Latest news with #AndrewAbbott
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Abbott keeps Marlins in check as road winning streak ends at 11 games
All-Star Andrew Abbott carried a shutout into the eighth inning Wednesday night for the host Cincinnati Reds, who topped the Miami Marlins 7-2 following back-to-back losses. Fellow All-Star Elly De La Cruz had a pair of RBI doubles for the Reds, who snapped a four-game losing streak and avoided falling under .500 for the first time since June 7. Austin Hays and Tyler Stephenson followed De La Cruz with run-scoring singles in the first before Noelvi Marte hit a two-run homer to spark a three-run fourth. Will Benson added a solo shot in the eighth. Heriberto Hernandez spoiled Abbott's shutout bid with an RBI single for the Marlins, who lost for just the fourth time in 16 games. Connor Norby homered in the ninth. Abbott (8-1), who was selected to replace Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Tuesday, allowed six hits and two walks while striking out four. The lefty has surrendered one run or fewer in 12 of his 16 starts this season. Tony Santillan got the final out of the eighth following Ramirez's double before Emilio Pagan surrendered Norby's homer in a non-save situation in the ninth. Marte had two hits for the Reds, who received a hit from every starter. Matt McLain added a stolen base. Five players had one hit each for the Marlins, who recorded fewer than six hits for just the fifth time in their last 35 games dating back to June 1. Sandy Alcantara (4-9) took the loss after giving up six runs on nine hits and one walk while striking out four over five innings. The former National League Cy Young Award winner has a 7.22 ERA in his first season following Tommy John surgery and has allowed at least five runs in eight of his 18 starts. The Marlins had their 11-game road winning streak snapped.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Why Cincinnati Reds (and Mets) believe they can end the drought of the century
NEW YORK – Can the Cincinnati Reds win a playoff series? After a weekend in New York, the Reds have at least one team thinking it has the answer to the question dogging the franchise for 30 years. Win a postseason series? 'The Reds? Yes,' Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. 'It starts on the mound, right? 'Watching them the past couple days and then scouting them, the starting pitching jumps out,' he said. 'If you can throw four or five guys day in and day out that are going to give you a chance, that's a good feeling.' Reds starters Nick Lodolo, Nick Martinez and Andrew Abbott combined for 18 innings and six runs allowed in their first series out of the All-Star break as the Reds became just the fourth team this season to win a series at Citi Field, where the Mets have the best home record in the National League. Reds Mets series Andrew Abbott Cincinnati Reds rally to tie but lose late as New York Mets avoid sweep Reds player moves Noelvi Marte outfield Terry Francona makes bold move to leverage Cincinnati Reds' Noelvi Marte skills in RF Reds Mets trade deadline Cincinnati Reds seek hitter, bullpen help before MLB trade deadline, barring sudden swoon 'I don't give a sh— what their record is at home. I don't even know what it is,' Reds manager Terry Francona said after the Reds narrowly missed a sweep with a 3-2 loss in the finale. 'I'm pissed off we lost today.' That's certainly one perspective as the weekend wrapped up. Terry Francona won't talk about Reds' past playoff history In fact, maybe that's part of the answer to the original question, if not the point. Don't expect Francona to give a (choose your favorite profanity) how long it's been since the Reds won a playoff series, either. He hasn't been managing in the big leagues that long, never mind in Cincinnati. In fact, the only player on the Reds roster who has been around long enough to witness so much as the Reds' last playoff season in a big-league uniform is Tyler Stephenson, who made his eight-game debut that 2020 pandemic season and wasn't on the playoff roster. So what do any of these guys know about the franchise's drought of the century? Heck, most of them weren't born the last time the Reds won a playoff series, when Barry Larkin, Bret Boone and Jeff Brantley swept the Dodgers in the 1995 Division Series before losing to the Braves. Could this be the team to snap the streak – assuming they ride their recent wave of success through the final two months and get there? They seem to think so. Especially the way they beat the Mets the first two games out of the break, just a couple weeks after beating the playoff-positioned Yankees and Padres at home. Which came just a couple weeks after beating the best team in the American League, the Tigers, in Detroit. By the time they won the first two games in New York, it was clear what the Reds think of themselves and their place in this playoff mix they're threatening to upend. "It shows who we are and what we mean," Martinez said. "To start the second half with two big wins is a good way to show the league." But can they do something they haven't done in 30 years? Reds' Emilio Pagan has been in playoff chase before 'I'm kind of the right guy to ask,' said closer Emilio Pagán, whose Houdini act with two on and none out July 19 was the ninth-inning pitching moment of the year for the Reds — as he coaxed the last three outs from Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Pete Alonso. 'When I was in Minnesota we had kind of a similar thing.' That was 2023, when the Twins reached the playoffs and faced a barrage of questions about trying to win even a playoff game for the first time since 2004. "It was, 'That's great, you guys get in, but can you break the streak of losing playoff games,' ' Pagán said. 'The answer we kept saying was we understand where the question's coming from. But none of us have been here for any of that." Those Twins also answered the question in October, beating the Blue Jays in the wild-card series before falling 3 games to 1 against Houston in the second round. The Reds left New York 2 1/2 games out of playoff position, so they've got a long haul for a long-shot bid at this point. But they also left New York with a playoff state of mind. 'I think this series has shown that we can compete on a high level,' Pagán said. 'The Padres series. And a couple other series. We've played really well. 'I definitely think we can go not only win a series but maybe win a couple of series and take it a little further than that,' he said. They still have to get there. They're 9-13 against National League rivals currently in playoff position, with series left against all six of those teams, plus another series against AL East-leading Toronto. Those 31 games made up half of their remaining schedule as they left New York. Maybe that's when anyone will know if they have what it takes to win the big series when it counts most? 'It's a very fair question. We understand where not only the question comes from but where Reds fans are on that,' Pagán said. 'They don't care who's been here or not. They want to win. We're the same way. 'We want to get there. But we don't want to just get there. We want to get there and make some noise and do something special.' The Mets, for one, know what they've seen in this Reds team right now. The stuff of October wins? 'They've got some good ones (in the rotation),' Mendoza said. 'They've got some really good arms in their bullpen, too. Obviously, (Elly) De La Cruz at short. They're versatile. They've got some speed. So, yeah, I could see that.' And the Hall of Fame-bound manager. 'Obviously, he's pushing those guys and putting guys in different positions to have success,' Mendoza said, 'and I'm not surprised by it.' Reds remaining schedule will do them no favors Who knows if they even get there, through the gauntlet schedule that remains and with so many other quality teams in the way? It's a long, uphill road to October. But if three games in New York in the middle of July said anything, maybe that second-ranked rotation in the NL (per WAR) starts to answer the Reds' October conundrum for the first time in 30 years? Just ask the guy who already helped answer a similar question two years ago. 'I like our chances in a short series against anybody with our pitching,' Pagán said, 'and the way our lineup has gotten deeper and deeper and deeper as we've gone on and guys have gotten healthy and kind of settled into their roles. 'I do believe we can not only win but maybe go on a run.' Now they've just got to get there. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Why Cincinnati Reds (and Mets) believe they can end drought of century
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Here's when Reds pitcher Andrew Abbott will pitch for the NL in the MLB All-Star game
ATLANTA — Grab the popcorn, chill the six-pack and get ready for the sixth inning of the MLB All-Star Game. That's when Cincinnati Reds left-hander Andrew Abbott said he's been told to expect to pitch for the National League squad in his first career All-Star appearance. Advertisement Abbott, who joins shortstop Elly De La Cruz representing the Reds in tonight's game mentioned at least "a little nerves" ahead of the big event. "It's sinking in," he said of the All-Star experience and recognition. "It's great. I told everybody once I get to the game, I'll be good. Once we get past all this (pregame hype and hoopla), we'll be fine." Pittsburgh's Paul Skenes, Abbott's All-Star locker neighbor, is the NL's starter tonight. (This story was updated to add a photo gallery.) This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: When Reds pitcher Andrew Abbott will pitch for NL in MLB All-Star Game
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cincinnati Reds' Andrew Abbott on his first start after All-Star break, close loss to Mets
Cincinnati Reds All-Star Andrew Abbott pitched six strong innings in a 3-2 loss to the Mets in New York on Sunday.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Andrew Abbott vies to pitch Reds to series sweep of Mets
July 20 - The Cincinnati Reds are five games over .500 for the first time in almost two years, but manager Terry Francona knows it's too early to put much stock in their record. But for the New York Mets, it might be time to start worrying about an extended slump. The Reds will look to complete a sweep of the Mets on Sunday afternoon when Cincinnati visits New York in the finale of a three-game series. Andrew Abbott (8-1, 2.07 ERA) is slated to start for the Reds against David Peterson (6-4, 3.06) in a battle of left-handers who appeared in Tuesday's All-Star Game. The Reds won in familiar fashion Saturday. Jake Fraley had three hits and two RBIs as Cincinnati overcame an early deficit and held off a ninth-inning rally to earn a 5-2 victory. The win was the fourth straight for the Reds, who improved to 52-47. They are five games over .500 for the first time since Sept, 19, 2023, when they were 79-74. Still, with the second half of the season just underway, Francona wasn't ready to declare the Reds had reached a pivotal marker in their quest to reach the playoffs in a full season for the first time since 2013. Cincinnati is 1 1/2 games behind the San Diego Padres in the race for the final National League wild-card spot. The Mets hold the second wild card. "It's fluid," Francona said. "We've got a game (in) whatever how many hours. Our goal is to keep going, but we've got a lot of baseball to play." The loss Saturday dropped the Mets to 10-20 since June 12 -- the second-worst record in the majors ahead of only the Washington Nationals. New York had the best record in baseball at 45-24 through June 12 and held a 5 1/2-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East. The Mets are now 1 1/2 games behind the Phillies and just three games clear of the Reds and San Francisco Giants, who are tied for seventh place in the NL, in the wild-card standings. The Mets' slide has been defined by their struggles at the plate. New York ranked seventh in the majors with 319 runs through June 12 but has scored three runs or fewer 16 times in the past 30 games. The Mets, who led 2-0 in each of the first two games of the series, left 11 runners on base Saturday, when they were 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. The top four of Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Pete Alonso finished 2-for-18 with eight strikeouts. Soto and Alonso each got to the plate as the potential tying run in the ninth inning on Saturday, but the former struck out before latter flew out. On Friday, Lindor flew out with the bases loaded to end an 8-4 loss "Obviously we'd like to put up a few more runs on the board," Nimmo said. "We've had streaks in both games where we put a lot of pressure on. Just not able to get the big hit right now." Abbott earned the win in his most recent start July 9, when he allowed one run over 7 2/3 innings as the Reds beat the Miami Marlins, 7-2. He threw a perfect sixth inning in the All-Star Game. Peterson didn't factor into the decision in his most recent start July 10 after giving up one run over seven innings in the Mets' 3-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles in the opener of a doubleheader. He gave up two hits in a scoreless fourth inning Tuesday night. Abbott is 0-1 with a 4.15 ERA in two career starts against the Mets. Peterson is 0-1 with a 6.39 ERA in three starts against the Reds. --Field Level Media
