Moustakas had a multi-hit video game, consisting of a home run that landed someplace in Kentucky as he made the absolute most out of his Cincinnati Reds debut, going 3-4 with four runs driven in. It was more than enough for the Reds to take home a win on Opening Day, beating the Tigers 7-1 on Friday evening.
After Detroit got a run back on a home run in the top of the 4th, Joey Votto put the Reds back up by 3 with a solo homer of his own. Sonny Gray did what Sonny Gray has done because joining the Reds– pitched well. Nate Jones followed, making his Reds debut, going 1-2-3 with 2 strikeouts and an outstanding catch in left field by Shogo Akiyama for the help.
Gray dominated the Tigers lineup for 6.0 innings, providing up one run. Moustakas had a multi-hit video game, consisting of a home run that landed somewhere in Kentucky as he made the outright most out of his Cincinnati Reds debut, going 3-4 with 4 runs driven in. It was more than enough for the Reds to take house a win on Opening Day, beating the Tigers 7-1 on Friday evening.
The Offense
It seems unusual to grumble about jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the 1st inning, however the Reds probably feel like they left some go out there after filling the bases without any outs and currently up 2-0 on a bases loaded hit batter (Nick Castellanos) and Mike Moustakas single. Those two would get together once again in the bottom of the 3rd to extend the lead when Castellanos squashed his 1st double of the year into the left-center gap and scored on another Moustakas single.
After Detroit got a run back on a house run in the top of the 4th, Joey Votto put the Reds back up by three with a solo homer of his own. After a walk by Nick Castellanos in the 7th he was pinch run for by Travis Jankowski, who right away took 2nd base.
The Pitching
Sonny Gray did what Sonny Gray has done since signing up with the Reds– pitched well. The right-hander required 90 pitches to get through 6.0 innings. He permitted just one earned run, coming on a long homer by C.J. Cron. Other than that, Gray was rather dominant. He taped 6 ground outs and set out nine batters with 2 walks.
The bullpen picked up where Sonny Gray left off. Lucas Sims came on for a hitless 7th inning where he struck out 2. Nate Jones followed, making his Reds launching, going 1-2-3 with two strikeouts and an exceptional catch in left field by Shogo Akiyama for the assist.
Notes Worth Noting
Sonny Gray selected up a lot of strikesouts in the game, however one of them took place to be the 1000th of his Major League career. Gray selected up 3 more strikeouts to follow and now has 1003 in his profession.
Shogo Akiyama began in the 6th inning to pinch hit for Phillip Ervin after a pitching change and officially ended up being the first Japanese player to play for the Cincinnati Reds. He also came through with his very first hit and RBI to extend the Reds lead.
It didnt take long for Mike Moustakas to make his existence felt on the protective side of things.
” BuT cAn hE rEaLLy pLaY SeConD baSe?” #RedsOpeningDay? #TakeTheCentral pic.twitter.com/XLuDdXJrIQ
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) July 25, 2020
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Detroit Tigers (0-1) vs Cincinnati Reds (1-0).
Saturday July 25th, 5:10 pm ET.
Ivan Nova (4.72 ERA, 11-12 in 2019) vs. Luis Castillo (3.40 ERA, 15-8 in 2019).
