Marred by injuries and COVID, Reds keep winning anyway

CINCINNATI -- Beat up by COVID-19 and injuries while stretching the limits of their farm system and roster management, the Reds are finding a way to not only stay alive, but also somehow thrive.

A 6-3 victory over the Mariners in Monday's three-game series opener at Great American Ball Park gave the Reds wins in three of their last four games.

“We just stay together. It’s a resilient bunch," said Reds reliever Lucas Sims, who struck out young superstar Julio Rodríguez with the bases loaded to end the top of the seventh inning. "I think the guys that come up, they understand what we’re trying to do here. We’re just trying to pull together, be together."

Games remaining: vs. SEA (2), vs. STL (3), at DET (3), at NYM (3), vs. MIN (3), vs. PIT (3), at CLE (2), at STL (3)

Standings update: The Reds (72-68) moved into a tie with the D-backs (71-67) for the third National League Wild Card spot. The Reds have the tiebreaker over the D-backs, and they also hold the tiebreaker over the Cubs (74-64), who hold a three-game lead for the second Wild Card.

Since the calendar flipped from August to September four days ago, the Reds have made 23 roster moves. Four pitchers -- including starters Hunter Greene, Brandon Williamson and Ben Lively -- went on the seven-day COVID-19 related injured list. Another starter, Graham Ashcraft, was placed on the IL with a stress reaction in his right big toe.

The situation forced Cincinnati to scramble. Starter Carson Spiers was summoned from Double-A Chattanooga to make his Major League debut in Sunday's 15-7 loss to the Cubs. Connor Phillips was called up from Triple-A Louisville to start Tuesday and will become the 16th player to make his debut for the Reds this season.

In between was Monday’s bullpen day. Seven Reds pitchers combined to allow three runs and nine hits with one walk and 11 strikeouts.

“We’ve asked a lot of our player development system, and they’ve stepped up," Reds manager David Bell said.

The offense gave the pitching staff room to work. A pair of two-out RBI singles by Elly De La Cruz and Hunter Renfroe gave Cincinnati a 2-0 lead in the first inning. The lead stretched to 5-0 in the second with some more two-out action, as Spencer Steer slugged a three-run homer to center field off Bryan Woo.

"Shout out to the pitching staff, they’ve done an unbelievable job the last couple of days with how many guys have gone down," Steer said. “It definitely makes it sweeter knowing the obstacles we’ve had to overcome on the pitching side.”

Opener Tejay Antone, who returned Saturday from a two-year absence after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and lefty Sam Moll combined for three scoreless innings with five strikeouts. Seattle picked up a run when Rodríguez opened the fourth inning with a homer to right-center field against Daniel Duarte.

With one out in the fifth against fresh callup Michael Mariot, Mike Ford hit a solo homer to right field to make it a 5-2 game.

Mariot was working in the big leagues for the first time since 2016 with the Phillies. He didn't sign with the Reds out of independent baseball until June, when he admitted he was on the verge of retirement.

“It’s been seven years since I’ve pitched in the big leagues. I’m just happy to be here just competing. It feels good," said Mariot, who pitched 2 2/3 innings.

With two runners in scoring position in the sixth inning, Mariot worked out of his own two-out jam by striking out Eugenio Suárez.

“That’s all I was trying to do, eat up some innings and put up some zeros," Mariot said. "Unfortunately, it wasn’t all zeros. I’m glad I was able to at least get a couple of innings.”

More two-out danger came in the seventh when Mariot gave up a walk and a single. Sims took over and hit his first batter, J.P. Crawford, with a pitch to load the bases. But he recovered to strike out Rodríguez after he fouled off three two-strike pitches.

Seattle made it a three-run game on Crawford's RBI single off Buck Farmer in the ninth inning. Bell called upon Ian Gibaut to face Rodríguez, who once again represented the tying run. Gibaut earned a called strike three with his fastball to nail down the save and the game.

“It felt meaningful. It felt important. These are really extra special," Bell said. "It feels like so many players and so many pitchers contributed. There’s been a lot the last few days and it feels, to me, like an organizational win. All hands on deck trying to help us get through this."