CINCINNATI -- When the margin is razor-thin, games like Sunday are going to happen.
The Padres had their chances to have a comfortable cushion heading into the bottom of the ninth of a one-run game at Great American Ball Park.
Instead, the Padres stranded 13 runners on base and went 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Instead of a multi-run lead it was 2-1.
Still, there was reason to think that margin was going to be good enough with the MLB leader in saves on the mound. Robert Suarez (2-4) had converted 23 of 25 chances this season, and the Padres were 37-2 when leading after eight innings this season.
Unfortunately, one bad break to start the frame put the pressure on and the inning unraveled from there as the Reds rallied for a 3-2 win over the Padres, who had a winning series on the road against a potential National League playoff contender slip through their hands.
Leading off against Suarez, Elly De La Cruz hit a spinning cue shot to Tyler Wade at third. The ball went into Wade’s glove but popped out for a soft single and the Reds’ rally had the spark they needed.
Wade was in the game at third in the ninth after shortstop Xander Bogaerts experienced what manager Mike Shildt termed “a pretty severe cramp” in the left quad. Jose Iglesias moved from third to short to take over for Bogaerts.
Till that point, Bogaerts stood as the star of the game with a solo home run to get the scoring underway in the fourth against Cincinnati starter Nick Lodolo and two doubles.
After De La Cruz, Austin Hays flew out to left. That would be the last out Suarez would record. Gavin Lux worked a walk and Spencer Steer, Friday’s offensive hero, lined a single to center to tie the game, as Jackson Merrill’s throw was just high, causing Elias Díaz to leap and come down late with the tag on De La Cruz for the tie game.
After a single from Jose Trevino loaded the bases, Will Benson singled to right on a 2-1 Suarez changeup and the Reds mobbed Benson while the Padres were left searching for answers.
“They were able to connect on the good pitches from my end,” Suarez said. “They just were able to connect, and had well executed at-bats.”
“We created a lot of traffic, [but] just couldn’t get the proverbial big hit, or hits to break it open,” said Shildt. “We had a lot of chances. And in contrast, they were 4-for-8 [with RISP]. They did their part, and did it right at the end, where it mattered. So that was pretty much the key to the game.”
Manny Machado went 0-for-4 with a walk Sunday as the DH, including a foul out to the catcher with the bases loaded to end the sixth, with the Padres leading 1-0.
“There's no frustration,” Machado said. “They won. It is what it is. They got one more than us. It’s simple, nothing to it, nothing to look at.
“There's nothing to worry about. Just keep playing baseball. It is what it is. We have our best guy out there. They made some hits. It is what it is. There’s nothing to be frustrated about. Could we have scored more runs? Yeah, absolutely. It's a game of baseball.”
Machado acknowledged the unlucky 13 stranded runners and the 0-fer with runners in scoring position.
“Sometimes you score, sometimes you don't,” Machado said. “I think we had great at-bats. We hit the ball hard, right? There's not much we can do if we leave people on base. I mean, that's just part of it. But are we disappointed? Yeah, we're disappointed that we lost. But it was a hard-fought game. We had our best guys out there.”
Iglesias beat out a fielder’s choice grounder to score the go-ahead run in the seventh after the Padres loaded the bases against reliever Lyon Richardson. One run was nice for the lead, but the Padres could’ve had so much more with one out.
“Bogey had a heckuva of a game today, hitting-wise offensively,” Machado said. “I mean, we did our things offensively. Iggy [Iglesias] beating out a ground ball to score a run. So sometimes you can't ask for the home run. It doesn't come out all the time, and we [have to] score runs like an infield fielder’s choice. So go back out tomorrow and continue to play our game.”
Bogaerts belted his fifth homer of the season, drilling an 83 mph curve from starter Nick Lodolo to the seats in left leading off the fourth. His second homer since May 14 staked starter Stephen Kolek to a 1-0 lead.
The Reds tied the game in the bottom of the sixth, chasing Kolek. The right-hander allowed a leadoff single to Benson and a two-out single to Matt McLain before being lifted for Adrian Morejon. De La Cruz grounded the first pitch from Morejon to left for a game-tying single.