Comeback effort falls 'inches' short as Reds drop opener

CINCINNATI -- In a literal game of inches, the Reds came up an inch short Friday night in a raucous opening to their 10-game homestand.

With the crowd of 40,663 sensing a comeback, Tigers third baseman Matt Vierling made the play of the game, fielding a Tyler Stephenson grounder on a drawn-in infield and firing a strike to catcher Carson Kelly.

Kelly applied the tag to speedy pinch-runner Blake Dunn at the plate for the second out of the ninth.

Dunn had entered for Nick Martini, who tripled off the glove of first baseman Gio Urshela down the right-field line, scoring Spencer Steer to put the Reds within one, and sending the fourth sellout of the season at Great American Ball Park into pandemonium.

But after a hit from Noelvi Marte kept the inning alive, Santiago Espinal grounded out and the Cincinnati rally fell short in a 5-4 loss to the Tigers.

After the game, neither Dunn nor Reds manager David Bell had any regrets on sending Dunn from third on a contact play with one out, down just a run.

“It's an 0-2 pitch and [Stephenson] was grinding [an] at-bat together right there,” Dunn said. “[We were] just trying to do something to get that run in and, 0-2 count, [Stephenson] did what he needed to do and put the ball in play. I felt like I had a good jump at third. And I know I'm fast. I know I have the speed to score in that situation and it just took a perfect throw, perfect tag.

“I mean sometimes baseball, as everyone knows, is a game of inches and unfortunately, we just needed one more inch to ... score. But I wouldn't change anything. I felt like I did what I needed to do to try to score. They just made a good play."

Yes, the Marte two-out single would’ve tied the game theoretically, but Bell wasn’t about second-guessing things Friday.

“Marte gets the hit and in hindsight, of course we would rather have the runner on third. But at the time of that decision, we don’t have that information,” Bell said.

So the homestand the Reds hope will send them into the All-Star break with momentum didn’t start the way they hoped.

Tigers righty Reese Olson (3-8) held them hitless for the first four innings and allowed just two runs (one earned) over 5 2/3 innings and Colt Keith homered twice and drove in three to lead the way for Detroit.

“We're really aggressive on the bases and that's what we do,” Dunn said. “In that situation, he couldn't bobble it at all, had to make a perfect throw right on the [plate], perfect tag. Even if that throw is an inch or two higher up off the ground, he doesn't get the glove down in time to tag me.”

Right-hander Carson Spiers (2-2) didn’t have his best command and it showed early as the Tigers were lacing line drives all over the field. He surrendered three homers and three other hard-hit balls.

Spiers was charged with four runs and eight hits over 4 2/3 innings as the Tigers belted four total homers off Cincinnati pitching to account for all five runs.

Steer homered and drove in a run in a ninth-inning rally for the Reds, who had their three-game win streak snapped.

“It's definitely big for us,” Jonathan India said prior to the game. “We want to finish [before the All-Star break] above 500. You want to show the city that we're going to fight to be a playoff team this year, and show everyone that we're gonna be a playoff team. So yeah, it's a big week for us.”

The Reds outfield continued its sensational play of late, with all three starters, Stuart Fairchild, Will Benson and Nick Martini, making highlight-reel worthy plays.

Of course, leading the way was Fairchild, robbing Gio Urshela of a home run in the second inning. It was the fourth time this season and second time in as many games a Cincinnati outfielder has risen to the occasion to bring a would-be home run back into play as an out.

On Thursday, Benson robbed Juan Soto of extra bases and possibly a long ball when he raced back and caught the drive at the top of the center field wall at Yankee Stadium.