After perfect start, Reds' bullpen struggles to hold 5-run lead

PITTSBURGH – The Reds have found themselves in desperate need of a break falling their way.

In Friday night’s 6-5 loss to the Pirates at PNC Park, Cincinnati got the tying run 90 feet away from home in both the eighth and ninth innings, but the team came up short once again.

Through the first four innings, Friday night’s bullpen game was going about as well as skipper David Bell could have hoped. The combination of three Reds relievers retired the first 12 Pirates batters of the game in a row, and Cincinnati’s lineup struck for five runs during that span.

But that’s when things started to unravel on the mound -- and boy, did the game unravel quickly.

Managing with a five-run lead after four innings, Bell called upon newly called-up bullpen arm Alan Busenitz in the bottom of the fifth. After Joey Bart tallied Pittsburgh’s first hit of the game with a bloop single to lead off the frame, Bryan De La Cruz, Billy McKinney, Jared Triolo and Isiah Kiner-Falefa all recorded RBIs as the Pirates struck for four runs. Facing Justin Wilson an inning later, the Bucs picked up right where they left off when Oneil Cruz led off with a double before Bart singled him home and later scored on De La Cruz’s go-ahead sacrifice fly.

Just like that, the Reds saw their five-run lead evaporate, and they were unable to take back the momentum.

“It hurts, especially coming out early with the lead,” said Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson, who extended his hitting streak to eight games with a home run to center field in the first inning.

The loss epitomized the last couple of weeks for Cincinnati. On Friday afternoon, the team announced that starting pitcher Andrew Abbott was headed to the 15-day injured list, joining Graham Ashcraft (right elbow strain) and ace Hunter Greene (right elbow soreness) as Reds starting pitchers forced out with injuries since July at the most important juncture of the season.

It forced Bell to call upon right-hander Buck Farmer, who made a start for the first time since 2019 as a member of the Tigers. Farmer did an admirable job keeping Pittsburgh at bay early on, but the lack of depth eventually caught up to Cincinnati.

“I asked him last night or let him know what I was thinking, [and he had an] incredible attitude. … He was ready,” Bell said. “He gave everything he had to start the game out and then the bullpen gave everything they had the whole game.”

Cincinnati’s backstop agreed.

“I felt like the pitchers did a great job tonight,” Stephenson said. “They just had enough hits fall in some timely situations. I thought they did a good job executing pitches and getting weak contact. It’s just sometimes how the game [goes]. You can be on one side or the other, and just hate being on this side of it, especially after going up five to nothing.”

Stephenson, who has battled his fair share of injuries throughout his five-year career, said that these injuries, while unfortunate, will create opportunities for younger players to make an impact.

“Injuries are a part of this game and they suck,” Stephenson said. “I’ve been on that bug. I’ve been on it before, and yeah it hurts to lose some key pieces to this team, but its opportunities for new guys to step up and for us to do well. We’ve just got to keep playing [since] we know these guys will be back soon. We’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing.”

Cincinnati is currently 7 1/2 games back of the final National League Wild Card spot, and the door to make a late-season playoff push is rapidly closing. If the Reds want to close a seemingly insurmountable gap, some opportunities, like in Friday’s loss, will need to start going their way.

“There’s only one way to handle it and to approach it,” Bell said. “Just like our team always does: [They] played hard -- if anything, trying a little bit too hard, and I don't blame them. We can live with that. Just continue to play hard, give absolutely everything you can and then find ways to get it done. That’s what this is all about.”