The Reds lead the National League in comeback victories. TJ Friedl scored the winning run in the 10th inning on a close play at home. He was initially ruled out. The call was overturned on review. Pitcher Ricky Karcher then survived a rocky inning to record a save in his major-league debut.
“That was a grinder win,” Friedl told reporters in Kansas City. “That’s kind of what this team is about, grinding out games to the very last out. They came back in the bottom of the ninth, and we came back in the 10th and punched right back. That’s kind of our M.O. That’s what we do.”
The Reds often find themselves in a hole because their starting pitchers have the second-worst ERA in baseball (5.93). Reds relievers, on the other hand, rank 12th in baseball (3.84).
With the victory Monday, the Reds (32-35) moved within three games of .500, the closest they’ve been to that number since they were 26-29 on May 31. They stayed 3½ games out of first place in the National League Central and 2½ games back in the wild-card race.
“No matter what the score is, we’re going to fight to the last out no matter what,” Friedl said. “We’ve had games where our pitching keeps us in games, and we’ve had games where the offense comes back. No matter what we do, we’re going to play as a team and play hard.”
Here’s a breakdown of the Reds’ other 20 comeback wins:
1. April 1: The Pirates took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. The Reds answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning and won 6-2.
2. April 3: The Reds trailed the Chicago Cubs 6-4 when Jason Vosler hit a three-run home run in the sixth. The Reds won 7-6.
3. April 9: The Reds rallied from a 4-2 deficit to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-4. A three-run double by Jake Fraley in the ninth gave them the lead.
4. April 13: The Phillies took a 1-0 lead in the first. The Reds tied the game in the bottom of the inning, took the lead with a three-run third and won 6-2.
5. April 24: The Texas Rangers built an early 5-1 lead. The Reds won the game 7-6 on a walk-off single by Friedl in the ninth.
6. April 25: The Rangers led 6-0 after six innings. The Reds scored one in the seventh and sixth in the eighth to win 7-6. A two-out double by Jonathan India brought in the tying and go-ahead runs.
7. April 28: The Oakland Athletics took a 1-0 lead in the first. The Reds took the lead with three in the second and won 11-7.
8. April 29: The A’s took an early 2-0 lead. The Reds won 3-2 thanks to Jake Fraley’s two-run double in the top of the ninth.
9. May 2: The Reds trailed the San Diego Padres 1-0 after seven innings but tied the game in the eighth and won the game 2-1 in the 10th with India driving in the deciding run with a single.
10. May 6: The Reds overcame a 3-1 deficit against the Chicago White Sox, taking the lead on a three-run home run by Friedl in the fifth.
11. May 12: Trailing 4-2 after six innings against the Miami Marlins, the Reds tied the game in the seventh and won the game 7-4 thanks to a three-run home run by Fraley in the top of the ninth.
12. May 13: The Reds trailed 4-3 but scored three runs in the eighth to take the lead and won 6-5.
13. May 16: The Colorado Rockies took a 1-0 lead into the seventh when Nick Senzel hit a two-run home run. The Reds won 3-1.
14. May 22: The Reds trailed 3-2 after two innings but won 6-5 in 10 innings thanks to a walk-off sacrifice fly by Senzel.
15. May 27: The Cubs led 4-2 after two, but the Reds took the lead on a two-run home run by India in the fifth and won 8-5.
16. May 28: The Reds again beat the Cubs 8-5, this time rallying from a 3-2 deficit.
17. May 31: The Boston Red Sox led 3-1 after five innings. The Reds took the lead with a three-run seventh and won 5-4.
18. June 6: The Los Angeles Dodgers owned leads of 3-0 and 8-3. The Reds chipped away at that deficit until winning 9-8 with three runs in the bottom of the ninth. Matt McLain drove in the game-winning run with a single to center.
19. June 7: The Dodgers led 6-2 when the Reds tied the game with a four-run third. The Reds won 8-6 on Will Benson’s walk-off, two-run home run.
20. June 11: The Cardinals led 3-2 through five innings. The Reds tied the game on an RBI single by Tyler Stephenson in the sixth and won 4-3 thanks to a fielder’s choice groundout by Stephenson in the eighth.
WEDNESDAY’S GAME
Reds at Royals, 8:10 p.m., Bally Sports Ohio, 700, 1410
About the Author
