For a brief moment in the bottom of the first, it looked like we might have something brewing. Taylor Ward ripped an RBI double to cut Cincinnati’s early lead in half and the crowd had a reason to perk up. (Ward has an OPS+ of 122 this year) Unfortunately, that was about as lively as the offense would get all night.
The Reds jumped ahead quickly thanks to Gavin Lux, who launched a two-run homer in the first inning that set the tone. They didn’t need fireworks the rest of the way just some well-placed small ball. Ke’Bryan Hayes added a sac fly in the fifth, and later McLain tacked on another with a sac fly in the eighth.
Mederos struggled to settle in after Lux’s blast. Singer kept things under control on the other side scattering our baserunners and making sure Ward’s early RBI stood alone. We had a couple of chances doubles from Neto and Schanuel teased some life but each time the rally fizzled out faster than a beach ball on the Angel Stadium warning track.
Just couldn’t get anything going in this one. Aside from a lone RBI from Taylor Ward earlier, the bats stayed quiet against Cincinnati’s pitching and every small chance with runners on fizzled out. Meanwhile the Reds scraped together just enough with timely hits and a late insurance run to keep the Halos at arm’s length. It wasn’t a game full of fireworks and it certainly won’t go down as a highlight reel, but it’s one the Angels will want to quickly move past as they try to find some consistency heading deeper into this homestand. 4-1 Reds.
