Grant Hartwig broke open a tie game by serving up a meatball that was hit for a homer, giving the Reds a 5-3 win Friday night in the opener of a three game series.
David Peterson got the start and had some really good stuff. But he was betrayed some by his defense. He ended up allowing three runs, two earned, and you could make a case for one of the other runs to be unearned, too. Ronny Mauricio, making his first start at third base, couldn’t come up with a hard-hit ball, which was ruled a single. And then Peterson made his one mistake of the game, a high changeup which was hit out of the park.
Peterson finished his night with 10 Ks.
Pete Alonso tied the game with one swing, belting a three-run homer to make it a 3-3 game. But then Hartwig, who got the final out of the sixth, gave the lead right back to the Reds. It was the 10th time in his last 15 games where Hartwig has allowed a run. That’s, um, not good. He came back out to pitch the eighth inning, too, but needed Drew Smith to bail him out. We should hope that after a multi-inning performance that the Mets make a move to replace him on the roster with a fresh pitcher.
Didn’t get to see the game but thrilled that Alonso keeps up the assault. His signing needs to be a priority regardless of how much longer he is under contract. The dollars will only get higher in time. Nice start by Peterson- the kind we expected from him this year. Another bad pen outing but we should not be surprised. Let’s come out strong today and work to spoil the Reds playoff hopes.
Gut Reaction : Peterson pitched like a fifth starter, 5.2 innings, 2 ER, 10 k, 2 BB, 95 Pit, Game Score 55. He was tiring so Showalter pulled him. I would have left in him in there to see if could escape the situation. It would have been a good test of fortitude. Bell did it for Greene earlier and Alsono burned him. It is tough to be a manager!
Hartwig isn’t a major league reliever. It was a tough loss.
But that’s better than a fifth starter. That’s a 3.18 ERA for the start and 5.2 IP over 30 starts would be 170 IP. Only 19 pitchers have cleared 170 innings and only 45 have cleared 150 IP.