Spencer Steer’s 10th inning grand slam sends Reds to 6-3 victory over Phillies
And a big Cincinnati road win it was

Philadelphia Phillies reliever Connor Brogdon struggled mightily to find the strike zone after he entered the game against the Cincinnati Reds in the Top of the 10th. Rob Manfred’s ghost-runner was on 2B in the form of Bubba Thompson, and perhaps that tickled Brogdon’s mind enough to keep him off-keel.

Will Benson walked, and both he and Thompson promptly moved up bags by way of a double steal. Jonathan India then walked, too, loading the bases for Spencer Steer in extra innings against a guy who’d been all over the map with his deliveries thus far.

Brogdon opened Steer’s account with a pair of balls, too, before finally humming a meatball down the pipe to make it a 2-1 count. Steer seemed to be timing him up with patience, however, and when Brogdon tried to fire a second consecutive four-seam fastball past him, Steer turned one of the few strikes Brogdon had thrown all game around for a grand slam into the LF seats that effectively sealed a victory for the Reds in the opening game of their series in Philadelphia.

Tejay Antone had to lock things down, of course, and while that became a big of a journey, the Reds hung on for a 6-3 lead that once again showed their emerging mettle.

Tony Graphanino

[Link to FanGraphs WPA chart & box score]

Other Notes

• After being dinked for a pair of early earned runs, Cincinnati starter Andrew Abbott settled in quite nicely in his first start of the season, at one point retiring 10 of 11 Phillies batters. His final line: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K on 90 pitches.
• Jonathan India tripled, walked twice, and scored twice from the leadoff spot, and his offense certainly looks akin to when he was last fully healthy.
• Despite Philadelphia catcher JT Realmuto being twice a Gold Glove winner and owning one of the best arms (and pop times) of his generation, the Reds successfully swiped 5 bags on the night. They were not caught stealing once, though the Phillies were picked off on the bases twice on the evening.
• Graham Ashcraft will make his season debut on Tuesday against the Phillies, weather permitting. There’s certainly a chance tomorrow’s whole shabang gets rained out with a 100% chance of rain on the day, however. Should things go on-schedule, though, first pitch is set for 6:40 PM ET once again.