Jonathan India, Jake Fraley come up clutch in Cincinnati Reds comeback win over Padres

SAN DIEGO – There are other ways to win games besides scoring in the last at-bat, but that’s apparently the Cincinnati Reds’ flavor of the month.

The Reds took their first lead in the top of the 10th inning Tuesday when Jonathan India hit an RBI single up the middle, scoring Matt Reynolds who was the automatic runner at second base and firing up his teammates in the dugout.

Alexis Díaz secured his fifth save of the season to seal a 2-1 win over the San Diego Padres in front of a sellout crowd of 43,127. It was the Reds’ first win at Petco Park in four years, ending a nine-game losing streak in San Diego that dated to April 20, 2019.

The Reds tied the score in the eighth inning against Padres reliever Nick Martinez. TJ Friedl hit a one-out single and Tyler Stephenson drew a two-out walk. Jake Fraley, Mr. Clutch in the first month of the season, followed with a game-tying RBI single into right field.  

There wasn't much offense from the Reds for most of the night. They had all the ingredients for a quick start Tuesday, putting runners on second and third with no outs in the top of the first inning.

It amounted to nothing.

The Reds failed to score a run in the first inning with two popups and a strikeout, and they didn’t produce another hit until the sixth inning. Padres righthander Michael Wacha entered Tuesday with a 6.75 ERA across five starts after he allowed 33 hits in 25 1/3 innings. Facing the Reds, he permitted two hits and two walks in six scoreless innings.

In the sixth inning, Stuart Fairchild drew a two-out walk against Wacha. Jake Fraley followed with a line drive through the left side of the infield, and he advanced to second base when Fairchild aggressively took third on the single. That brought up Nick Senzel, the hottest hitter in the Reds lineup, with two runners in scoring position, but Senzel flew out to center field when he swung at a 2-0 pitch.

San Diego didn’t have many chances against Graham Ashcraft, who delivered another fine outing, but Juan Soto pulled an RBI double down the first base line in the third inning. Ashcraft allowed one run on six hits and one walk while he struck out three.

The Reds' bullpen pitched four scoreless innings without giving up a hit.

Takeaways from the Reds’ game against the Padres

1. Facing a Padres lineup that has been gaining steam in the past few days, Ashcraft cooled their bats his mix of cutters, sinkers and sliders. He induced nine groundouts and threw a lot of first-pitch strikes early in his outing to remain on the attack.

Ashcraft did receive some timely help from his defense. Friedl, in center field, saved a run with a sliding catch to end the sixth inning on a line drive with a runner at third base. Ashcraft pumped his fist and let out a yell in celebration.

2. Ashcraft did everything he could to persuade Manager David Bell to keep him in the game after he gave up a leadoff single to Ha-Seong Kim in the seventh inning. “I got him,” Ashcraft repeated a couple of times with Austin Nola preparing to hit.

Bell went with Lucas Sims instead, and Sims couldn’t have pitched much better. After a sacrifice bunt to move Kim to second base, Sims struck out pinch-hitter Trent Grisham and Fernando Tatis Jr. with great movement on his slider.

3. The Reds know their offensive limitations, without much power in their lineup, so give them credit for taking advantage of what they can control. They were aggressive on the basepaths Tuesday, particularly on balls hit to left fielder Juan Soto.

India went first-to-third on a single to left field in the first inning and Fairchild did the same in the sixth inning. Friedl stole a base in the eighth.

Injury report

Tony Santillan, who threw a 20-pitch bullpen last weekend, was shut down afterward after he tweaked his hamstring, Manager David Bell said Tuesday. Santillan is expected to be shut down for at least a week, pushing his timetable to return to the majors into June.

Wil Myers, on the injured list without an injury designation after he was scratched from a game last week with an illness, is not with the team and will not join the Reds on the first day he’s eligible to return Wednesday. He’s continuing work out at Great American Ball Park.

Connor Overton, on the 15-day injured list with an elbow strain, still hasn’t resumed throwing after he moved his rehab to Goodyear, Arizona.