In a manner that seemed impossible only a few days ago, the Reds said goodbye to their season and hello to postseason infamy. A disastrous six-run Giants fifth inning that featured Buster Posey’s grand slam sent the Reds to a 6-4 Game 5 loss on Thursday to conclude the National League Division Series.
Posey’s grand slam made it a 6-0 game before Cincinnati rallied to bring the tying run to the plate over each of the final four innings, including having the winning run at the plate in the bottom of the ninth with one out.
“When Buster hit that grand slam, six runs is so difficult to come back from,” exhausted Reds first baseman Joey Votto said. “That we almost came back was pretty impressive. But Buster totally broke our back with that swing.”
An eerily silent home clubhouse followed the loss with some players looking stunned and others somberly packing up their belongings at their lockers. Some hugged, and others just sat and stared.
Cincinnati will have this to live with during what is sure to be a very long and cold winter: Since Division Series became a regular part of the playoffs in 1995, no NL team in 21 previous times had ever blown a 2-0 lead in a series. It’s now happened only five times out of 43 series.
Also stinging is the Reds were actually better than the Giants in many key statistical areas during the NLDS. They had a .261 team average compared to San Francisco’s .194. The Reds outscored the Giants, 22-18, and had a better staff ERA, 3.13 to 4.11.
Only one thing counts when it’s all over, however. Who won the series itself?
“A lot of people can be mad, of course,” Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips said. “We disappointed ourselves also. We wanted to do it for the city and also do it for ourselves.”
After earning a 9-0 win to go up 2-0 in the series at AT&T Park, the Reds couldn’t find big hits. They were 3-for-24 with runners in scoring position over the last three games and stranded 28 runners.
In a 2-3 playoff format, no team had ever won the first two games on the road and dropped the last three games at home. And in 10 postseason games with a chance to win a series, Reds manager Dusty Baker has a 1-9 record since Game 6 of the 2002 World Series.
“It hurts, big-time,” Baker said. “I’m a strong man, and usually I get over hurts and it makes me stronger when I come back.”
Or if he comes back. Baker’s two-year contract expired, leaving immediate questions about his future.
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