A good night for catching baseballs in the LF bleachers!
Sitting 10 games under the .500 mark and 8.5 games out of 1st place in the National League Central basement, the Cincinnati Reds entered GABP on Friday night with a daunting task. Across the diamond sat the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers, and the club was staring directly at what could be their 10th consecutive series without a victory.
Nevertheless, the Reds swatted right on.
Cincinnati blasted a trio of dingers on the night capped by Jonathan India’s grand slam, and the whole of their work resulted in a resounding 9-6 win over their former NL West foes in the series opener. Spencer Steer backed India with a 3-run tater of his own, while Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game Stuart Fairchild smashed a solo shot as part of an incredible all-around game that saw him go 1 for 3 with 2 R, 2 BB, and two separate amazing, leaping catches at the wall in CF.
Was this game enough to flush the entirety of the bad vibes seen so far during this dismal season? Absolutely not.
Was this game enough to flush at least the most recent memories of their foibles, their decisions, and their brutal play of the end of the San Diego series? Probably.
Can they turn this into something more than just a flash in the pan? Improbable, but not impossible.
Every season that has ever been turned around has a pretty key inflection point, and there’s a chance tonight, at home, against a powerhouse Dodgers club, the Reds may have drawn their line in the sand and simply said no more shall we suck offensively. We’ll find out tomorrow at 7:15 PM ET when the Reds face off against Lexington, Kentucky’s own Walker Buehler.
Here’s to the start of something beautiful.
