Cincinnati Reds offense silenced by Noah Syndergaard in loss to Phillies

PHILADELPHIA – Noah Syndergaard is no longer the flamethrower he was early in his career after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but the rebranded version of himself found plenty of ways to shut down the Cincinnati Reds lineup.

The Reds stranded two runners on base in the second inning, then had only one baserunner touch second base for the rest of the night in a 4-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

Syndergaard, nicknamed Thor when he was with the New York Mets, struck out one batter in seven innings. He induced only two swings and misses.

It didn’t matter.

"He knows how to pitch," Reds catcher Austin Romine said. "He’s been around the block, so he knows how to use his stuff, get guys out and get weak contact."

The Reds didn’t have an answer for Syndergaard outside of a solo homer from Romine in the fifth inning in front of the crowd of 19,166. After scoring 19 runs in their past two games against the Pittsburgh Pirates, they were held to three hits.

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Luis Cessa, returning to a rotation for the first time since he pitched for the New York Yankees in 2018, continues to be hurt by homers this season. In a two-inning start, which followed a 57-minute weather delay in which it didn't rain, he gave up two more homers.

"Overall, it’s not the first impression I want to do," Cessa said, "but I feel good."

The Reds are real light on starting pitching depth, so Cessa filled a spot in the rotation despite throwing more than 30 pitches in just one outing prior to Monday. That’s what happens when Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle are shipped at the trade deadline.

Hunter Greene, scheduled to throw a bullpen session Wednesday, is weeks away from returning. Robert Dugger is on the 15-day injured list and Connor Overton had a hamstring setback as he began ramping up toward rehab games. T.J. Zeuch was ineffective in his two starts and Brandon Williamson, the Reds’ top pitching prospect at Triple-A, is still working on limiting his walks to earn a promotion.

Cessa, who pitched two scoreless innings in 17 pitches against the Phillies last week, was undone when he fell behind in the count to the middle of the Phillies lineup. Nick Castellanos opened the second inning with a solo homer into the trees positioned behind center field, a 436-foot blast to extend his 12-game hitting streak.

Two pitches later, Bryson Stott smacked a homer to the second deck in right field. It was the eighth time Reds pitchers have allowed back-to-back homers this season, the first time since Castellanos and Darick Hall did it versus Zeuch last week.

"It’s the second time, I think, in my career, I had a back-to-back," Cessa said. "One of those pitches was a hanging breaking ball for Castellanos and the other is a fastball in, but really, really in off his hands. Good for the hitter."

Said Romine: "Sometimes, guys put good swings on balls. We forget they are pros as well. They’re a good-hitting lineup. Sometimes, they get to good pitches."

Cessa threw a season-high 41 pitches in two innings, permitting three hits and two runs. He told Reds Manager David Bell that he was OK to pitch a third inning, but Bell told him to take it one step at a time.

"The second inning, he had to work a little harder," Bell said. "He said he could go back out but given the workload leading up to that start, it felt like pushing him wasn’t the right thing to do there. Next time out, if he can go 3-4 innings, we’ll see how it goes. I think it was a good first start.”

Unsurprisingly, it turned into a bullpen game after the Reds used a pitcher who wasn’t yet built to throw a starter’s workload. Joel Kuhnel surrendered an RBI double to Castellanos in the third inning, J.T. Realmuto scoring from first base when right fielder Jake Fraley airmailed a throw to the infield as he lost his footing and fell to the ground.

"The bullpen actually held a good-hitting team to four runs and gave us a chance to actually chip away," Romine said. "We just couldn’t find a way tonight."

Romine provided the only offensive punch against Syndergaard. It came a half-inning after he took a foul ball to a region that puts people in pain every time it was replayed on the video board. He thumped a solo homer to left field for his first home run of the season.

"I’ve been working a lot with (hitting coach Alan Zinter) in the cage. A lot," Romine said. "Doing some good work. I was able to get a good swing on a ball tonight, but we still have a lot of work to do."

The Phillies answered in the bottom of the fifth inning when Realmuto hit an RBI double that bounced to the center-field wall off Reds reliever Art Warren.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Noah Syndergaard silences Reds bats in loss to Phillies