MLB

Cincinnati Reds at Minnesota Twins

· Major League Baseball
Cincinnati Reds
73-77, 37-38 Away
Final
11 - 1
Minnesota Twins
78-70, 41-33 Home

Friedl and Martinez lead Reds to 11-1 rout of struggling Twins

Jake Fraley had three hits for the Reds, including a solo homer. Cincinnati scored nine times in the fourth to put away the game early.

"That’s a playoff team, right? They’re right there. To be able to do that against a staff like that and a team that’s been playing well all year, it’s good for us,” Fraley said.

Minnesota remained 2 1/2 games ahead of Detroit for the final American League playoff berth but dropped 3 1/2 games behind Kansas City for the league's second wild card.

“I think you’ve got to put it like, ‘Don’t play to give it up. Play to take it,’" Twins infielder Kyle Farmer said of the team's mentality. "When we went to Cleveland last year around this time, we took it from them. It was just a different mindset. We have to get back towards that mindset of taking it rather than giving it up.”

Martinez (9-6) allowed one run and three hits with no walks and six strikeouts. In three September starts, he's 3-0 with a 0.48 ERA.

“He knows how to pitch. He’s been on a great roll. He has a great changeup, but he has really six different pitches that he can use and throw for strikes," Reds manager David Bell said.

Brent Suter pitched three scoreless innings to earn his second save of the season.

Byron Buxton had an RBI single for the Twins, who have lost eight of 11.

“There’s only one way to play this game,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “You can play with urgency and play relaxed and play loose. And that’s where we have to be. It doesn’t feel like we’re doing that. We’ve been pressing on the offensive side of the ball. We know that. You just have to keep going.”

Minnesota starter Simeon Woods Richardson (5-5), who has failed to complete five innings in any of his last four starts, worked out of a bases-loaded, none-out jam without allowing a run in the third. But that 28-pitch effort took its toll an inning later, when he was pulled after allowing a walk and two singles to tie it at 1.

Fraley singled off reliever Louie Varland to load the bases, and Noelvi Marte doubled to give the Reds a 3-1 lead.

Jonathan India followed with a two-run single, and before the inning was over Spencer Steer had a two-run double and Friedl a two-run homer, his second longball in as many nights.

Meanwhile, the Twins had just three hits after the first inning and were held to fewer than three runs for the sixth time in their last 11 games.

“It looks like guys are just getting frustrated with themselves and not looking at the bigger picture, just looking at the results right now,” said Farmer, who pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning in mop-up duty.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Reds: RHP Hunter Greene (elbow soreness) is slated to throw live batting practice on Tuesday. If all goes well, Bell said Greene could still be in line to make two more starts this season.

Twins: SS Carlos Correa (plantar fasciitis) returned to the lineup for the first time since the All-Star break. He started at shortstop and played four innings, doubling in his second plate appearance. He was pulled along with Buxton in the fifth with the Twins trailing 9-1.

UP NEXT

Twins RHP David Festa (2-6, 5.08 ERA) starts Sunday’s series finale against RHP Rhett Lowder (1-1, 0.59).

A previous version of this story corrected Martinez's record.

How can I watch Cincinnati Reds vs. Minnesota Twins?
  • TV Channel: Reds at Twins 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.TV.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Twins: 51.5%
Reds: 48.5%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

9th Inning Farmer flied out to right.
9th Inning Margot lined out to right.
9th Inning Jeffers popped out to second.
9th Inning Marte grounded out to third.
9th Inning Dunn flied out to center.
9th Inning Espinal flied out to left.

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/cin.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCIN https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/min.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originMIN
1 Games Played 1
1 Team Games Played 1
0 Hit By Pitch 2
13 Ground Balls 9
6 Strikeouts 8
11 Runs Batted In 1
0 Sacrifice Hit 0
15 Hits 5
0 Stolen Bases 0
5 Walks 0
0 Catcher Interference 0
11 Runs 1
1 Ground Into Double Play 1
0 Sacrifice Flies 0
40 At Bats 31
2 Home Runs 0
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
18 Runners Left On Base 9
0 Triples 0
1 Game Winning RBIs 0
0 Intentional Walks 0
3 Doubles 3
21 Fly Balls 14
0 Caught Stealing 0
173 Pitches 124
0 Games Started 0
0 Pinch At Bats 1
0 Pinch Hits 0
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
0 Is Qualified In Steals 0
24 Total Bases 8
45 Plate Appearances 33
324.0 Projected Home Runs 0.0
5 Extra Base Hits 3
9.7 Runs Created 1.1
.375 Batting Average .161
.000 Pinch Hit Average .000
.600 Slugging Percentage .258
.350 Secondary Average .097
.444 On Base Percentage .212
1.044 OBP Pct + SLG Pct .470
0.6 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 0.6
10.1 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 1.1
71.0 Batter Rating 15.0
20.0 At Bats Per Home Run 0.0
0.00 Stolen Base Percentage 0.00
3.84 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 3.76
.225 Isolated Power .097
0.83 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 0.00
.111 Walks Per Plate Appearance .000
-.025 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average -.065
22.0 Runs Produced 2.0
1.0 Runs Ratio 1.0
0.7 Patience Ratio 0.3
0.4 Balls In Play Average 0.2
113.5 MLB Rating 66.0
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Target Field

Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 28,881 | Capacity:

2024 National League Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Milwaukee 93 69 .574 - L1
St. Louis 83 79 .512 10 W1
Chicago 83 79 .512 10 L1
Cincinnati 77 85 .475 16 W1
Pittsburgh 76 86 .469 17 L1

2024 American League Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Cleveland 92 69 .571 - L2
Kansas City 86 76 .531 6.5 W1
Detroit 86 76 .531 6.5 L2
Minnesota 82 80 .506 10.5 L4
Chicago 41 121 .253 51.5 W2
Full Standings