'That's what I do': Friedl flips script with bunt to break up perfecto

CLEVELAND -- For six innings, the Reds couldn’t get anything going against Cleveland’s vaunted bullpen, as every at-bat either ended with an out after the ball was put in play or a batter walking back to the dugout muttering to himself with his bat in his hand after striking out.

So after six innings of fruitless swings, TJ Friedl decided to do the exact opposite by laying down a bunt in the top of the seventh inning against Tim Herrin, a decision that resulted in a base hit to end the perfect game.

While the bunt helped lead Cincinnati's comeback from a 2-0 deficit, it didn’t end up being enough, as José Ramírez crushed a go-ahead three-run home run off Emilio Pagán in the eighth inning in the Reds' 5-2 loss on Wednesday night at Progressive Field.

“That’s what I do, there’s no surprise,” Friedl said. “I’ve gotten a lot of bunt hits off left-handed pitchers, and I’m playing the ballgame. It was a 2-0 game, and they had a perfect game.”

While Friedl isn’t the fastest runner in baseball (he entered the game in the 27th percentile in sprint speed), the ball took an odd bounce back towards toward the first-base line once it hit the infield, which gave Friedl enough time to beat Herrin’s throw to the bag and break up the perfect game. As Friedl walked back to first base, a chorus of boos came raining down from nearly all of the 25,860 gathered at Progressive Field.

“I know the fans didn’t like it, but that’s part of [Friedl's] game,” said interim manager Freddie Benavides.

Believe it or not, Friedl’s bunt base hit wasn’t the first time an MLB player has stuck their bat in front of history, as San Diego's Ben Davis broke up Curt Schilling's perfect game with an eighth-inning bunt on May 26, 2001.

“If it was a starter in the seventh inning, that’s a little different than a bullpen game with their fifth pitcher on the mound,” Friedl said.

Friedl’s bunt single was the Reds’ first baserunner since Jonathan India was hit by a pitch in the fifth inning of Tuesday's game.

The perfect-game bid was even more impressive considering it was the result of an 11th-hour pitching change. Joey Cantillo was supposed to start for Cleveland on Wednesday, but the Guardians elected to push him back after they clinched a bye into the AL Division Series with their win on Tuesday.

So instead of facing off against a rookie starter, they saw a revolving door of arms from a team that has the best bullpen ERA (2.59 after Wednesday's win) by a large margin.

“After the first six innings, I was like, ‘Man,’” said Benavides. “That’s one of the best bullpens in baseball by far. Every guy they throw out there is top notch.”

Friedl’s bunt base hit seemed to rattle Herrin, who immediately uncorked a wild pickoff throw that allowed Friedl to reach second base. He came around to score five pitches later on an error from Andrés Giménez on an Elly De La Cruz single.

“I felt like myself there,” said Friedl, who has played in only 82 games this season due to injury. “I feel good with where I’m at.”

The Reds knotted the game up an inning later against Hunter Gaddis when Jake Fraley hit a one-out double before coming around to score on a single from Santiago Espinal that was booted by center fielder Lane Thomas.

They were able to get the tying run to the plate with no one out in the ninth inning against Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase, but he was able to retire Spencer Steer, Ty France and Fraley to end the game.

“That speaks to who we are,” Friedl said. “We just needed to get the ball rolling a little bit, and then the offense did whatever we could to stay in the game.”

The game was the final start of the year for Jakob Junis in what was a whirlwind season for the 32-year-old. After beginning the season with the Brewers as a starter, he missed two months and moved to the bullpen before being traded to the Reds at the Deadline, where he filled every role.

Junis allowed two runs on four hits with one walk and three strikeouts over five innings on Wednesday, and he compiled a 2.85 ERA in 41 innings with the Reds. He allowed just four runs across 21 innings in his last four starts of the season.

“It’s not the easiest thing to build up in September,” Junis said. “I’m really proud, but also really thankful to the Reds for giving me the opportunity.”