After ninth-inning comeback, Cincinnati Reds lose to Atlanta on walk-off homer
ATLANTA – The final score may not indicate the pitcher’s duel that transpired between Graham Ashcraft and Bryce Elder at Truist Park on Monday, but that underscored the wacky final innings.
The Cincinnati Reds erased a two-run deficit in the top of the ninth inning, took their first lead of the night in the 10th inning and then lost to Atlanta on a walk-off homer from Sean Murphy, a painful 5-4 defeat in front of 30,237 fans.
Murphy homered on the first pitch from Reds reliever Derek Law in the bottom of the 10th inning, the rare leadoff two-run homer, which carried over the center field wall.
The Reds didn’t score their first run until the eighth inning. Jonathan India drilled a one-out double to left field and scored on a single from Jake Fraley.
In the ninth inning, after Wil Myers opened with a single, Stuart Fairchild crushed a ball to the left field wall. As it was set to clear the fence, left fielder Kevin Pillar leapt for an attempted catch. The ball deflected off Pillar’s glove, unable to secure the grab when his body collided with the wall. Fairchild ended up with an RBI triple.
One batter later, Spencer Steer tied the score with a bloop single that dropped in shallow right field. It was the second straight day the Reds erased a deficit in the ninth inning.
The Reds scored in the top of the 10th inning when India poked a single through the right side of the infield, a big gap in Atlanta’s defensive alignment, scoring Jose Barrero from second base. India had three hits, an RBI and a run.
Most of the game was centered around Graham Ashcraft and Bryce Elder. The two young starting pitchers, both in their second Major League seasons, feature comparable repertoires with sinkers, cutters and sliders. Ashcraft throws with much more velocity. Elder has a bit more vertical movement on his pitches.
The biggest difference between the two pitchers Monday? Ashcraft allowed two runs and Elder gave up none.
It was another impressive start for the 25-year-old Ashcraft, particularly the success he had with his revamped slider when he was ahead in counts. He struck out seven in six innings, one shy of matching his career high. He surrendered six hits and three walks, but he seemed to pitch even better when there were runners in scoring position.
Elder allowed six hits and one walk in 6 1/3 innings while he struck out seven, his second-highest strikeout total in 12 career outings. The Reds put their first two batters on base against the 23-year-old in the first inning, but Elder pitched out of it with a double play and a strikeout.
Takeaways from the Reds’ series opener in Atlanta
1. Ashcraft pitched well with runners on base throughout his start. There were two runners on base with no outs in the first inning, but he pitched out of it with a double play and strikeout – the same way Elder did in the top half of the inning.
There were two runners on base with one out in the second inning that he subdued with a flyout and a strikeout. A leadoff single was erased by a double play in the third inning and he pitched around a leadoff double in the fourth inning with a flyout and two strikeouts.
2. There is a lot of movement on Ashcraft’s pitches, but star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. saw him well in all three of their matchups against each other. Acuña hit a ground ball at 111 mph in the first inning that deflected off the bottom of Ashcraft’s cleat for an infield single.
Acuña hit a first-pitch slider up the middle for a single in the third inning, which left his bat at 107 mph. In the fifth inning, Acuña flew out to the warning track in center field, another ball that left his bat at 107 mph. Acuña’s three hits off Ashcraft were the three hardest-hit balls in the game.
3. Jose Barrero, who struck out in 44% of his plate appearances last season, saw the good of just putting the ball in play Monday. Barrero hit two singles off Elder and neither ball left the infield.
Barrero reached base in the third inning on a ground ball that deflected off the glove of third baseman Austin Riley. In the fifth inning, Barrero drilled a ball on the ground with a 106.6-mph exit velocity and Arcia was unable to remain on his feet when he reached to his left to stop the ball. Barrero raised his batting average from .143 to .222.
Stat of the day
The Reds entered Monday’s three-game series with a 17-17 record in their last 34 games against Atlanta. The Reds outscored Atlanta by just one run, 159-158, in those games.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Sean Murphy hits walk-off homer, Cincinnati Reds lose to Braves
