McCoy: Cincinnati Reds can’t hold lead, drop first game of doubleheader in Boston

The Cincinnati Reds put themselves in the Danger Zone Wednesday afternoon in Fenway Park with a two-day 5-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox.

The game was the resumption of Tuesday night’s game, suspended by rain after three innings with Boston leading, 2-1.

The regularly scheduled Wednesday night game is a must-win if the Reds want to continue their streak as the only MLB team not to be swept this season.

The Bosox won Monday’s game, 13-6, and clinched the three-game series Wednesday afternoon.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

Boston moved up the starter scheduled for Wednesday night to the afternoon game and Brayan Bello gave them five one-hit innings.

The Reds went with a bullpen afternoon and Lyon Richardson gave up the two winning runs in the eighth inning.

Bello issued a one-out walk to open the resumption in the fourth and Spencer Steer narrowly cleared the 37-foot high Green Monster for a two-run homer.

So in a nano-second, the Reds scrambled from 2-1 behind to a 3-2 lead with Steer’s sixth home run in his last 16 games.

“With Steer’s swing, that gave us a chance,” Reds manager Tito Francona told reporters after the game.

That was it, though. The Reds didn’t get another hit and finished the game with three and that meant no chance.

“They had a starter going and he’s got a good arm,” said Francona.

Bello hit Steer on the hand leading off the seventh, but Jose Trevino struck out and Will Benson hit into a double play.

It was instant replay in the eighth when Bello hit TJ Friedl with one out, but on the first pitch, Matt McLain hit into a double play.

Boston tied it, 3-3, in the sixth off Scott Barlow when a bloop hit by Abraham Toro bounced off the heel of shortstop Elly De La Cruz’s glove for a double. He took third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly by Carlos Narvaez.

Credit: AP

Richardson pitched a 1-2-3 seventh, but was in instant trouble in the eighth when Abraham Toro led with a single. Pinch-runner Nick Eaton stole second and moved to third on a ground ball.

Wilyer Abreu poked a run-scoring single to right to make it 4-3 and Trevor Story doubled him home with a smash off The Green Monster.

And entering the game for the ninth was Aroldis Chapman, the Cuban Missile, the flame-thrower still launching 101 miles an hour fastballs at age 38.

He was originally signed by the Reds but has since pitched for the New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates and now the Red Sox.

He struck out Elly De La Cruz on three pitches, then induced a pair of ground ball outs from Austin Hays and Gavin Lux for his 350th career save and 15th in 16 opportunities this year for the Red Sox.

“You saw that guy in the last inning,” said Francona. “That’s pretty special stuff.”

On the positive side, left-hander Sam Moll returned to the Reds after a lengthy injury-induced absence and pitched two perfect innings, striking out four of the six batters he faced.

“Moll went two and was really crisp,” said Francona. “That got us a little excited. Encouraging? Ah, so much. He fell behind his first hitter 2-and-0. Then he got a ground ball in the hole that Elly makes and probably nobody else makes.

“He settled in after that and started throwing that breaking ball like he can,” he added.