By Hal McCoy
For seven innings, it looked as if the Cincinnati Reds didn’t have a prayer — especially with most of the Chicago White Sox fans wearing Pope Leo hats.
That they were able to rescue a 5-4 victory in 10 innings might not be the greatest story ever told.
But it was a great one, almost a tall tale on Tuesday night.
For seven innings they were helpless against White Sox ace Sean Burke, who had made nine straight starts without giving up more than two runs.
And he made it 10 straight by holding the Reds to one run and three hits over seven innings.
Meanwhile, Nick Lodolo, making his first start in a month, gave up three solo home runs and the Reds were down, 4-0, when he left after four innings.
Then the much-maligned and much-criticized Reds bullpen performed a near baseball miracle against the American League Central’s first-place team.
Over the final six innings, Luis Mey, Pierce Johnson, Tejay Antone, Brock Burke and Emilio Pagan retired 19 of the final 20 White Sox batters.
Cincinnati’s only run off Burke was Eugenio Suarez’s leadoff home run in the fifth that cut the score to 4-1.
“Their guy really threw the ball well,” said Reds manager Tito Francona. “His fastball (near 100) was kinda obvious, but he did throw a really good breaking ball down in the count and could expand with it. We kinda had our hands full with him.”
When Burke left after 94 pitches, Bryan Hudson started the eighth and the baseball gods overcame the Pope Leo hats, a giveaway gift to the 38,113 fans in Rite Field because Pope Leo is a huge White Sox fan.
Matt McLain began the inning with a slow roller to the left side of the infield and beat it for a hit.
Michael Toglia, just called up from Triple-A Louisville, pinch-hit for Ke’Bryan Hayes and blooped a single to short right field.
Elly De La Cruz poked a two-strtike seeing-eye hit between first and second to score McLain and it was 4-2.
With one out, JJ Bleday drew a walk to fill the bases and Tyler Stephenson went the other way, drilling a two-run game-tying single to right field.
The game moved into the 10th and the Reds scored the winning run without a hit.
McLain was the ghost runner on second, moved to third on Toglia’s fly to right and scored what turned out to be the game-winner on a sacrifice fly to center by De La Cruz.
“That was the fun way to end it because the first six innings were too quick,” said Francona. “Other than Geno’s solo, there wasn’t much going on.
“You just keep playing,” he added. “We just came off a series (three straight losses in Washington) where we didn’t. You keep playing, keep playing until they make you go home. Sometimes some good things happen.”
Reds closer Emilio Pagan pitched the bottom of the 10th with the ghost runner on second.
Chiago’s first batter was Sam Antonacci. . .and what an at bat it was, a personal war between him and Pagan.
It lasted 14 pitches. On 3-and-2 he fouled off six straight pitches as Pagan refused to give in and pumped strike after strike after strike.
Finally, on the 14th pitch, Antonacci fouled another one, but this time catcher Tyler Stephenson caught the foul tip for strike three.
To give Pagan a breather, Stephenson trotted out to the mound and Pagan said, “Man, that was fun.”
Said Stephenson, “We threw everything at him. He laid off some splitters and Emilio continued to pound the zone and he kept fouling them off. He threw a cutter and he fouled it off and I thought, ‘Man, this guy is seeing it all.’”
Francona was impressed with Antonacci and equally impressed with Pagan.
“That kid had a great at bat,” he said. “Give that kid a ton of credit. But I’d also say to give Pagan a ton of credit. The thing that was the saving grace for me is that I know Pagan was enjoying every minute of that. That kinda helps my nerves.”
After that, it was easy.Luisangel Acuna popped out to first and Tristan Peters popped out to short. It was Pagan’s 14th save and he has had either a save or a win in his last 10 appearances.
And thus ended Cincinnati’s three-game losing streak to add to some positive numbers.
The Reds are 8-4 in extra innings, they are 18-12 in one-run games, they are 27-16 in interleague games and they have come from behind 27 times.
Like Pagan, Stephenson said it was a fun evening and summed it all up in a couple of paragraphs.
“It was good to have Nick Lodolo back, just for us to be down like we were and fight back, Geno (Suarez) hit the homer, Matty (McLain) with the great at bat (infield single), Taglia coming in with the hit to pass the baton, Elly with the great at bat,” he said.
And his two-run single?
“I just happend to get a mistake and I made the most of it,” he said. “It was a great team win right there.”
Even though Lodolo gave up the three solo home runs, including one by Brenton Doyle on Lodolo’s first pitch of the game, Francona liked what he saw from Lodolo.
He pitched four innings and gave up four runs, five hits, walked none and struck our five.
“He gave up three solos, but he looked pretty good,” he said. “I thought he threw the ball really well. He made a couple of mistakes and paid for ‘em, but his breaking ball was good, he didn’t walk anybody, threw strikes. . .I thought he was crisp.”