LOS ANGELES – It wasn’t the three-run deficit in the first inning that doomed the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday. Nor was it Jonathan India’s hamstring injury that forced him to leave the game.
The Reds rallied from a three-run deficit against Los Angeles Dodgers pitchers Walker Buehler and David Price with a pair of home runs.
No, it was a matchup between the middle of the Dodgers lineup versus the Reds’ top reliever, Tony Santillan. Trea Turner hit a go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning and Will Smith added a three-run homer to rout the Reds, 9-3, at Dodger Stadium.
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“We’ll take our chances when we play a game like that and we have Tony, who has been really good for us,” Reds Manager David Bell said. “It’s a good position to be in and it didn’t work out.”
Freddie Freeman, in his first home game with the Dodgers, opened the eighth inning with a ground-rule double off Justin Wilson. The sold-out crowd of 52,995 loudly chanted, “Freddie! Freddie!” until he acknowledged them with a wave from second base during a pitching change.
Five pitches after Santillan took the mound, the Dodgers had a lead, and the crowd noise was deafening. Three batters later, Smith powered a homer that flew just over the outstretched arm of center fielder Jake Fraley.
As soon as the Reds felt like they were back in the game, the Dodgers were there to take it away. Santillan tried to keep the score tied and the Dodgers sent 11 batters to the plate in their six-run eighth inning.
“We know everything we need to know about the Dodgers,” Bell said. “They’re a good team, no question. A great team. Until the end there, I thought our pitching did a great job of keeping us in the game.”
The Reds deployed an opener for their pitching staff for the first time in Bell’s three-plus seasons. They wanted Luis Cessa to pitch a couple of innings ahead of previously scheduled starter Reiver Sanmartin to limit Sanmartin’s exposure against the top of the Dodgers lineup.
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It wasn’t that Cessa pitched poorly. He threw 15 of his 22 pitches for strikes and often worked ahead in counts, but Dodgers hitters put the ball in play and that was enough. Freeman singled up the middle against a shift. Trea Turner blooped a single to center. Justin Turner drove in a run when he was jammed on a pitch and the ball flew over India’s head at second base.
The first inning kept snowballing in death by a thousand cuts. Max Muncy pulled a ball between India and Joey Votto at first base for an RBI single. Another run scored on an infield single, a slow roller to shortstop.
The Dodgers, their high-powered offense filled with All-Stars, didn’t need to flex their muscles. They turned five consecutive singles into a three-run lead. It was the first time Cessa allowed more than one run in 27 outings with the Reds.
“The results were not good, however, he was throwing hard, he was making pitches,” Bell said. “Some balls got through the infield.”
Sanmartin followed Cessa after the first inning. He surrendered a single to his first hitter, Cody Bellinger, then retired 14 of his next 15 batters, including 10 in a row. Sanmartin struggled with the cold in his season debut in Atlanta, and he was determined to make up for it.
“I knew that I had to prove a lot in this start,” Sanmartin said, according to team interpreter Jorge Merlos. “I’m glad that I was able to show off what I can do.”
Sanmartin allowed only two baserunners across five innings, striking out two. He had a wide smile whipped across his face after completing final inning and he received hugs from fellow starting pitchers in the dugout.
“That first inning was huge for him to get out there, get three outs and just keep it rolling,” catcher Tyler Stephenson said. “He’s always positive. He’s always confident. He’s one of the greatest guys I’ve ever met. He’s going to go out there and have fun and smile.”
Things looked gloomy for the Reds in the fifth inning when India exited with a right hamstring injury. The Reds were encouraged by initial tests on India’s hamstring, but it takes a lot for him to come out of a game.
Buehler retired 10 of 11 hitters before issuing a two-out walk to Stephenson in the sixth inning. Next up was Aristides Aquino, who blasted a two-run homer to center field, snapping a streak of seven consecutive plate appearances with a strikeout. Aquino let out a yell after connecting on a 93-mph fastball at the top of the strike zone for his first homer of the season.
In the seventh inning, Brandon Drury, who replaced India, hit a game-tying, solo homer to center field off Price. Drury started in a 3-0 count, then lifted a changeup over the fence.
The Reds, with momentum on their side, had the matchup they wanted, their top reliever against the power hitters in the Dodgers lineup. The Dodgers, as their lineup often does, won this round.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Dodgers beat Cincinnati Reds, Tony Santillan in their home opener