Toss Boss Final: Reds 0, Red Sox 3 — Crochet Shoves, Reds Don’t Cash In

Tough one at Great American. The Reds had a packed house (43,897), a winnable script for six innings, and just couldn’t land the hit that flips the game. Boston did what good teams do: hang around, then strike late. Final: Reds 0, Red Sox 3.

What decided it: missed chances + one big pitching mismatch

Cincy finished 1-for-7 with RISP and left 8 on base. That’s the whole story. You’re not getting many clean looks against a guy like Garrett Crochet, and when you do, you have to cash at least one.

Crochet’s line is rude: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 8 K, 2 BB. He was living in that “good luck” zone—late life, sharp stuff, and enough swing-and-miss to keep rallies from ever breathing.

Abbott did his job — the game was right there

Andrew Abbott went 6.0 scoreless himself. That’s a quality start, full stop. It kept the Reds in position to steal it with one timely swing.

But baseball’s cruel: you can play it even for six, and one inning swings the whole thing.

The turning point: 7th inning crack

Scoreless game, then Boston finally breaks through in the 7th: Rafaela RBI single brings home Mayer. Just like that, 1-0. Now the Reds are chasing a bullpen that doesn’t give freebies.

9th inning: Boston adds the “goodnight” runs

The Reds were still within one, but the top of the 9th got away:

• Story RBI single (2-0)

• Duran RBI single (3-0)

And Chapman closed it clean. No chaos, no comeback window.

Reds notes (the stuff that mattered)

• Sal Stewart had two doubles — he showed up.

• The lineup just couldn’t string it: the big hit never arrived.

• Defense turned two DPs, but one error didn’t help in a tight game.

Toss Boss takeaway

This wasn’t a blowout. It was a “you had your chances” loss — Abbott gave you a platform, the crowd was ready, and Crochet basically said “prove it.” The Reds didn’t.

Flush it, learn from it, and get back to work Saturday.

Saturday pitching matchup: Brady Singer (Reds) vs Sonny Gray (Red Sox).