Roark gets 800th K, throws 1,000th inning in loss

PHILADELPHIA -- Reds starting pitcher Tanner Roark and pitching coach Derek Johnson have spoken about closing out innings when there are two outs. On Saturday against the Phillies, Roark wasn’t able to stop two-out rallies from blossoming and it cost him during a 4-1 Reds loss at Citizens Bank Park. Cincinnati has dropped five of its last six games.

“They get two outs and they want to keep going so step back, take a breath, realize what you’re trying to do and execute what you’re trying to do,” Roark said of Johnson’s instructions.

• Box score

Over five innings, Roark gave up four earned runs and six hits with two walks and four strikeouts while throwing 92 pitches. He needed 27 of them to get through the bottom of the first inning.

With two outs and a runner on first base in the opening inning, Rhys Hoskins hit a double to left field before Roark walked J.T. Realmuto on five pitches. Next up was Jay Bruce, who was down 0-2 in the count but worked it to 2-2 before lining a two-run single to right field that put Philadelphia ahead by one.

Realmuto led off the Phillies’ fourth inning by hitting a 1-2 pitch to right field for a homer.

“I felt I had pitched pretty good and could have stayed in longer,” Roark said. “Realmuto hit a really good pitch. Bruce’s just got through the infield. Things like that go another way, I stay in longer. But it didn’t happen today. On to the next one.”

In the fifth inning with two outs, Roark fielded a soft Bryce Harper squib and had to rush his throw to first base. It missed and went into foul territory for a single and an error. Jean Segura RBI triple to the left-field corner then sealed the game.

Reds manager David Bell lifted Roark for a pinch-hitter in the top of the sixth to try and get something started against Phillies starter Nick Pivetta. During his outing, Roark notched his 800th career strikeout (getting Scott Kingery swinging in the bottom of the fourth) and pitched his 1,000th inning.

“He trusts himself to be in there until the end and rightfully so. I think he works hard to be able to get deep into games,” Bell said. “He probably pitched a little better than the results today. But he’s pitched well all year and he’s just given us opportunities to win. You can’t do any more than that.”

Roark had little room for mistakes as Pivetta delivered a complete game where he allowed one earned run and six hits and struck out six. The afternoon started in promising fashion for the Reds. Nick Senzel opened the game with a bloop double to right field but, on a lofted single by Joey Votto, had to hold up for the ball to land and was unable to score. Cincinnati’s rally fizzled when Eugenio Suárez grounded to third base for a double play that scored Senzel.

That would be the start of Pivetta’s streak of retiring 17 batters in a row, which ended when Votto opened the top of the seventh inning with a single to left field.

Over 13 starts during his first season for the Reds, Roark is 4-5 with a 3.74 ERA. He came into the day with the fourth-most two-out walks allowed.

“I need to slow down and not go right into it,” Roark said. “I think about it more. I think about pitching more in those big situations because those can make or break and tonight it broke. That’s something I could get better at.”