D-Backs rue missed opportunities in 12-inning loss to Cincinnati Reds

The Reds, it seemed, tried to give Tuesday night’s game away in nine innings. Then, they tried to give it away in 10. In the 11th, they upped the ante, bringing home two runs via a wild pitch.

None of it was enough to lose to the Diamondbacks, who turned a scoreless game entering extras into a 5-3, 12-inning loss as they dropped to six games below .500 for the first time this season.

“We had some opportunities to win it and we didn't and it's just frustrating,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “So I think everybody in that room right now is experiencing a little bit of frustration, trying to cycle through what happened.”

The biggest positive for the Diamondbacks came in the form of Zach Davies’ start. He went seven scoreless innings, struck out seven and didn’t walk a batter. With the outing, he lowered his ERA in June to 1.31.

“Just recognizing approaches and game-planning and those kinds of things are kinda all clicking,” Davies said. “… A good stretch of games, getting deeper into the ballgame, being aggressive early in the count and getting strike one.”

The flip side of Davies’ start was what infielder Josh Rojas described as “the most frustrating part” of the night: not turning his gem into a win.

Instead, Arizona was shut down by Tyler Mahle for the second time in a week. After striking out 10 Diamondbacks in Cincinnati five days ago, Mahle went nine innings, allowed three hits and sat down 12 on Tuesday.

“He was hitting every spot, painting corners,” Rojas, who struck out three times against Mahle, said. “You try to jump on a pitch, he'd come just off the corner.”

Throughout the first nine innings, the Reds had multiple opportunities to give Mahle the win. None was more glaring than in the seventh, when Kyle Farmer misread a double off the wall in center field and held up at first base just long enough for a Diamondbacks’ relay to beat him at the plate.

In the 10th, the Reds finally got their first run, plating the automatic runner on an RBI double. That began a rollercoaster set of extra innings.

David Peralta roped a one-out RBI double to right to tie the game in the bottom half, advancing to third on an error. But with the winning run 90 feet away, Pavin Smith popped out to right and Jake McCarthy struck out on a hittable fastball.

In the 11th, the Reds responded by crushing a pair of singles off Ian Kennedy, opening up a 3-1 lead.

“Kennedy was just missing spots,” Lovullo said. “… He had good stuff, he just wasn't landing pitches and throwing them in the right spot.”

That should have been enough to secure the victory. Instead, with two outs and runners on the corners, Reds reliever Luis Cessa collapsed in rare fashion.

He yanked a 1-2 pitch to Rojas, enabling McCarthy to break for the plate from third. Catcher Chris Okey’s throw beat McCarthy, but Cessa dropped it, keeping the game alive. Behind McCarthy, Alek Thomas moved to third on the play — a heads-up piece of baserunning that would prove critical when Cessa bounced another wild pitch three pitches later, simultaneously walking Rojas and bringing home the tying run.

“That was really nice,” Rojas said. “Drove in two runs, didn't even have to put the ball in play.”

Rojas, for his part, advanced to second on a stolen base. The Diamondbacks, again, had victory within reach. But again, they couldn’t capitalize. Instead, Ketel Marte grounded out to second, ending the threat.

That, it proved, was as far as luck would take Arizona on Tuesday.

In the 12th, Sean Poppen allowed two runs — a result, Lovullo said, of “yanking” his pitches. Unlike with Kennedy an inning earlier, the offense couldn’t back him up, going down in order on just five pitches.

“They executed in crucial situations a little bit better than we did today,” Lovullo said of a night in which execution was neither club’s strong suit. “And that was the difference in the game.”

Theo Mackie covers Arizona high school sports and Phoenix Rising FC. He can be reached by email at theo.mackie@gannett.com and on Twitter @theo_mackie.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Diamondbacks miss opportunities in 12-inning loss to Reds