Reds 6, Twins 5: Twins Snatch Fifth Straight Loss from the Jaws of Victory

Box Score
SP: David Festa 3.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 4 R, 3 BB, 4 K (81 pitches, 49 strikes (60%))
Home Runs: Byron Buxton (12), Harrison Bader (7)
Bottom 3 WPA: Brock Stewart (-.341), Festa (-.244), Christian Vázquez (-.202)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) 

The Twins entered the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati reeling from a sweep in Houston, losers of eight of 10 overall. The Reds tamed the Tigers over the weekend, and looked to keep climbing the National League Central standings after getting back over the .500 mark. David Festa looked to build upon his outstanding start last time out against the Rangers, while the Reds turned to lefty Andrew Abbott and his sub-2.00 ERA. In a stadium built for offense, the Twins hoped that their sluggish bats could rise to the challenge.

Buxton Makes His All-Star Plea
The first inning and a half came and went without much fanfare, but the bottom of the second brought an odd injury that would eventually change the makeup of the umpiring crew and a defensive play that got Twins fans off their feet. While Tyler Stephenson was leading off the inning for the Reds, a foul tip caught the home plate umpire, Tony Randazzo, square, and led to a delay while trainers attended to him. While Festa recovered from the delay to strike out Stephenson and then former Twins prospect Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Will Benson took a 1-1 changeup deep to right center field for what appeared to be a go-ahead homer. Byron Buxton made sure that all anybody saw was a web gem and a third out.

Not to be outdone by himself, Buxton came up with one out in the top of the third inning and showed everyone what hitting a home run to that part of Great American Ballpark actually looks like for a 1-0 Twins lead.

After Buxton's heroics, the previously wounded umpire Randazzo was forced to leave the game, leaving the crew a man short with most of the game to go. With a new strike zone appearing mid-start, how would the game be impacted?

Errors Cost Festa and the Twins
Turns out the strike zone was the least of the teams' worries in the middle innings. Sloppy defense has plagued the Twins over the past few weeks and on Tuesday night the miscues once again cost the Twins dearly. A leadoff walk to Gavin Lux in the bottom of the fourth didn't help Festa's cause, and once Elly De La Cruz switched places with him after a groundout things truly began to unravel for the young righty. De La Cruz distracted Festa, and eventually stole second, which led to a Stephenson walk and an official threat forming. The Twins thought they had escaped when Encarnacion-Strand popped up to Ryan Jeffers, but the aforementioned Benson kept his next blast lower in launch angle and plated two runs with a double. Festa did get out of the jam by striking out another former Twins prospect Spencer Steer, but Jeffers couldn't corral the pitch and Steer advanced to first on a passed ball as Benson took third. Steer stole second to gain scoring position, and Jake Fraley made the error hurt (remember that!) with a single that plated two more Reds, ended Festa's night early, and made it a 4-1 Cincinnati lead.

Making Errors Hurt is the Name of the Game
Abbott was cruising along with his newfound lead until the top of the sixth inning, when with two outs, Ty France grounded out to Encarnacion-Stand for the third out. But the former Twin helped out the club that drafted him by chucking the throw wide of first, and France was hustling and reached safely. This opened the gate, and Brooks Lee extended his hit streak to 15 with a single to get France into scoring position. Trevor Larnach appreciated that gesture, and scored France with a single of his own to close the gap to 4-2. Then with two out, and two on, Harrison Bader hit a long fly ball to deep right field. The previous hero Fraley helped the ball go just a bit farther, over the wall for a gift three-run home run. Seriously. It happened. Just watch the Twins take the lead at 5-4!

Bullpens Determine the Outcome, Yet Again
The good vibes didn't last long for Twins fans, as the Reds stormed right back in the bottom of the sixth. Brock Stewart mowed down the first two batters in short order, but Fraley redeemed himself slightly with a single to start the dominos and Matt McClain followed with a single of his own to push Fraley into scoring position. Turns out that McClain was also in scoring position, because TJ Friedl drifted a double just past a diving Matt Wallner, and with two outs, both runners scored easily to give the Reds a 6-5 advantage yet again. The Twins needed 81 pitches from five relievers to cover for Festa's short start, but they managed to keep it a one-run game into the top of the ninth.

The Twins, however, couldn't match with a rally of their own against the Reds bullpen and long-lost closer (and yet another former Twin) Emilio Pagán. After replacing Jeffers due to injury mid-game, Christian Vazquez came up with the tying at second and two outs against the former most-hated reliever in Twins history, and he went back to the dugout after being the latest victim to fall to Pagan who now has 17 saves (Jhoan Duran has only 10 on the season). This sums up the past two weeks brilliantly, as the game ended in a fifth straight Twins loss and a slide back to .500 baseball.

What’s Next?
The Twins will attempt to break this losing streak once again on Wednesday night, and they'll be counting on Bailey Ober (4-3, 4.40 ERA) to recover from perhaps his worst start of the season. The Reds will counter with another lefty, Nick Lodolo (4-5, 3.76 ERA). Twins will be waiting to see if Jeffers can return to the lineup after bruising his hand at some point around the passed ball experience. First pitch is scheduled for 6:10pm CDT.

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet