Reds Blanked 3-0 by Giants, Miss Opportunity for Sweep

One day they're hot, and the next day they're as cold as ice. That's the Reds from Wednesday night to Thursday afternoon. Wednesday night, they brought the lumber with eight runs on four home runs. Thursday afternoon, they only had one hit and three walks in a 3-0 shutout loss to the San Francisco Giants.

The Reds missed an opportunity to sweep the Giants Thursday afternoon, dropping to 11-8 overall and finishing the homestand 3-3. Thursday's game also had its fair share of chippiness, with Spencer Steer taking a hit by pitch for the Reds and Willy Adames taking a hit by pitch for the Giants. Sal Stewart was jawing with Giants' relief pitcher Erik Miller after striking out to end the game. You like to see that fire from the Reds' star rookie.

Let's look at the other takeaways from the Reds' 3-0 loss to the Giants Thursday afternoon.

Lineup Reverts Back to Cold Start to Season

Cincinnati Reds third baseman Ke'bryan Hayes (3) plays a ground ball off the bat of Jake Mangum in the first inning of the MLB National League game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

So much for Wednesday's offensive breakout. For now, it could be just a one-game blip. The Reds on Thursday went back to their struggling ways, unable to get guys on base or get some runs on the board. They didn't even get a hit until P.J. Higgins, of all players, lined a single to left to lead off the bottom of the sixth.

Facing four Giants' pitchers, the Reds' only hit was Higgins's leadoff single in the sixth. They walked three and struck out 12 times. Thursday is only the second time the Reds have been shut out this season, but it's the 12th time they have scored three runs or less.

The Reds are not getting it done offensively right now. They're 19 games in and are still struggling mightily to hit the ball.

It was believed the Reds' offense would be better this season than it was in 2025, but that struggles would still be endured by this lineup. But this lackluster display of hitting through 19 games? I don't think anybody believed it would be this bad.

Chase Burns Bounces Back Nicely

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Chase Burns (26) throws a pitch in the first inning of the MLB National League game between the Cincinnati Reds and the San Francisco Giants at Great American Ball Park on Thursday, April 16, 2026. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Burns pitched a six-inning shutout Thursday afternoon, showing shades of his first two starts after a tough outing last Friday night against the Los Angeles Angels. In those six shutout innings Thursday, Burns allowed just two hits and one walk, while striking out four. He threw 87 pitches, 54 for strikes.

Through four starts, Burns is 1-1 with a 2.42 ERA. He's pitched 22 1/3 innings and has 22 strikeouts to just nine walks. Keep in mind, Burns hasn't even been with the Reds' major league roster for a year. It was key for him to show that he can bounce back from tough outings with his start on Thursday. Even the best pitchers at the Major League level-- yes, including Greg Maddux-- had their share of tough starts. It's how they overcame them and limited them that made them great pitchers.

Elly's Error

I have defended Elly De La Cruz through a lot of criticism, some of it completely unnecessary. No, he does not need to move to center field.

That said, the error he made at the top of the seventh on Thursday is inexcusable. It was a routine ground ball right back up the middle, and he just dropped the ball. How does that happen? He has to make that play. Brock Burke should have had a scoreless, 1-2-3 top of the seventh inning. Instead, he allowed three unearned runs.

It was a simple ground ball back up the middle that De La Cruz couldn't handle, but should have. It led to three unearned runs with two outs, turning a scoreless game into a 3-0 deficit for the Reds. That's the thing: you never know when an error is going to come back to bite you. It's why De La Cruz has to make the routine plays look routine.

Not to mention, too, that De La Cruz's error came after he grounded into an inning-ending double play in the bottom of the sixth. There were runners on first and second with one out, and he hit a ground ball to the right side. Somehow, he didn't beat the relay throw to first. It was a long throw for the Giants' second baseman, Luis Arraez, to get the lead runner, whom I thought De La Cruz was easily going to beat.

On Deck

The Reds head out for their second road trip of the season this weekend and next week, when they take on the Minnesota Twins in Minneapolis and the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg, Florida. That means the Reds will play in the repaired Tropicana Field in St. Pete, having last played there in 2024 before Hurricane Milton ripped the roof off the ballpark.

In Minnesota, the Reds will play a night game on Friday and afternoon games on Saturday and Sunday. First pitch Friday is at 8:10 E.T., while Saturday and Sunday will be at 2:10 E.T. All three of those games will be on Reds.TV and 700WLW. Brandon Williamson (Friday), Andrew Abbott (Saturday), and Brady Singer (Sunday) will start for the Reds in the series, while Joe Ryan (Friday), Taj Bradley (Saturday), and Bailey Ober (Sunday) will start for the Twins. Minnesota will enter the series 11-8 on the season.

At the Rays, Monday's game will air locally on FOX19. That game, along with Tuesday's, will start at 6:40 E.T., with Wednesday's starting at 1:10 E.T.. Tuesday's and Wednesday's games will be on Reds.TV. All six games on the road trip, as with every one of the 162 games, can be heard on 700WLW.

Rhett Lowder is listed as the starter for Monday, but starting pitchers for Tuesday and Wednesday have not been announced at the time this story was published.

The Rays are currently 10-7 on the season, and were in action at the Chicago White Sox at the time this story was published.

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