Reds Nick Lodolo on impressive outing, injury scare in win over Pirates
Cincinnati Reds LHP Nick Lodolo (9-8, 3.30 ERA) struck out 12 before leaving his win against the Pirates as a ‘precaution’ because of groin discomfort
Cincinnati Reds outfielder Noelvi Marte kept the team’s playoff dreams alive Thursday after robbing what would have been a game-tying home run by Pittsburgh Pirates‘ Bryan Reynolds.
Marte leaped above the fence and reached his glove into the seats to make the catch, a play which mirrored Glenn Braggs’ home run-saving catch to send the Reds to the 1990 World Series. Coincidentally enough, his catch also took place against the Pirates.
“Once I made the catch, I was hearing the crowds just going nuts,” Braggs, who played for the Reds from 1990-1992, told The Enquirer on Friday. “That was the one thing that I think gave me chills when I saw the catch by Marte was the way the crowd reacted, and I just remembered it like it was yesterday, how the crowd reacted when I made that catch.”
Braggs said he didn’t get to watch the game live, but he had people telling him that Marte’s “great catch” reminded them of his play.
“Obviously, if (Marte) doesn’t make that catch, the game’s tied, (and) you never know what’s going to happen after that,” he said. “They needed to get that win.”
‘I wasn’t a guy that was really remembered for my defense’
When Braggs famously caught the potential go-ahead home run hit by Pirate Carmelo Martinez in right field, all he thought about was getting the ball back to the infield as quickly as possible.
Unlike Marte’s catch, the Pirates would have taken the lead had Braggs not made the play. The tying run, Barry Bonds, was standing on first base.
“Definitely two different scenarios because (my) catch boosted us to the World Series,” he said. “I wasn’t a guy that was really remembered for my defense, but the defensive catch I made in the championship series is one of the things people remember me by, which I think is pretty incredible.”
Braggs hopes Terry Francona’s team can make the playoffs
Braggs, who played in Milwaukee with Terry Francona, said he was “so happy” when the team hired him as manager.
“He’s always created an environment where the players felt like he was a player’s manager and the players really want to play and win for him,” he said.
Now, Braggs hopes the Reds can use Marte’s catch as a “catapult” to reach the playoffs.
“It would be great if the Reds could get through,” he said.
Although Braggs now lives in California, he said he still sports his Reds gear, even at the gym, which is typically filled with a sea of Los Angeles Dodgers fans.
“One of the trainers came up to me today, and he was like, ‘Hey, there’s a chance the Reds might play the Dodgers, at an opening series,’ and I told him, ‘You better pray the Reds do not win because I am going to be insufferable, you’re not going to be able to take me for the next few weeks,” he said.
Despite having the Milwaukee Brewers still on their schedule to end the season, Braggs is confident in his former team.
“I think they’re up to the task,” he said.
The Reds are currently one game back from the New York Mets for the final NL wild-card spot, with the Arizona Diamondbacks one game behind them. Cincinnati holds the tiebreaker advantage over both the Mets and Diamondbacks.