The Cincinnati Reds suffered a devastating loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday night at Great American Ball Park, as Toronto completed the series sweep with a 13-9 victory. Cincinnati squandered a five-run lead in the second inning and became the only MLB team in the modern era to allow a run in seven consecutive innings after holding a 5+ run lead at home and still lose, according to OptaSTATS.
The Reds started strong against Blue Jays starter Shane Bieber, scoring five times in the second inning. Jose Trevino opened the inning with a two-run single with one out and the bases loaded, and Matt McLain followed with an RBI single. Noelvi Marte then cleared the bases with a two-out double, putting Cincinnati up 5-0. Reds starter Zack Littell got off to a strong start with four strikeouts in his first four outs, but he quickly ran into trouble afterward.
Toronto began chipping away in the third inning as George Springer hit a solo home run, his 27th of the season, jumpstarting the comeback. Daulton Varsho and Alejandro Kirk hit back-to-back homers in the fourth, followed by Addison Barger’s two-run homer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s solo shot in the fifth, giving the Blue Jays their first lead at 6-5. Bieber, despite allowing five earned runs in the second, settled down to retire 11 straight batters over his next four innings, ultimately earning the win (2-1) in his third start back from Tommy John surgery.
The Reds' bullpen struggled to contain the Blue Jays’ relentless offense. Relievers Nick Martinez, Lyon Richardson, Yosver Zulueta, and Zach Maxwell allowed eight runs over 4.2 innings, including a four-run eighth inning featuring two walks, two doubles, a sacrifice fly, and a fielding error by Spencer Steer. While the Reds managed to score four runs over three innings after Bieber exited, it was insufficient to reclaim the lead.
Individually, Cincinnati's bright spot included Noelvi Marte, who went 2-for-5 with three RBIs and extended his hitting streak to 19 of 23 games, raising his average to .292 with an .844 OPS. However, Eugenio De La Cruz’s seven-game hitting streak ended as he went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. Littell allowed four home runs in 4 1/3 innings, marking his fourth game this season yielding three or more homers.
The Reds (70-70) have now dropped ten of their last 13 games and remains five games behind the New York Mets for the final National League Wild Card spot. They will look to regroup during Thursday’s off-day before hosting the Mets for a crucial three-game series starting Friday at Great American Ball Park, where even a sweep would leave them two games back in the Wild Card race.
The Blue Jays, meanwhile, improved to 81-59, hitting 11 homers and scoring 29 runs over the three-game series. George Springer and Daulton Varsho each hit three homers, while Alejandro Kirk, Addison Barger, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Ty France contributed multi-hit performances, heading into a pivotal series against the New York Yankees.
