A little dose of summer time here in the Queen City as the boys of summer return home, it is certainly a much anticipated opening day. The Reds and Washington Nationals just about ready to open the curtain on 2024. You could feel the fire. The mayor is back in Cincinnati Sean Casey with a ceremonial first pitch. Excited to see Frankie Montas get the ball today. Great to start this season and this guy really has a chance to set the tone. The journey to get to today has been long with several bumps in the road including the latest coming off of shoulder surgery, but he believes the stars have a line for him to return to prominence. Digging in to get things started for the nationals. Is CJ A rolled to first routine and strand. Now Lane Thomas will stand in pops him up. Jonathan India got a good roar and introductions two down. There are two very quickly gone here in the first inning that brings up Jesse Winker News one sent to right down for a base hit Braley Gathers Winker tests for two. He doesn't have speed is there and he is out and they come to their feet of minimum face. First inning, the dime from Fraley in right field 26 year old Gray New Rochelle New York native. His off season home in Lake Worth Florida. Second round pick of the Reds in 2018 Reds leadoff man. A and now will be into right off the bat of Benson ball in the air. A long time lane, Thomas returns it and after walks a nice one pitch out and Josiah first of the year 143 and 159 innings last year, two down swing and a miss struck him out with a breaking ball and that retires the side a leadoff walk with two strikeouts in the man left for the Reds bottom of the second inning. Jake Fraley, the Reds right fielder. There's a weak tapper slowly rolled to third charging Vargas Fields throws late Fraley beat it an infield hit for jake Fraley. That was really a great play by Vargas at third base coming in and barehanded this ball, the only play that he had and now the first at bat of the year for Da Cruz, there goes Fraley and the ball lost by Ruiz de La Cruz. Done on strikes Fraley up to second. So Gray has his third strikeout. Fraley has his first steal and the Reds have a man in scoring position for the first time. It's a tough lineup when spencer Steers hitting seventh in your lineup because this guy can absolutely rank opposite way. That's down base head wave is on for Fraley goes to second. Fraley scores Ste as the Reds on the board the first of 2024. It's one. Martini was one of those guys in camp battling for one of the extra roster spots. A few extra roster spots opened up with injuries as spring went along. Martini launches to right, the first ball of 24 belongs to 23 and I know last year when this team went on a winning streak, we talked about the production at the back end of the lineup, spencer Steer hitting seventh in this lineup and Then Martini hitting eighth. This is a very, very deep lineup. Raley led off the Reds bottom of the second with a hustle single to the left side of the infield to left center Winker streaking back. That's one up to the wall. Jake Fraley two for two and a standing double. There's ball four. It's not open. Now de La Cruz aboard for the first time this year with a base on balls and so with two on, it'll bring in Spencer steer to right field. Thomas back that's off the wall. Windmill is on Fairley rips around third relay. Fraley scores de la RB I double Spencer Steer. It is for nothing. Reds. Nick Martini who authored the first home run by a Reds DH on opening day down the Reds order. Martini and they make it a double his second career two home run game in the big leagues. It's, and it happens at five o'clock for Martini has arrived two in the fifth now, dear Vargas playing the ground ball hit hard toward the middle. Diving stop de La Cruz up on his feet. Throw to first is wild and out of play into the Reds dugout. So Vargas will get second base. You know, most shortstops wouldn't have an on that because they wouldn't have gotten to that ball home of the old one, Garcia. This is grounded up the middle but de La Cruz behind the second base bag is right there to field and throw them out side retired. We go to the bottom of the fifth halftime. A great American ballpark, Reds are up big Frankie Montas, five scoreless innings for fairly soft hits. A couple of strikeouts, both looking swing and a miss. It was a high heater. Abrams went up and after it and came up empty. Third strikeout for Thomas pops it up. Benson Weaves in and makes the play swing and a miss, he struck him out with the fastball up and away. Frankie Montas retires the top three hitters in the nationals. Order 123 in the sixth. How about six shutout innings for the Reds opening day starter , top seven new pitcher Emilio Pagan and Joy Meneses faces him for the first time. He's going to hit one over the other way that might plug a bit of a gap out there, but Steer was playing so far off the left field line, he picks it up out there. Joe Moses two for three. Joey Gallo is next swing and a Miss, he struck him out, came up and in good fastball from Emilio Pagan. And that would be his first strikeout in a Reds uniform one down first pitch. Right center Benson halfway was Meneses, he's back. So here's Eddie Rosario, he's hitless on the afternoon runner on the move and this one high in the air to right go ball. Fraley can only watch it. See you later. First of the year for Rosario on the Nets and they're finally on the board with a towering drive in the seventh. We talked about his slug at the top of the zone and Eddie Rosario just destroys this ball one, a one off the bat. And what was a, a win that was coming in off the Ohio River early on that seems to be carrying out now, eighth inning here on opening day, 7 to 2. Cincinnati and the Reds have another pitcher making his Cincinnati debut. It's the left hander out of Harvard Brent Suter to face lefty, lefty and righty garcia Abrams and Thomas and Brent Suter has his first strikeout as a Cincinnati red as he whipsLuis Garc-a. Luis Garc-a. That was devastating. Yeah, just a change up right down the middle. Just very different. And what makes that change up so effective is how fast he works on the mound. And there is strike three called right down the middle storybook. And how about Brent Suter in his Reds debut in his hometown? He punches out the side on opening day and the Reds have two on with nobody out here in the eighth inning trying to pile on Tyler Stevenson single to left, struck out, swinging, grounded to third runners go first pitch inside and no throw by Ruiz. Absolutely no chance with Taylor Cruz. A running start against Rainey gets his first steal of the year and behind him. Steer taking second base a double steal swinging a ground ball to third right through the legs of Vargas. They've got steer hung up and they will chase, steer back to second as De La Cruz scores on the ground ball to the third baseman Vargas. It went right off his glove. The Reds will get their eighth run of the day. It's now 8 to 2 and now the nationals down to their final out Reds trying to put the nail in the coffin here on opening day and he strikes out Joey Gallo Reds win for how fitting to have a hometown guy to close out what Frankie Montas started.
