Cincinnati Reds'
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Cincinnati Reds Press Clippings July 4, 2015 THIS DAY IN REDS HISTORY 1969-The nickname, the Big Red Machine is used for the first time. Los Angeles Herald-Examiner reporter, Bob Hunter, invents the name during the Reds defeat of the Dodgers, and it sticks. CINCINNATI ENQUIRER Reds get lit up by Brewers By John Fay / Cincinnati Enquirer / [email protected] / @Johnfayman The Milwaukee Brewers came into town on a roll – and they proceeded to roll right over the Reds. The Brewers beat the Reds 12-1 Friday night before a sellout crowd of 40,760 at Great American Ball Park. It was the sixth straight win for Milwaukee. The Brewers have scored 45 runs in the winning streak. It was worst loss of the season for the Reds. The game was the fifth sellout of the year for the Reds and 108th in the history over GABP. The big crowds haven't helped the Reds. They've lost the last four sellouts at home. Rookie right-hander Michael Lorenzen had his shortest start of the year. He pitched four innings and allowed three runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out three. "A lot of hard stuff up in the zone," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "He was facing a team that's swinging the bat well. They didn't miss mistakes. A lot of times when you're a stuff pitcher, a velocity guy, you get away with balls that aren't well located. "Tonight, they squared them up." Lorenzen struggled with putting hitters away all night. He needed 90 (56 strikes) to get the 12 outs. "They're a really good team," Lorenzen said. "They had a couple really good series coming in here. They're hitting the ball really well." The Reds, meanwhile, got nothing going against right-hander Mike Fiers. They managed three singles off him and did not advance a runner to second until the seventh inning. The first inning was bad for Lorenzen, but it could have been much worse. Gerardo Parra led off with his sixth home run of the year. Lorenzen got up 0-2 in the count, threw two borderline pitches, then left one a 96 mph fastball up that Parra hit out to right-center. Jonathan Lucroy and Ryan Braun followed with back-to-back singles — Braun took third on Lucroy's. Adam Lind got Lucroy in and Braun to third with a 6-3 groundout. The key play of the inning followed. Carlos Gomez hit a ground ball to third baseman Todd Frazier, who was playing even with the bag. When Braun saw Frazier get ready to throw to first, he broke off the bag. Frazier held up on the throw. As Braun broke back to the bag, Frazier made a diving tag. Umpire James Hoye called him safe. The Reds asked for review. The call was overturned. So the Brewers went from first and third, one out to runner at first, two outs. Gomez was caught stealing on a pitch out on the very next pitch. The Brewers added a run on the first pitch of the second inning. Aramis Ramirez went down and got a 93 mph fastball and hit it out to left-center for his 10th home run of the year. It was Ramirez's third of the year against the Reds and his 18th at Great American. That put him alone in third place among visitors, behind Lance Berkman (23) Albert Pujols (20). "I definitely could have done better with pitch selection," Lorenzen said. "My arm felt good. Everything felt really good. Sometimes you second guess yourself." "You throw some pitches with no conviction behind them. Just learn from it. ... The true character comes out when you don't even go five (innings) and given up three (runs), and don't put your team in the best possible position to win." It was still 3-0 when Lorenzen left, but the bullpen, so good of late, was not Friday night. "Things got a bit ugly," Price said. "... They kind of took it to our bullpen." Nate Adcock took over for Lorenzen and gave up a pair of run in the fifth to make it 5-0. Gomez delivered the TKO blow. He hit his first career grand slam to make it 9-0. It came off Carlos Contreras in the seventh. Trade rumors never had Todd Frazier concerned By John Fay / Cincinnati Enquirer / [email protected] / @Johnfayman Todd Frazier has made it clear he wants to remain a Red. But it came as no relief to him that general manager Walt Jocketty told The Enquirer that Frazier will not be traded. "I wasn't even thinking about it to be honest with you," he said. "Until my agent says something or Walt says something, I'll start thinking about it. "It wasn't really a relief. It was a lot hearsay. It was all pretty much nothing. I wasn't worried or relieved at all." Frazier, of course, is from New Jersey. The New York Mets are looking for offense. Frazier met with the New York/New Jersey media when the Reds played the Mets last week. And the rumors were born. Frazier's friends got caught up in it a bit. "You know those people over there – those New Jersey, New Yorkers – they hear something and they maximize it 100 percent," he said. "It's just the way it is. They listen to the radio. They read the newspapers, whether it's New York Post or Asbury Park Press. They ask about this stuff. "They're like, 'man, this is true. Where you going to live?' It all just people making rumors." Frazier is a little anxious about something else being talked about these days in baseball. He is in the thick of race to win the starting spot at third base on the National League All-Star team. Frazier trailed St. Louis' Matt Carpenter by 62,940 votes in the last update. Each had over 6 million votes. The starters will be announced Sunday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN. "Sunday can't come any quicker," Frazier said. "Either way, it's going to be exciting." Frazier will likely know before the Reds depart for Washington. "I have a little bigger smile, you'll know," he said. Frazier is nearly a lock to make it as a reserve. The reserves and pitching staffs will be announced Monday at 7 p.m. on ESPN. Closer Aroldis Chapman and ace Johnny Cueto are other strong candidates. TINSLEY ON LEAVE: Assistant hitting coach Lee Tinsley was placed on administrative leave Friday. Tinsley was arrested in Carroll County, Kentucky for driving while impaired. Tinsley, 46, is in his second season with the Reds. "We're still gathering information," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "With the holiday weekend, the police report is not going to be out until next week. Lee is on administrative leave. That's as much as we're going to say about that. It's kind of fact finding at this point in time." The Reds did not add a coach to fill in in Tinsley's absence. WELCOME BREAK: The Reds enjoyed Thursday's off day – only their second in 32 days. "It was great," Price said. "It was kind of a long challenging run with extra innings and rain delays. The bullpen certainly has been highly taxed. It was a good time for us to have a little time away and kind of get rested." Top Reds prospect Robert Stephenson makes AAA debut By C. Trent Rosecrans / Cincinnati Enquirer / [email protected] / @ctrent Reds top prospect Robert Stephenson made his debut at Triple-A Louisville on Friday. He went five innings and allowed two runs on four hits. He struck out six and walked three. Stephens, 22, was 4-7 with a 3.68 ERA in 14 starts at Double-A Pensacola this season. He's rated the team's top prospect by both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline. MLB Pipeline has Stephenson ranked the No. 18 overall prospect in baseball. "Organizationally, we feel Robert is ready for the next challenge," said Jeff Graupe, the Reds director of player development. The Bats completed Thursday's suspended game Friday. Left-hander Tony Cingrani made his first rehab appearance for the Bats since going on the disabled list last month with a left shoulder injury. Cingrani went two innings. He did not allow a hit. He walked one and struck out three. The Bats and Columbus Clippers played three innings before suspension of play on Thursday. Stephenson started Friday's regularly scheduled game. "He got off to a slower start," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "He kind of found himself at that Double-A level. It was a real challenge for him last year and to start the 2015 season. We're excited that he's throwing the ball consistently. He's getting his curveball over, which was something he was challenged to do earlier in the year. He's got kind of split-changeup that he's incorporated into his mix. It gives him a quality third pitch." Stephenson joined Kyle Waldrop, who was also recently promoted from Double-A to Triple-A. Waldrop will be in Cincinnati next weekend for the Futures game, along with left-hander Amir Garrett and Louisville teammate Yorman Rodriguez. Waldrop hit .277/.313/.430 with six home runs and 31 RBI in 67 games in Pensacola. "I found my swing and I'm sticking to it, keeping it simple," Waldrop said recently.