Reds Rough Up Cashner & Take Advantage of 5th Inning Mistakes, Padres Lose 7-2

Venable misplays a ball in Friday night’s loss. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports

The Padres headed into Cincinnati looking to erase the memory of a series-sweep at the hands of the Orioles earlier in the week.  Unfortunately for San Diego, they lost 7-2 because lineup failed to produce while Andrew Cashner (and his defense) could not limit their mistakes this evening.

Cincinnati raced to an early lead against Cashner and never looked back by the time that the first inning finished.  Todd Frazier and Joey Votto in particular proved to be tough outs for San Diego’s starter.

Frazier laced a one-out double in the bottom of the first and scored when Votto followed the double with a single of his own.  In the bottom of the third, Frazier led off the inning with a walk and scored when Votto tripled to right field.  Jay Bruce then brought Votto around to score later in the frame when he doubled off of San Diego’s right-hander.

The Friars cut Cincinnati’s lead to 3-1 in the top of the fifth when Logan Forsythe smacked a solo home run to left-center field gap.  Sadly, San Diego would get no closer after what happened in the bottom of the frame.  With two outs and Votto on first, it looked like Cashner would escape the inning unharmed.  Will Venable misplayed a single by Chris Heisey which allowed Votto to extend the Reds lead to 4-2.  Heisey then scored and Zack Cozart reached second base on a throwing error by Forsythe after Heisey’s single.

Down 5-1, Cashner exited the game in the bottom of the sixth for Tim Stauffer.  The pitching change did not stop the bleeding though, especially because Brandon Phillips extended Cincinnati’s lead to 7-1 when he smashed a two-run dinger off of Stauffer.

The only other run that the Padres could muster on the night was a solo home run by Venable in the top of the eighth.  That however was a testament to how effective Bronson Arroyo and Cincinnati’s bullpen were this evening.  Arroyo in particular was terrific, and Cincinnati’s right-hander pitched seven strong innings and only allowed the solo dinger to Forsythe in the top of the fifth.

Final Thoughts

The Friars will look to rebound tomorrow when they send Tyson Ross to the hill to stop the team’s three-game losing streak.  Ross, who has enjoyed three solid starts in a row, has definitely made a believer out of me that he can become a full-time contributor in San Diego’ starting rotation for the rest of this year and beyond.  I just hope that his offense and defense can help him more than they did for Cashner tonight.

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