Reds Manager Terry Francona Second-Guesses Late-Inning Decision in Loss to Diamondbacks

The Cincinnati Reds rallied late, but fell 6-5 in 11 innings to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night.

In the top of the 10th inning, the Reds had already gotten one run in to take a 5-4 lead, and TJ Friedl stepped up to the plate with one out and Jose Trevino on third base.

Reds manager Terry Francona had a decision to make. Do you pinch run for Trevino and have a faster runner on base, but risk having Will Banfield make his Major League debut in the bottom of the 10th, or do you keep Trevino in and take the risk of him being thrown out at the plate?

Francona elected to keep Trevino in the game and run. Friedl hit a fly ball to right field and Diamondbacks' right fielder Corbin Carroll made a great catch and a ridiculous throw to nail Trevino at the plate for an inning-ending double play.

"He's (Carroll) a good player," Francona said. "Part of me, I was fighting myself on whether to run for Trevino. I didn't think it was fair to put the kid (Banfield) in the game in the 10th inning with a ghost runner on second trying to catch Ashcraft. I was really fighting one."

Those are the tough decisions managers are paid to make night in and night out. Based on Fracnona's comments postgame, it feels like if he had the chance to change that decision and pinch run for Trevino, he would have.

The Reds fell to 62-57 and are now 1 1/2 games back of the New York Mets for the third and final National League Wild Card spot.

You can watch and listen to Francona and Zack Littell's postgame comments below:

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