The Cincinnati Reds didn’t go quietly, but their four-game winning streak was snapped nonetheless.
The Seattle Mariners amassed a five-run lead that withstood a Reds comeback attempt in a 5-3 win Wednesday at Great American Ball Park before a crowd of 11,817. Seattle’s Cal Raleigh hit two solo home runs and Dylan Moore caused problems for Reds pitchers for the second straight game as he went 2-for-4 and scored two runs.
Mariners starter Bryce Miller (1-2) held the Reds’ hitters in check for five innings. Reliever Andrés Muñoz squelched Cincinnati’s comeback push when he came on for the ninth inning and set the Reds down in order for his seventh save of 2025.
“(Miller’s) fastball was definitely getting by a lot of our guys and giving us some trouble,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “I was really pleased that we battled back and gave ourselves a chance.”
The teams both ended the night with 9-9 records.
The Reds conclude their six-game homestand Thursday with a scheduled 12:40 p.m. first pitch against the Mariners at Great American Ball Park. A Cincinnati victory would mark a 5-1 record on the homestand, in addition to a third consecutive series win.
On Thursday, Reds starting pitcher Brady Singer (3-0, 3.18 ERA) will be opposed by Seattle’s Bryan Woo (2-0, 2.84 ERA).
On Wednesday, Cincinnati fell behind early for the second night in a row. Julio Rodriguez reached first base on an Elly De La Cruz fielding error, and Randy Arozarena doubled to make the Reds pay as Rodriguez scored for a 1-0 lead.
Moore, who homered twice in Seattle’s losing effort Tuesday, doubled and later scored on Ben Williamson’s RBI single in the second inning.
Moore was at it again in the fourth. He singled, stole second base, took third base on a Williamson groundout, and then crossed home for the fourth time in the series on J.P. Crawford’s single. His runs in the second and fourth innings came with two outs.
Seattle tacked on again in the fifth inning. Raleigh’s sixth home run of the year gave the visitors a four-run cushion.
Martinez wouldn’t make it out of the fifth inning for Cincinnati. His night ended after 4 2/3 innings and having allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits, three walks and a wild pitch. He struck out four, and was relieved by Scott Barlow (1 1/3 innings).
“I think they were a little more aggressive than we thought going into this game,” Martinez said. “They had some good at-bats and definitely capitalized on my bad pitches… Physically, I feel great. All my pitches are moving well. They’re capitalizing on the pitches I’m not executing. I started off a little slow last year and I’ve just got to keep working.”
In the seventh inning, Raleigh went deep to left field off reliever Taylor Rogers. The ball narrowly cleared the wall as outfielder Austin Hays looked up from the warning track. The homer was the 100th of Raleigh’s career.
The Reds finally started to string hits together in the bottom of the seventh inning. Singles by Gavin Lux and Spencer Steer preceded a Christian Encarnacion-Strand double that was lofted to the left field corner, providing ample time for both Lux and Steer to score.
All of that occurred with no outs, and Encarnacion-Strand scored two batters later on Jose Trevino’s single for 5-3.
Trevino was 2-for-3 in the game and is hitting .294. Trevino was tagged out on a play at home plate in the third inning.
One batter after that, following T.J. Friedl’s single to put runners on the corners with one out, Matt McLain came to the plate representing the go-ahead run, but he grounded into an inning-ending double play.
“First and third with McLain up. I’ll take that,” Francona said afterward.
An inning later, De La Cruz reached on an infield single − a hot shot that Williamson knocked down at third base but couldn’t control.
But the next batter, Hays, struck out, and De La Cruz was also deemed out on his steal attempt by home plate umpire Chris Segal as a result of Hays interfering with Raleigh, the Mariners’ catcher.
Raleigh’s throw down to second in pursuit of De La Cruz was made with Hays bowed over home plate and directly in front of the catcher.
“Because of the situation of the game, you kind of go out there and you want to yell, and he gave me a good explanation,” Francona said. “I kind of appreciated he didn’t (insult) me. He said, ‘I know it sucks’ because Elly was safe easily but (Raleigh) had to alter his throw because (Hays’) body came across the plate. I went and looked at it and as much as I didn’t want to agree, he gave me a good explanation. And again, it hurts in that part of the game but I do respect the way (Segal) handled it.”
