INSTANT REACTION: Reds Get Shutout to Pirates, Fall Back to .500 on Season

CINCINNATI -- For the fourth time this season, and first time since April 3rd, the Reds fell 1-0 Tuesday night to the Pirates in Pittsburgh.

The Reds had multiple chances to put runs on the board, but they could not capitalize on them. Now back to .500 at 25-25, the Reds now have eight shutout losses this season. That's the most of any team in Major League Baseball.

Being shutout wasted another quality start by Reds right-hander Nick Martinez, who continues his stellar month of May. In addition, the Reds loss Tuesday was their first to the Pirates this season. It also snapped their five-game winning streak coming into Tuesday night.

Let's look at the key takeaways from Tuesday night's game.

Takeaways from Tuesday night's 1-0 loss at Pittsburgh

Golden Opportunity Squandered Early

The Reds could have put the Pirates behind right out of the gates Tuesday night. TJ Friedl tripled to lead off the game. Yet somehow, the Reds couldn't score. Santiago Espinal grounded out to second, Elly De La Cruz struck out and Austin Hays popped out.

Friedl can run, and the Reds not being able to get him in to start the game off with a run proved costly. That sequence really stands out in the aftermath of Tuesday night's 1-0 loss.

Friedl also led off the top of the ninth with a single in a 10-pitch at-bat. But Espinal grounded into a double play on the next pitch before Elly De La Cruz flew out to left to end the game.

Nick Martinez Strings Together Another Quality Start

With six innings pitched on Tuesday night, Martinez has now reached that threshold in each of his four starts in May and his last five starts overall. In addition, Martinez has allowed three runs or less in each of those five starts, meaning he's had a quality start in all of them.

Martinez, who accepted a $21 million qualifying offer to pitch for the Reds this season, had his ERA hovering around 6.00 through the first month of the season, But his five straight quality starts have lowered his earned run average all the way down to 3.43. In May alone, his ERA is 1.89.

The 34-year-old right-hander has just 43 strikeouts this season, an average of just 4.3 per start in his 10 total starts this season. But Martinez makes up for his low strikeout total by finding other ways to get outs. One of those ways is just 12 walks through 10 games. That includes just two walks in the month of May.

Matt McLain Goes Hitless at the Plate...Again

Batting eighth on Tuesday night, the Reds second baseman went 0-3 at the plate with a strikeout, pop out to second and and lineout to third. McLain's batting average is now at .176, and he has gone hitless in each of his last three games.

Tale of Two Bounces

In the bottom of the seventh inning, there were two abnormal bounces of the ball.

With two outs and a runner on first base, Pirates second baseman Adam Frazier looped a ball down the left field line that hit fair then bounced up towards the stands. Reds left fielder Austin Hays corralled the ball and threw back to De La Cruz, whose relay throw to the plate was well in time for the third out.

But the Pirates challenged the play, contending the ball had hit a fan's glove when it bounced up towards the stands. Replay confirmed what the Pirates contended, and the play was overturned to a ground rule double. That put Pirates runners on second and third with two outs, prolonging the inning.

After a walk loaded the bases, Reds reliever Luis Mey uncorked a wild pitch when facing Pirates star center fielder O'Neill Cruz. Disaster was flashing right before the Reds' eyes. But then, amazingly, and fortunately for the Reds, the ball hit off the top of the wall behind the backstop and bounced back towards the infield. All three Pirates baserunners stopped and did not advance. Disaster avoided, and Mey would get Cruz to ground out to second.

Both bounces, one favoring the Reds and one going against them, kept the score 1-0 and gave the Reds chances to tie the game in the final two innings.

Notes and observations

The Reds went 0-6 with runners in scoring position Tuesday night.
Cincinnati did not draw a walk in 30 at-bats Tuesday night.
Pirates pitchers threw just 105 pitches on Tuesday night.

On Deck

The Reds will look to win the series Wednesday afternoon in Pittsburgh. Brady Singer (5-2, 5.01 ERA) will start for the Reds against Pirates left-hander Andrew Heaney (2-3, 3.02 ERA). Heaney took the loss in Cincinnati on April 12th when he allowed four runs in six innings. Those four runs came on Elly De La Cruz's grand slam.

Singer got the win against Pittsburgh on April 11th.

Wednesday's game gets underway at 12:35 E.T. on FanDuel Sports Network Cincinnati and 700WLW.

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