The Cincinnati Reds will look to win a series in Toronto for the first time when they face the Blue Jays on Tuesday night in the middle game of a three-game set.
Prior to a 6-3 victory over Toronto on Monday that opened a seven-game trip, Cincinnati had dropped nine of the 12 games it played across the border since interleague play began. The Reds were 0-4 in road series against the Blue Jays.
With their latest victory, the Reds pulled within 5 1/2 games of the idle Atlanta Braves in the race for the final National League wild-card spot. It was a much-needed win for a Cincinnati team that was just swept in a three-game set by the visiting Kansas City Royals over the weekend.
Kansas City outscored the Reds 28-3 in that series.
“That hurt with what happened at home,” said Cincinnati catcher Tyler Stephenson, who went 1-for-4 with a run on Monday. “But the beautiful thing in baseball is today’s a new day with new opportunities.”
Stephenson started a four-run rally in the sixth inning on Monday by reaching first on a passed ball while striking out. A single by TJ Friedl and doubles by Spencer Steer, Ty France and Jake Fraley followed.
“You can’t do the math. Not yet,” Friedl said of watching the standings and the playoff race. “There’s still so many games left — there’s so much that can happen. It’s way too early to count. You just put your head down each day and do the best you can.”
Cincinnati got four innings from starter Julian Aguiar on Monday in his major league debut. The right-hander allowed two runs on four hits.
“He came in and threw strikes, didn’t back down at all,” Reds manager David Bell said of Aguiar. “He did exactly what we want to see.”
Next up on the mound for Cincinnati will be another rookie right-hander, Carson Spiers (4-4, 4.55 ERA). He has never faced Toronto.
In his most recent outing, Spiers did not factor into the decision after being used as a reliever against the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday. He was knocked around for two runs and six hits in 2 2/3 innings.
Toronto is scheduled to start right-hander Jose Berrios (11-9, 3.85 ERA) on Tuesday. He is 0-2 with a 5.27 ERA in three career starts against the Reds.
Berrios is coming off a road win against the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday, when he yielded just one run and two hits in seven innings.
Berrios, Kevin Gausman — who took the loss on Monday — and Chris Bassitt have once again been consistent starters for Toronto this season. The Blue Jays are out of playoff contention, but all three starters still plan on eating up innings with no fall baseball on the radar.
“We’ve talked to them,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “Jose was a good example in Anaheim (against the Angels), where he could have gone back out for the eighth inning. I figured seven strong was good.
“They know that every time out, they’ve got about 100 pitches or a little bit more and it just depends on where we are in the game. They’re ready for it. It’s a balancing act, but not a whole lot different.”
–Field Level Media
