Scooter Gennett pitches in long, strange Reds loss

CHICAGO – Bryan Price put his chin to his chest, leaned back in his chair and sighed.

“Isn’t this a sad state of affairs that we’re having to talk about that,” the Cincinnati Reds manager said. “The question was…”

Price trailed off for a moment to collect his thoughts. His team had just been walloped 15-5 by the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. It was a whooping so bad, Price had waved the white flag and used infielder Scooter Gennett on the mound. He didn’t want to waste precious bullpen arms on a lost cause.

The question was about when a manager identifies his emergency pitcher options. In spring? In the dugout the inning before they're called upon?

In spring, Price confirmed, before running through his various candidates. But first, he reiterated the commentary that began his answer.

“It’s a sad state of affairs that this is a highlight moment of our day today,” he said.

“Highlight” may be a strong word. While Gennett pitching was unique, it was just the capper on a long game that was mostly brutal and sometimes weird. Its oddities made it stand out, although no one will stick this particular Monday night game in a time capsule for future viewing. At least not unless one has a grudge against the unborn generation that might open it.

By the time Gennett headed from second to the mound in the eighth, the Cubs had sent nine batters to the plate in one inning and 11 batters in another. Right fielder Patrick Kivlehan had leapt for a ball he could have settled under, and missed it completely. Catcher Devin Mesoraco was forced from the game in the second inning with a broken foot.

“It’s never fun, because usually the game’s a little out of hand at that point,” Gennett said. “But, you know, whatever the manager wants you to do, it’s our job to do it.”

Gennett didn’t exactly overpower anyone. His delivery was almost amusingly muted. He threw sidearm fastballs at 67 mph – so slow that Major League Baseball’s expensive pitch-tracking technology assumed they were curves – and seemed to expend less effort that a preteen skipping rocks.

He walked his first batter on four pitches, then gave up a home run to Javier Baez. He got a fly out, gave up a single, hit a batter and then was bailed out of the inning when Joey Votto made a nice diving stop at first.

Afterward, Gennett maintained a sense of humor. He was throwing 95 mph, he claimed. A reporter corrected the record.

“I don’t believe that,” Gennett said. “I think the radar gun might be broke or something. That Statcast, off-the-bat speed, all that’s fake news. I thought I was throwing pretty good, but I don’t need any ice. I think I’ll be good to go tomorrow.”

Oddly, Gennett’s pitching debut wasn’t even the most unique occurrence in Monday’s game. At one point, Votto stepped into the batter’s box and faced an alignment of four outfielders. Somehow, he managed to double, shooting a ball down the first-base line.

It’s the second time in the last week a team has tried to get creative when trying to retire the Reds slugger. On Thursday, San Diego Padres manager Andy Green made a pitching change with Votto already in the middle of an at-bat, down to two strikes. Votto would up drawing a walk.

“Kris (Bryant) stepped in and played left-center field,” Votto said. “I felt like (Jose) Quintana was pitching a certain way and I was aiming at him. Had I hit a line drive at him, I would have been content. Obviously it would have been matched up with what they were trying to do defensively.”

Votto said he doesn’t change his approach based on where the fielders line up. He did allow that if he started lining out to an overflowing outfield with consistency, he’d just have to hit more home runs.

Price, wearying from discussing the peculiarities of the evening, described the formation with a word that could have been applied to the game as a whole.

“It’s a novelty,” he said.