What Reds’ Terry Francona said about costly late-game mistakes vs. Padres

The Cincinnati Reds are on a skid. The club lost a tough game to the San Diego Padres on Monday, 6-2. San Diego scored two runs in the seventh, and then three more in the eighth inning to pull away.

Reds manager Terry Francona is pointing to a few specific points where things went wrong. Francona felt his defense was trying to speed things up while fielding in the seventh. Sal Stewart had what looked like miscommunication with reliever Tejay Antone.

As a result, the Reds missed getting an out at first base on a Padres bunt.

“On the first one, we’re trying to be ultra-aggressive, and Sal got very aggressive,” Francona said, per MLB.com. “I don’t know if Tejay makes that play, anyway, where the ball was.”

Cincinnati has struggled lately, due to injuries and other issues. The Reds have lost eight of their last 10, and five in a row.

“I know the first thing I do after a game or when we get on a plane is I erase the lineup and I do the next day’s,” Francona said, per MLB.com. “That’s probably my way — whether we’ve won or lost — of moving on.”

The Reds players feel the pain at the moment, as the team is in the cellar of the National League Central. Cincinnati is now 31-34 on the season.

“It feels tough right now,” rookie first baseman Sal Stewart said. “It feels like we’re treading in quicksand a little bit. I feel like we’re right there in games, but they’re not going our way. I feel like we just have to stay the course.”

Francona recently held a team meeting with his club. He is certain that they can turn this season back around.

“We have a good group, and I know that,” Francona said. “Do I wish we’d win some more games? Yeah, but that’s not an indictment on them. And I include myself in all of that. When I say we need to be better, I’m not pointing at them. I’m pointing at us.”

The Reds play the Padres again on Tuesday.

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