Tony Cingrani is a key reliever at the back end of the Cincinnati Reds‘ bullpen. He’s the sole lefty out of the Reds’ pen. He’s capable of dominating hitters.
Unfortunately for the Reds, Cingrani just can’t quite put it all together yet.
Cingrani was the loser of the Reds’ 5-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs Monday night. He entered the game in the seventh inning with the bases loaded. He had an 0-2 count on Jason Heyward before he tried for a third straight fastball that badly missed the up-and-away target set by Reds’ catcher Devin Mesoraco.
The result was a two-run single that narrowed the Reds’ lead at the time to 3-2. Reds’ starter Brandon Finnegan had a no-hitter with two outs in the inning. Cingrani got the final out of the inning then came out to start the eighth.
The good news was that Cingrani showed he has developed a decent curveball to go with his 92-94 mph heater. He started the inning by retiring Anthony Rizzo on a harmless ground ball after starting the at-bat with two called-strike curves.
Then the wheels fell off for Cingrani. He walked the next hitter on five pitches then hit the next batter seven pitches into the at-bat on a bounced curveball.
Cingrani was yanked after that. Jumbo Diaz came into the game and promptly surrendered a three-run homer on his first pitch of the game.
Diaz may shoulder much of the blame for the Reds’ loss because he threw the home run pitch, but it was Cingrani who let the game slip away.
Cingrani has struggled ever since he sported a 2.92 ERA in 104.2 innings in 2013. He started 18 games that year and looked like a lock for the rotation in the future.
Cingrani is no longer considered a rotation candidate. He still does have the chance to be a key member of the Reds’ bullpen, especially now that his curveball makes him more than just a one-trick pony with nothing but a fastball.
The 26-year-old just has to show he can command his pitches before he can make believers of the Reds again.
Robb Hoff writes about the Cincinnati Reds for OutsidePitch MLB. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
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