As was the case when BaileyFalter and AndrewHeaney took the mound against the Reds on Friday and Saturday, free passes played a role in Carmen Mlodzinski's struggles in this afternoon's series finale at Great American Ball Park.
Mlodzinski limited the Reds to just one hit through his first two innings of work by consistently landing his sweeper for strikes when he wasn't able to locate his fastball in the zone. Then, in the third inning, a one-out walk to Austin Wynns turned a solid start into a troubling one. TJ Friedl followed with a double on a 3-2 fastball that caught way too much of the zone and Santiago Espinal sent a 1-2 low-and-away slider into shallow right-center field for a two-run single that made it a 2-0 game:
The walk to Wynns certainly opened the door for the Reds to capture early momentum. Noelvi Marte's leadoff walk in the fourth did as well as he stole second base and later scored on Friedl's fielder's choice off. Elly De La Cruz then singled off Joey Wentz to score Friedl, tagging Mlodzinski for another earned run.
“Not just today, but the whole series they capitalized on free passes. That’s how baseball goes. Usually walks do score and they end up hurting you. They did that really well this series against us," Mlodzinski said. “Today really emphasizes the importance of throwing strikes and the importance of limiting the free bases. I think we take away some walks today and it’s a different ball game, it’s at least a closer ball game and a game we, as a team, think we’re going to be in and have a chance to win. If you give up walks and both of those guys end up scoring, then the game can kind of just slip away from you from there.”
Mlodzinski, who ended up allowing four earned runs on five hits with two walks and four strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings, is still adapting to his new role as a starter after making 70 appearances as a reliever over the last two seasons. He's still working through some things in terms of being more successful the second and third time through the order.
“It’s figuring out where do my mechanics start to go when I get later in the game and I do start to have some fatigue," Mlodzinski said. "Ultimately, how do I get outs? What are these guys trying to do against me the second and third time through and where can I start to attack in order to be more efficient and get the outs that I need later in the game?"
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THE ASYLUM
José Negron
7:02 pm - 04.13.2025CincinnatiMound Visit: Familiar theme haunts Mlodzinski
As was the case when Bailey Falter and Andrew Heaney took the mound against the Reds on Friday and Saturday, free passes played a role in Carmen Mlodzinski's struggles in this afternoon's series finale at Great American Ball Park.
Mlodzinski limited the Reds to just one hit through his first two innings of work by consistently landing his sweeper for strikes when he wasn't able to locate his fastball in the zone. Then, in the third inning, a one-out walk to Austin Wynns turned a solid start into a troubling one. TJ Friedl followed with a double on a 3-2 fastball that caught way too much of the zone and Santiago Espinal sent a 1-2 low-and-away slider into shallow right-center field for a two-run single that made it a 2-0 game:
The walk to Wynns certainly opened the door for the Reds to capture early momentum. Noelvi Marte's leadoff walk in the fourth did as well as he stole second base and later scored on Friedl's fielder's choice off. Elly De La Cruz then singled off Joey Wentz to score Friedl, tagging Mlodzinski for another earned run.
“Not just today, but the whole series they capitalized on free passes. That’s how baseball goes. Usually walks do score and they end up hurting you. They did that really well this series against us," Mlodzinski said. “Today really emphasizes the importance of throwing strikes and the importance of limiting the free bases. I think we take away some walks today and it’s a different ball game, it’s at least a closer ball game and a game we, as a team, think we’re going to be in and have a chance to win. If you give up walks and both of those guys end up scoring, then the game can kind of just slip away from you from there.”
Mlodzinski, who ended up allowing four earned runs on five hits with two walks and four strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings, is still adapting to his new role as a starter after making 70 appearances as a reliever over the last two seasons. He's still working through some things in terms of being more successful the second and third time through the order.
“It’s figuring out where do my mechanics start to go when I get later in the game and I do start to have some fatigue," Mlodzinski said. "Ultimately, how do I get outs? What are these guys trying to do against me the second and third time through and where can I start to attack in order to be more efficient and get the outs that I need later in the game?"
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