PITTSBURGH — Cincinnati Reds right-hander Carson Spiers earned the opportunity to make his first start of the season. But on Monday, in the series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Spiers wasn’t able to put batters away like he had earlier this season.
He allowed four runs — all of them scoring in the first two innings — across six innings as the Pirates beat the Reds, 4-1, at PNC Park.
“I came out of the gate not myself,” Spiers said. “You can call it pregame jitters. The game plan wasn’t what we wanted to do.”
Spiers is known for his command, but he started Monday’s game with six straight pitches that landed outside of the strike zone. Then he overcorrected, left a fastball over the plate and allowed a line drive double to Pirates left fielder Bryan Reynolds.
With Spiers’ improved velocity, spin rates and aggressive approach on the mound, he had shown flashes this season of better strikeout stuff. Against the Cubs on June 9, Spiers struck out seven batters. But against the Pirates, Spiers couldn’t get his fastball past Pittsburgh’s hitters.
Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz gave the Pirates a 2-0 lead when he hit a two-strike fastball into left field. In the second inning, the Pirates strung together back-to-back doubles in two-strike counts and plated another run. He threw too many fastballs early on, and the Pirates made the most of some hittable pitches from Spiers.
“It’s his third start in the big leagues,” Reds manager David Bell said. “It’s ok to be a little over amped in that situation. He got behind the first couple hitters and walked the first hitter. That cost us a couple runs. Other than that, he threw six innings, held us right there and gave us a shot to win.”
Spiers was a lot better after that, and he ended up throwing more sliders than fastballs as a part of an adjustment that helped salvage his start. Spiers retired the last eight batters he faced, but he still left the game with a three-run deficit.
Monday’s start against the Pirates had been circled on the calendar of the Reds’ front office and coaching staff for nearly the entire month. The Reds optioned starter Graham Ashcraft to Triple-A on June 6, but they’ve been able to use their off days to stick with a four-man rotation for nearly the entire month.
Spiers had shown improvement in each of his first four big league appearances this season, which led to the opportunity to start on Monday. He put all of his progress on display on June 9 when he pitched 5 ⅔ shutout innings against the Chicago Cubs.
The series opener against the Pirates was the first time since Ashcraft got sent down that the Reds needed a fifth starter, and they turned to Spiers. He wasn’t able to pick up the first victory of his young big league career.
Ashcraft has to spend a minimum of 15 days in the minor leagues. By the time this spot in the rotation comes up again, he’ll be eligible to be called back up. Ashcraft impressed in his most recent minor league start, filling up the strike zone in six-plus innings.
Over the next week, the Reds will have a decision to make between sticking with Spiers or going back to Ashcraft. Because they have an off day on Thursday, the Reds can wait on making this decision until the final week of June.
“I’ve said it before,” Spiers said. “I truly don’t care what (my) role is. I want to help the team win. Personally, I wasn’t out there to prove anything to myself. I just want to give our ball club a chance to win.”
After the Reds fell behind by three runs early on Monday, they couldn’t come back against Pirates phenom Paul Skenes. And when the Reds did get runners on base, they got picked off twice.
Skenes, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft put his talent on display on Monday as he allowed one run in six innings with seven strikeouts against the Reds.
Skenes throws five pitches, and he located all of them for strikes. He showed the Reds everything from a 100.5 mph fastball to a 95 mph splitter to an 81 mph curveball.
The Reds took another big hit in the bottom of the fifth inning, when center fielder TJ Friedl made a sensational diving catch but immediately called for the trainers. He left the game with hamstring tightness, but Friedl was encouraged by how he was feeling after the game.
“I did testing on my hamstring, and it’s full strength,” Friedl said. “Full range of motion. It was just tight. All things considered, I think it’s really encouraging.”
