Julian Aguiar made his major league debut and pitched solidly for four innings to keep the Cincinnati Reds in the game. After that, the bullpen showed, allowing just one run the rest of the night, and the offense tied the game with a 4-run 6th inning to start the road trip with a win in Toronto.
| final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (61-64) |
6 | 9 | 0 |
| Toronto Blue Jays (58-67) | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| W: Santillan (1-1) L: Gausmann (11-9) |
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| Match report | Match thread | |||
Julian Aguiar stepped onto the mound in the bottom of the 1st inning and needed just two throws to get his first out in his major league debut. Two more throws and he had two outs. But the sixth pitch of the inning was a slider that couldn’t possibly have been better than a middle-middle pitch if he had carried it to the plate to place it there and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit it 430 feet for a home run that put Toronto ahead. Aguiar would get the last out of the inning with a grounder to the next batter.
The Reds got that run back in the 3rd inning. Santiago Espinal continued his hitting streak with a double with 1 out and then took third base after a balk. Elly De La Cruz then tied the game with a sacrifice fly to left field. The game did not stay tied for long, however, as a double by George Springer in the bottom of the inning was followed by an RBI single by Daulton Varsho, which put the Blue Jays back in the lead.
TJ Friedl backed up his pitcher and opened the 4th inning with a 393-foot home run into the stands to tie the game. Julian Aguiar returned for the bottom half of the inning and avoided a 1-out walk, ending the inning with his second strikeout of the day. That ended his debut, and Cincinnati left the game to Tony Santillan in the 5th inning to face the top hitters, and he benched them in order.
The Reds mounted a comeback in the 6th inning. Tyler Stephenson struck out to start the inning, but he did so on a passed ball and ran to first base just before throwing to base. TJ Friedl followed with a single to put two men on base with no outs. The Blue Jays then went to the bullpen and replaced Kevin Gausman with Ryan Burr. He was greeted with an RBI double by Spencer Steer. After striking out Jeimer Candelario, Burr allowed back-to-back doubles by Ty France and Jake Fraley as the Reds scored three more runs and extended their lead to 6-2.
Toronto’s offense began to develop in the bottom of the 7th inning when Addison Barger hit a double against Sam Moll with one out. That led to a pitcher change as Buck Farmer came out of the bullpen and took George Springer out of the game. Farmer walked Daulton Varsho to get two men on base for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. It took three pitches, but Farmer got him out of the game with a groundout to end the threat and maintain a 4-run lead.
Alexis Diaz came on for Cincinnati in the bottom of the 9th inning and immediately allowed a home run by Ernie Clement, bringing the Blue Jays within three runs. Things got dicey when Addison Barger hit a long fly ball down the line, but it was just a few feet wide. He later made the second out of the inning with a groundout. Diaz then brought in George Springer with a groundout to end the game and end the Reds’ losing streak with a 6-3 win.
Key moment of the game
The three doubles in the 6th inning by Spencer Steer, Ty France and Jake Fraley brought in four runs and gave the Reds a 6-2 lead.
Noteworthy information
TJ Friedl had three hits that night.
Ty France began his time with the Reds by going 1-12 in his first four games. Since then, he has gone 14-42 with a batting average of .333/.378/.643 with seven extra-base hits.
Julian Aguiar’s MLB debut looks like this on the game report: 4IP, 4H, 2ER, 1BB, 2K. He threw 57 pitches with 38 strikes.
Next up for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs. Toronto Blue Jays
Tuesday, August 19, 7:07 p.m. ET
TBA against Jose Berrios (11-9, 3.85 ERA)
