a lead, but the Reds walked out with a 6-5 loss as they dropped the first two games of this series. Sam Moll surrendered a two-run home run to Lars Nootbaar to flip the game in the bottom of the eighth, accounting for the unfortunate outcome.
“Believe me, we’ve had our share of hiccups,” manager Terry Francona said. “I thought Antone came in and wiggled out of a really tough one. Sammy was pretty good, and he just hung a breaking ball right in his swing path.”
That inning came with no shortage of managerial levers to pull. After Nick Lodolo opened the bottom of the 6th inning by allowing a base hit to José Fermín, Bryan Torres reached on a throwing error by Eugenio Suárez at third base. Francona then went to the bullpen and summoned Antone, and the Cardinals did not initially counter with a pinch hitter for righty-hitting catcher Pedro Pagés.
The runners, however, executed a double steal on the first pitch of Pagés’ at bat, and with a 1-0 count, Cardinals' manager Oliver Marmol sent up Nootbaar as a pinch hitter. Francona then opted to walk Nootbaar intentionally, leaving the bases loaded with no one out and only a one-run lead. Lefty-swinging catcher Jimmy Crooks pinch hit for Victor Scott II, but grounded harmlessly into a 3-2-3 double play turned by Sal Stewart and P.J. Higgins. Masyn Winn’s grounder to short then formalized the impressive escape.
“I kept repeating the situation to myself, just so I was aware of what the situation was,” Antone explained. “After every time I throw a pitch, I just say the count to myself. It’s 1-2, 0-2, 2-2, whatever. I just think about throwing the best pitch I can, and I think if you throw really good pitches in and around the zone, you’re going to have good results.”
Antone’s appearance was his first at Busch Stadium since June 6, 2021, five years ago to the day. He’s dealt with a litany of arm injuries in the interim, including his second and third rounds of Tommy John surgery. He returned to the Reds' bullpen this season after brief stints in 2023 and '24 and made his first appearance of the season on May 6 in Chicago against the Cubs.
“Every once in a while, I have those [time] thoughts, but then you walk in these ballparks and they feel the exact same,” he said with a grin. “There’s definitely some cool reminiscing, but once the game gets started, I don’t really think about that.”
His escape with the bases loaded didn’t quite mirror that of Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien, but nonetheless the Reds had the sacks jammed with two out in the ninth and Rookie of the Year candidate Sal Stewart coming to the plate. Stewart challenged the call of O’Brien’s 1-0 offering and was successful, flipping the count fully to his advantage. At 3-1, the signal came down for ball four, and for a fleeting moment it appeared the Reds had tied the game. Cardinals catcher Jimmy Crooks signaled for his own challenge, and the clipped box at the top of the zone had Stewart reapplying his protective gear and climbing back in the batter’s box.
He grounded out harmlessly to second to end the game.
“We’re still getting used to that part of it where your game is literally hanging on an eighth of an inch or whatever,” said Francona. “I’m sure the fans love it. It’s not so great for my stomach.”
The result is harder to stomach still in the broader context of the Reds’ recent swoon, having lost three in a row, four of five, and seven of nine.
“Any time you lose a baseball game, nobody in here is happy,” Lodolo said. “But then what are you going to do? I think we have 100 games left. Not going to mail it in. Everyone’s going to show up here ready to go tomorrow.”