The Cincinnati Reds lost by 2,253 feet on Sunday, May 17 at Progressive Field, close to half a mile.
That’s the distance six home runs traveled off the bats of the swing-away Cleveland Guardians.
Cleveland scored all 10 runs on the six homers as the Reds were wiped out, 10-3, their 12th loss in 16 games.
After starting 10-2 on the road, the Reds have lost 10 of their last 11 in their road uniforms, dropping them 11-12.
And overall they are suddenly just one game over .500 (24-23), tied for last place with the Pittsburgh Pirates, five games behind the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central.
They missed a golden opportunity on Sunday because all four NL Central teams lost, including the Cubs.
When they don’t get quality starting pitching, the Reds are helpless.
They were helpless Sunday because starter Brady Singer was helpless. Again.
Three of Cleveland’s home runs came off misplaced breaking balls by Singer. He has now given up 10 home runs in 21 1/3 innings.
It was an unfair match-up from the start. The Guardians obviously realized Singer’s difficulties against left-handed hitters, a 388 batting average. They stacked their lineup with all nine batting left-handed.
And there was, of course, the usual bullpen bloodshed. Each of three Reds relief pitchers gave up a home run.
Kyle Manzardo entered the game with two home runs on the season. He hit two on Sunday.
Chase DeLauter hit one. Angel Martinez hit one. Jose Ramirez hadn’t homered in a month and he hit one. Number nine hitter Brayan Rocchio hit one.
It started quickly.
Singer walked Ramirez with one out in the first and DeLauter launched a 371-foot home run for a quick 2-0 lead.
Manzardo’s first one came with one out in the third, a two-run 382-footer.
Cleveland Guardians’ Angel Martínez, right, tosses his bat in front of Cincinnati Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson, left, as he runs the bases with a home run in the seventh inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Sunday, May 17, 2026.
Sue Ogrocki – AP
The third one off Singer came off the bat of number nine hitter Brayan Rocchio, a 381-foot bases empty blast in the fourth.
Singer was done after four innings — five runs, seven hits, one walk, six strikeouts, three home runs.
It was only 5-2 when Singer departed.
Singer left his previous start after taking a line drive off his foot and manager Tito Francona was asked if there were after effects.
“He won’t say that,” Francona told reporters. “I’m sure… he got hit pretty hard, but he is not going to blame it on that.
“When you look at the location, when those pitches are up and in the middle, that’s not where you need it to be. You’re doing them a favor.”
All the home runs off Singer came when he missed locating sliders.
“When he missed, he paid a big price,” said Francona. “When you are going into a game against all left-handers, that’s a challenge.
“And it looked like he had to work for everything and when he missed, he paid a price,” added Francona.
Then it was the bullpen’s turn to pitch batting practice.
Brock Burke was first and he was touched for Manzardo’s second homer, a 405-foot rip into the right field seats in the fifth.
Connor Phillips was next and he was victimized by Martinez’s 407-foot two-run blast in the seventh.
Tejay Antone was the final victim, a two-run 407-footer by Ramirez in the eighth.
The final tally on the bullpen was four innings, five runs, five hits, three walks, a hit batter and three balls departing the park.
On the opposite side, Cleveland starter Gavin Williams pitched six innings and gave up two runs on eight hits.
Then the Cleveland bullpen shut down the Reds over three innings on one run, three hits, two walks and five strikeouts.
The Reds struck out 12 times.
With the Reds trailing 2-0 in the second, Spencer Steer and Sal Stewart singled to put two on with no outs.
The Reds didn’t score. Nathaniel Lowe lined to center and both Tyler Stephenson (.174) and TJ Friedl (.182) struck out.
Elly De La Cruz extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a home run in the third, slicing Cleveland’s margin to 4-1.
Cincinnati Reds’ Elly de la Cruz gestures as he runs the bases after hitting a home run in the third inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Cleveland, Sunday, May 17, 2026.
Sue Ogrocki – AP
Steer and Stewart did it again in the fourh, leading the inning with singles. This time they scored a run on Lowe’s single.
But the over-aggressive Stewart got picked off second base by Williams, cutting short a Reds possible rally and the one run cut the Cleveland lead to 4-2.
But the Guardians continued their home run barrage and the Reds didn’t score again until a harmless run in the ninth off Codi Heuer, making his season’s debut for Cleveland.
So the Reds lost two of three to the team Francona managed for 11 years. Now the assignment takes a steeper degree of difficulty.
The Reds next three games are in Philadelphia, another team Francona managed and the Phillies are steam-rolling.
After a 9-19 start that got manager Rob Thomson fired, the Phillies have won 15 of 19 under new manager Don Mattingly.
The Phillies scored five runs in five innings Sunday against Pittsburgh super-pitcher Paul Skenes and won, 6-0.
The man fans wished the Reds could have signed, Middletown-native Kyle Schwarber, has 20 home runs, nine in the last nine games.
Asked immediately after the game if he was thinking about the Phillies, Francona said, “I’m pulling it (scouting reports) right now and I’m gonna work on it before we get on the plane.”