KANSAS CITY – A Cincinnati Reds lineup that had scored at least six runs in five consecutive games got held in check by left-hander Noah Cameron and the Kansas City Royals bullpen in the Wednesday finale of a series the Reds already had clinched.
But if they looked quiet for most of the night in the 3-2 loss, the Reds did not go gentle into the night at Kauffman Stadium.
When home plate umpire Cory Blaser called out struggling Reds hitter Matt McLain on what looked like a low pitch leading off the ninth, pitcher Nick Martinez had enough to say about it from the dugout to get tossed by Blaser.
And then manager Terry Francona charged from the dugout to make his four-letter case and earn the 52nd ejection of his career.
In his second start back from a groin injury, ace Hunter Greene needed 88 pitches to navigate traffic in all five innings of his start, 24 of those pitches spent on the first four batters of the game.
He struck out three, walked one and gave up seven hits, including a Drew Waters single that scored Maikel Garcia from first in the fourth and a two-out, run-scoring double by Bobby Witt Jr. in the fifth for the two runs he allowed.
Former Reds second baseman Jonathan India, the Royals leadoff man who went to Kansas City in the Brady Singer trade in November, reached base three times against his old pals, including a pair of singles off Greene.
Spencer Steer drove in both Reds runs with two-out singles in the sixth and eighth.
The Reds trailed 2-1 in the seventh until rookie Luis Mey took over and threw eight of his first nine pitches of the inning for balls, then threw a wild pitch that put the runners at second and third. That set the stage for Witt’s sacrifice fly to right for what proved the difference in the game.
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