Nick Senzel walk-off homer ends homerless streak, sweeps Texas Rangers

After two comeback wins against the Texas Rangers, the Cincinnati Reds apparently decided they needed a little more late-inning drama.

A blown save in the top of the ninth inning set up their second walk-off win of the series as Nick Senzel drilled a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Reds a 5-3 victory. Senzel’s homer snapped an eight-game homerless streak and completed a three-game sweep over the Rangers.

Senzel, who was mobbed at the plate by his teammates, lined a full-count offspeed pitch into the first row of seats in left field to set off the fireworks. Senzel jumped into his circle of teammates at the plate.

It was the first home run by a Reds batter since Kevin Newman's second-inning solo homer on April 17, a streak that spanned 310 at-bats and was the club's longest homerless streak in 30 years.

The win saved an emotional start from Graham Ashcraft, who was pitching with a heavy heart. Ashcraft allowed three hits and two runs in six innings, but the box score told only a small part of the story.

Ashcraft’s grandmother, Theresa Ann Ashcraft, died Monday at 82 years old. She was a Texas Rangers fan until Ashcraft was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in 2019, keeping score during her grandson’s starts. Ashcraft changed his walkout song in the first inning to “Watching You” by Rodney Atkins.

It was an emotional outing. Ashcraft pointed to the sky and appeared to hold back tears when he pitched a clean first inning in 12 pitches. The Rangers loaded the bases with no outs in the second inning, and Ashcraft pitched out of it, celebrating with a huge fist pump and a “Let’s go!” shout.

Ashcraft didn’t hide his frustration walking off the mound when the Rangers erased a two-run deficit in the fifth inning, giving up an RBI double to Nathaniel Lowe and a sacrifice fly.

The Reds retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. Nick Senzel lined an opposite-field single in a 0-2 count, advanced to second base on a bunt, stole third and scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly. When Ashcraft pitched a clean sixth inning, raising his pitch count to 100, he received a hug from catcher Curt Casali before he reached the dugout.

Takeaways from the Reds’ series finale against the Rangers

1. Henry Ramos, who was the last cut from big-league camp, made an immediate impact after he was promoted to the majors this week. He runs hard and with emotion, and it showed up in a few ways Monday.

Ramos hit an RBI triple in the second inning, aggressively taking third base on a ball he hit to left field. The next batter, Kevin Newman, hit a ground ball to third base, which forced third baseman Josh Jung to reach to his left. That was enough for Ramos, who sprinted to the plate and beat the throw to give the Reds a 2-0 lead.

Another hustle play that didn’t lead to a run: He beat out a potential double play in the fourth inning, which gave the Reds runners on the corners with two outs. A groundout ended the inning.

2. Outside of Texas’ two-run fifth inning, Ashcraft was excellent when he was pitching in jams. With the bases loaded in the second inning, Ashcraft faced three lefties at the bottom of the order. He escaped with an infield popup, a strikeout on a slider and a groundout to first base.

The last batter in the second inning, shortstop Josh Smith, was in a 3-1 count against Ashcraft. The pitcher didn’t back down, firing a 95-mph cutter down the middle that was watched for a strike before escaping the threat.

3. With Lucas Sims ready in the bullpen, the Reds stuck with reliever Ian Gibaut in the ninth inning after he hit a batter and struck out a batter in the eighth inning. The move backfired and it added another blown save to the bullpen's total.

Gibaut gave up back-to-back hits to open the ninth inning. Sims, entering with runners on the corners and no outs, gave up the tying run on a sacrifice fly on his fourth pitch. Alexis Díaz was likely unavailable to pitch after appearing in each of the last two games.

Stat of the day

The Reds won their first series against the Rangers since 2004. Like this week, the Reds swept the Rangers in 2014 during a three-game series at Great American Ball Park.