The Cincinnati Reds kept their winning streak alive on Tuesday night. They got big games at the plate from Gavin Lux and Austin Hays as they helped defeat the Seattle Mariners 8-4 to open up a 3-game series against the American League West club.
Things did not start out well for Nick Lodolo and the Cincinnati Reds. The second pitch of the game went 429 feet and landed on the net above the Reds bullpen just to the left of the batters eye, giving the Mariners a 1-0 lead on Dylan Moore’s 3rd home run of the year.
In the 2nd inning Ben Williamson picked up a 2-out single for Seattle. It was the first big league hit for Williamson. J.P. Crawford and Dylan Moore also followed up with singles and the latter one brought Williamson in to score as the Mariners extended their lead.
The Reds got their own rally going in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Jose Trevino began things with a double just over the glove of left fielder Randy Arozarena. Matt McLain would walk with one out. Gavin Lux and Austin Hays then came through with 2-out RBI hits to tie the game up at 2-2.
That’s where the game remained until the top of the 5th inning. Nick Lodolo hit J.P. Crawford with a pitch to begin the inning and then Dylan Moore came through once again for Seattle, crushing his second home run of the day to give the Mariners a 4-2 lead.
Cincinnati went to work in the bottom of the inning. Matt McLain and Elly De La Cruz walked to start the inning. Gavin Lux followed up with an RBI single to cut the Reds deficit in half. Three pitches later Austin Hays crushed a 3-run home run to center to put the home team in front 6-4.
Seattle wasn’t going to just roll over and in the 6th inning they got two men on against Alexis Diaz, who walked two batters and recorded two outs in the inning before being lifted in favor of Graham Ashcraft. He came on and walked the first batter he faced to load the bases for the Mariners #3 hitter Cal Raleigh. Christian Encarnacion-Strand made a nice play on a grounder and flipped to a covering Ashcraft to strand all three runners and hold onto the lead.
Two innings later the Reds offense tacked on several runs as Matt McLain drew a bases loaded walk and then Elly De La Cruz played a second run in the frame on a ground out to make it 8-4. Cincinnati called on Emilio Pagan to try and close the game out. After striking out the first two batters he got Cal Raleigh to fly out to the wall in center to end the game and move the Reds above the .500 mark and extend their winning streak to four games.
Key Moment of the Game
Austin Hays hitting a 3-run home run in the bottom of the 5th inning to give the Reds the lead.
Notes Worth Noting
Gavin Lux finished the day 4-4 with a run and two RBI. This was his first 4-hit game since June 9th of 2022.
Austin Hays not only homered in his 2025 season debut, he also drove in four runs. He last did that in his 4th game with the Phillies last season after they acquired him near the trade deadline. He played in 18 games after that one in the regular season and only had two runs batted in during that time.
The Reds offense walked seven times and had just six strikeouts in the game.
Scott Barlow recorded one out in the game and was credited with the win, further proving how stupid it is to credit a win or a loss to a single player on the team.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Seattle Mariners vs Cincinnati Reds
Wednesday, April 16, 6:40pm ET
Bryce Miller (0-2, 4.50 ERA) vs Nick Martinez (0-2, 6.06 ERA)
