Bryan Price‘s continued meddling with the Cincinnati Reds‘ bullpen has further muddled a murky situation that seemed like it was on the verge of clearing up somewhat.
The Reds’ manager had a chance to define the roles of his bullpen pieces based upon the recent success of the back end of the bullpen in holding a late one-run lead for the first time all season.
Price put power right-hander Blake Wood in the eighth inning of the Reds’ one-run win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday. Tony Cingrani pitched a scoreless ninth to earn the save.
The save was just the third for the Reds’ bullpen in 33 games. It was the first that preserved a one-run lead.
The Reds’ first save of the season was credited to former closer J.J. Hoover, who coughed up two runs in his inning of work on April 16 against the St. Louis Cardinals but entered the game with a three-run lead.
The Reds’ second save was earned by Cingrani after he threw 1.2 scorelss innings to seal a four-run win.
Last night, Price had the chance to clarify the back of the bullpen by continuing with the success Wood and Cingrani had enjoyed just two days before.
Instead, Price decided to muddle the picture once again.
Price brought out the lefty Cingrani in the eighth instead of Blake Wood to face two right-handed hitters (Andrew McCutchen and Josh Harrison) and left-handed hitter Gregory Polanco.
Cingrani surrendered a two-out solo homer to the right-handed hitting Harrison to tie the game. Cingrani was not saved for a potential save situation in the ninth.
Price saved right-hander Ross Ohlendorf for the ninth instead of Cingrani. Interestingly, Ohlendorf was a combined 0-for-6 against the McCutchen, Polanco and Harrison trio that Cingrani faced in the eighth.
A costly error helped Ohlendorf lose the game in the ninth, but the situation may have had a different outcome if Price had built upon the momentum the Reds’ bullpen had gained for the first time all year with the use of Wood and Cingrani as the set-up man and closer.
Robb Hoff writes about the Cincinnati Reds for OutsidePitch MLB. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
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