ANAHEIM – While the names on the roster might have changed plenty, it took a full seven years before the Reds found their match against the Angels.
The Reds’ offense went quiet as their 2-1 loss to the Angels on Wednesday ended their 10-game winning streak over the American League club dating back to 2019.
And yet that run really is more of an oddity. Most painful about the defeat is that it prevented the Reds from moving into a tie for the third Wild Card spot in the National League, although they technically would have been a mere percentage point behind the New York Mets.
Right-hander Nick Martinez did his part, and showed his desire to remain in the starting rotation, by allowing one run on two hits over six innings with one walk and seven strikeouts.
Martinez said he was aware the Mets lost to the Washington Nationals earlier Wednesday, giving the Reds a chance to tie for the last Wild Card spot. Catcher Jose Trevino said that not only did he not know what the Mets had done, he claimed he still didn’t know after Wednesday’s loss.
“To be honest, I’m not worried about anybody but our team,” Trevino said. “Take care of what we have to take care of first. … That’s how I go about it and how a lot of us are going about it. We’re in a tight race. Do whatever we can to win a game. And whether another team wins or another team loses, it doesn’t matter.”
To his credit, Martinez did end up echoing the same sentiment.
“I was [scoreboard watching]. I can’t speak for anybody else,” Martinez said. “But, I think we should just focus on what we can do and focus on the game ahead of us.”
Martinez will have a chance to show that focus again against the Dodgers on Tuesday, with his rotation spot then uncertain moving forward. Left-hander Nick Lodolo is closing in on a return from a blister for the road trip finale against the Dodgers.
With six viable starting options a distinct possibility soon, followed by two off-days in an eight-day stretch after the road trip, the Reds feel good about the immediate road ahead.
Martinez was the odd man out of the rotation when the Reds acquired Zack Littell at the Trade Deadline, then immediately returned from the bullpen when Lodolo went on the injured list Aug. 5.
“We’re in a good spot and we’re playing good baseball,” Martinez said. “Whatever happens in the next few days will be good for the team. So we’ve just got to keep playing good ball.”
Outside of a home run from the Angels’ Yoán Moncada, the only other blip on an otherwise dominating night for Martinez were a pair of pitches up and in to Jo Adell and Zach Neto that hit both Angels run producers up near the hands. Neto later left the game.
“The home run to left-center was the only thing,” manager Terry Francona said of Martinez. “He was terrific.”
The Reds’ offense had its own issues with Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi, who allowed one run on seven hits over seven innings with no walks and four strikeouts.
“Kikuchi has enough velo to get the fastball by you and then the offspeed,” Francona said. “We had a real good opportunity early and didn’t cash in. Sometimes when you let a good pitcher off the hook, we’ve seen it time and time again, you don’t cash in.”
The Reds broke through against Kikuchi in the third inning. Ke’Bryan Hayes led off with a double and scored on a single from Noelvi Marte. That came after a second inning when the Reds had runners on first and third with nobody out and didn’t score.
The Angels tied it in the fourth inning on Moncada's home run.
In the sixth, with the chance to take the lead, TJ Friedl and Marte opened with singles but Elly De La Cruz’s liner to left was caught by Taylor Ward as he went to the ground.
Right-hander Scott Barlow followed Martinez with a scoreless inning before the Angels went ahead 2-1 in the eighth inning against right-hander Graham Ashcraft.
Bryce Teodosio led off with a double, advanced to third on an Ashcraft wild pitch and scored on a one-out single from Luis Rengifo.
“We just have to keep going,” Trevino said. “I thought we did a good job tonight. We got runners where we needed them, we just didn’t get the hit that we needed. [Thursday], take the off-day and roll into Arizona.”