Inability to score in extras spoils bullpen's stellar night

CINCINNATI -- Chase Anderson made his Reds debut as their starting pitcher on Monday, so the last thing the right-hander expected was to be needed again so soon to work in relief. But that was an example of what a wild night it was Wednesday at Great American Ball Park.

Deadlocked after 12 innings and out of available relievers vs. the Cardinals, the Reds had to send Anderson out of the dugout and into the bullpen to warm up. A stellar night for the club’s relievers finally gave way in the top of the 13th inning, as Anderson yielded Albert Pujols’ sacrifice fly for the go-ahead run and Lars Nootbaar’s two-run home run for a 5-3 loss to end the series.

“Yeah, you’re hoping we put one across and win this game in the ninth or in the 10th. It wasn’t the situation,” Anderson said. “I had to come in the game. I just didn’t get the job done. You have to go out there and get the job done when your name is called.”

The four-hour, 48-minute game was a nail-biter throughout, as both teams had numerous chances to win it. St. Louis finished 0-for-17 with runners in scoring position as Cincinnati's bullpen had a stellar night.

“It’s frustrating. I think it’s frustrating for both sides,” said Reds third baseman Kyle Farmer, who was 0-for-6. “Me and [Paul] Goldschmidt were just laughing when he had to go run at second base. We were just like, ‘What are we doing?’ That’s just baseball.”

Cincinnati had opportunities to win the game in each of the final five innings. Particularly painful were the 11th and 12th frames.

“Not much to say about it,” Farmer said. “We had guys in scoring position and couldn’t get them in. I was part of that. We didn’t have timely hitting.”

In the 11th when it was 2-2, the Reds had runners on the corners and no outs, but they couldn’t hit a ball out of the infield. On Jake Fraley’s grounder up the middle, shortstop Tommy Edman fired to Yadier Molina at the plate to catch Colin Moran trying to score. The call was challenged, but the replay review told umpires that the decision stands.

Farmer led off the 12th and sacrifice bunted automatic runner Austin Romine to third base. Manager David Bell rarely employs such tactics.

“Clearly you get a runner on third and you’re in a much better situation,” Bell said. "You’re considering where you are in the lineup, who they have in the bullpen. Trying to stay out of it and trust your best players. It didn’t lead to a win.”

Once again, no baseballs left the infield. Alejo Lopez grounded to Edman, who threw to catcher Andrew Knizner, who pinch-ran for automatic runner Molina in the 12th, to get Romine at the plate. The tag hit Romine in the face and eye, and he walked off the field with a trainer. Cincinnati, which was out of position players, almost needed Farmer to step in as its emergency catcher, but Romine stayed in the game.

Both Romine and Moran are among the slowest runners on the Reds.

“It’s a reminder of players making plays,” Bell said. “So close. We thought we had it. It was definitely emotional. To their credit, infield in, ground balls where it took perfect plays to keep the game alive. That’s what they did.”

Until the top of the 13th, the Reds had thrown 12 1/3 scoreless innings of relief since Tuesday -- including a stretch of 7 1/3 innings in the loss. Among the nine pitchers used, lefty Reiver Sanmartin was most impressive during his scoreless 10th and 11th innings.

In the 10th, Sanmartin escaped with Nolan Arenado hitting into an inning-ending double play to strand the automatic runner. He left runners on the corners stranded in the 11th.

“Sanmartin throwing two innings tonight was incredible. He went through the heart of their order with a runner in scoring position and they didn’t show anything for it,” Farmer said. “I really wanted to win that game for him, because he deserved that and he pitched really well.”

Anderson, a reliever who was signed Saturday and was immediately plugged into a depleted rotation, was told to be prepared once the Reds had one reliever left. Joel Kuhnel was not available after pitching three of the past four days, including the previous two.

Anderson, who pitched 1 1/3 innings on Monday, is scheduled to start on Sunday. Luis Cessa, who is scheduled to start the next game on Friday, was warming up in case the Reds forced a 14th inning.

“We gave them everything we had to win that game,” Bell said. “It’s unfortunate either team had to lose.”