The Reds lose 4-2 to Cleveland on Sunday night

In the “Battle of Ohio” spring training, which took place in Arizona, Cleveland prevailed against the Reds on Sunday evening. Most important to Cincinnati, however, was the news that broke early in the game, that outfielder TJ Friedl had a broken wrist and would miss Opening Day, and then some.

Game review: Guardians 4 – Reds 2

Cleveland got on the board early, scoring twice in the first and second innings. Shane Bieber gave them a great spring start, and they held on until the Reds got to the Guardians’ bullpen late in the game. Even though Luke Maile hit a home run and double, his teammates’ three hits that evening weren’t enough.

THE HIGHLIGHTS

By the end of the first round, Brandon Williamson was off to a bad start. The inning began with a fly out, but he then gave up a single, walked three straight players, and eventually a ground out scored the inning’s second run, giving Cleveland a 2-0 lead. He gave up a single-out double and a single-out triple in the following inning, and the Guardians’ advantage grew to 4-0 when a wild pitch brought in two more runs.

In the third inning, Cincinnati’s Michael Byrne assumed control and pitched two scoreless innings after that. The fifth pitch was then made by Tejay Antone, who emerged from the bullpen. He worked quickly against Cleveland, although Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s diving catch on a liner in the first out of a 1-2-3 inning provided him with some assistance early in the game.

It would not be until the top of the sixth inning that Cincinnati would score. Luke Maile would double off Shane Bieber to start the inning, but they came dangerously near to losing the opportunity due to two straight strikeouts. When Cleveland decided to send in Anthony Goss from the bullpen at that time, Spencer Steer welcomed him with an RBI single, cutting the Guardians’ advantage to 4-1.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Tejay Antone made a comeback and struck out Cleveland for the second straight inning. This was his first springtime multi-inning game. In the bottom of the seventh, Buck Farmer followed Antone with a perfect inning.

It was a 4-2 game when Luke Maile launched his third home run of the spring to start the eighth inning. His average increased to.500 and he batted over 1.000 in the spring.

In the eighth inning, Fernando Cruz pitched another flawless inning of relief for the Reds, limiting the deficit to two runs. The Reds fell down to finish the game with three strikeouts, despite Cincinnati’s best efforts to rally in the top of the ninth.

Here is where you can see the game’s box score.

THE GAME ON MONDAY

The Reds return to the field on Monday evening. They are at home in Goodyear and host the San Francisco Giants. There is no television coverage. 700 WLW will have the radio broadcast. First pitch is scheduled for 9:05 p.m. ET.