Luis Cessa's start unravels due to homers in Reds loss to Pirates
When Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell planned for Tuesday’s doubleheader, he wanted a starting pitcher in Game 1 that he knew could pitch deeper into the game.
For a Reds team with a rotation decimated by injuries, the pitcher who fit that description was Luis Cessa. He was a reliever from 2018 until the middle of August when the Reds, in desperate need of a starter, moved him to the rotation.
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On Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Reds, 6-1, in Game 1 of the doubleheader in front of a crowd of 9,332 at Great American Ball Park. Cessa allowed five runs in 5 ⅔ innings, including three home runs to center field to the team with the second-to-worst batting average in MLB.
“I’m working really hard between every outing,” Cessa said. “I had to change my routine going from a reliever to a starter. I need more jogging time, more long sprints, more weight room stuff. I’m really working really hard because the change in the middle of the season is really hard to do.”
Before today, even though Cessa has been a starting pitcher for less than a month, he had been one of their most consistent pitchers. Cessa and Nick Lodolo are the only Reds pitchers who have completed five innings in each of their last three starts.
On Tuesday, Cessa allowed homers on first-pitch strikes and took the loss.
“The reports say this is a patient team, but maybe they know I throw too many strikes,” Cessa said. “That was the key today.”
Cessa has pitched deeper into the game in each of his six starts so far. But he has struggled to prevent homers, allowing seven in his six starts. He also hasn’t struck out batters as often as he did coming out of the bullpen.
He’s still one of the best options in a Reds’ rotation that’s missing Hunter Greene, Graham Ashcraft, Connor Overton, Robert Dugger and T.J. Zeuch. Chase Anderson, who had been a minor league reliever all season, has a 9.00 ERA in the Reds rotation.
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For the second game of the doubleheader, Bell had to pick between waiver claim Luke Farrell and minor league free agent Raynel Espinal, who have combined for seven career MLB starts and two total starts this season.
The current state of the Reds’ rotation puts Cessa’s production into perspective. Even though he has been up and down, Cessa is giving the Reds’ rotation another pitcher the team can rely on for innings.
“It was a couple first pitch (homers),” Cessa said. “That was the key to a bad outing today. I need to pay attention to those hitters being more aggressive early in counts.”
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Cessa started the game strong through the first three innings, allowing no runs and just two hits. Then he allowed a homer in each of the next three innings. Cessa was one out away from completing six innings for the first time since 2018, but Bell pulled him after Cessa threw a slider over the middle of the plate and allowed a homer.
Pirates starter Johan Oviedo carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning and didn’t allow a run. In the sixth inning, Reds designated hitter T.J. Friedl doubled and scored on a groundout by third baseman Kyle Farmer.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds lose to Pirates as Luis Cessa start unravels
