OAKLAND – After a five-game winning streak that was propelled by clutch hitting at the end of games, the Cincinnati Reds saw it come crashing down by their own mistakes Sunday.
After leaving two runners in scoring position in the top of the ninth inning, the Reds were handed a 5-4 walk-off loss to the Oakland Athletics when Esteury Ruiz lifted a slider from Alexis Díaz into left field for a game-winning RBI single .
It was the first time the A’s won in their last 10 home games.
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A’s infielder Jace Peterson opened the bottom of the ninth inning with a single to left field. The next batter, Kevin Smith, dropped a sacrifice bunt, but first baseman Matt Reynolds dropped the ball and everyone was safe. After Alexis Díaz replaced Derek Law on the mound, he threw a wild pitch when Ruiz attempted to lay down his own sacrifice bunt, moving runners to second and third with none out.
The Reds kept pitching to Ruiz, successfully winning a challenge when Ruiz was nearly hit by a pitch, before the six-pitch at-bat ended with a walk-off loss.
In the top of the ninth inning, the Reds had two runners in scoring position with no outs, but they couldn’t do anything with it. Jonathan India and Tyler Stephenson struck out against A’s reliever Zach Jackson and Henry Ramos ended the inning with a groundout.
After four wins in a five-game stretch with runs in their last at-bat, the Reds left 10 on base Sunday and hit 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position.
Nick Lodolo, who was hit around in his last two outings, gave up five hits and three runs in five innings. Jesús Aguilar crushed a two-run homer to left field in the first inning after Brent Rooker reached on a check-swing single with two outs. In the fourth inning, Rooker lifted a curveball down the left field line for a solo homer.
The Reds climbed back in the sixth inning. With two runners on base and two outs, TJ Friedl hit a dribbler that deflected off reliever Domingo Acevedo. After chasing the ball, Acevedo made the unwise decision to rush a throw to first base with the speedy Friedl running. The throw whipped past the first baseman and bounced out of play, allowing a run to score.
With the A’s leading by a run, they opted to intentionally walk Jake Fraley to load the bases. The decision backfired when Kevin Newman lined an opposite-field, two-run single to right field for a 4-3 lead.
Buck Farmer couldn’t protect the one-run advantage after giving up a leadoff single to Jace Peterson in the seventh inning. The A’s loaded the bases with a walk and an infield single before Rooker tied the score with a sacrifice fly.
Takeaways from the Reds’ series finale in Oakland
1. Nick Senzel worked on an adjustment with his batting stance at the end of last season, an attempt to hit for more power, but he didn’t have much of a chance to see how it looked in games because he broke his toe shortly afterwards.
After a stint on the injured list to start the season, Senzel is starting to see the results from his work that started last year. He hit a solo homer off Ken Waldichuk in the second inning, a ball that carried over the left field wall. Senzel has 10 hits and eight RBI in his last five games with two homers and a double.
2. The Reds love positional versatility and it showed with the way they reshuffled their defense in the sixth inning. After deploying Friedl and Fraley as pinch-hitters in a three-run rally in the top half of the inning, the Reds had a different player at every position except Henry Ramos in right field afterwards.
Senzel moved from center field to third base. Newman shifted from second base to shortstop. Tyler Stephenson went from first base to catcher. Matt Reynolds went from the left side of the infield at third base to the right side at first base. Friedl, Fraley and Jonathan India entered off the bench.
3. One of Lodolo’s primary issues in his last two starts, when he allowed 21 hits and 14 runs in his last 8 2/3 innings, was falling behind in counts. Struggling to throw first-pitch strikes, he was leaving pitches over the plate in too many hitters’ counts.
He was much better in that area Sunday, throwing a first-pitch strike to 17 of his 20 batters. He showed improved command with his fastball and curveball, although he did give up homers to Jesús Aguilar and Brent Rooker.
State of the day
The Athletics completed April with a 6-23 record, a Major League record for the most losses in April. The previous record was set by the Orioles, who went 1-22 in 1988. The 2022 Reds, by comparison, went 3-18 in April.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds lose to A’s: Alexis Diaz gives up walk-off hit to Esteury Ruiz