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Things are just continuing to go from bad to worse for the Cincinnati Reds.
After starting the season with a 20-12 record, they are just 25-43 in their last 68 games, and they were handed an 8-0 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Monday night.
But the Reds suffered an absolute facepalm moment in the bottom of the seventh inning, which had already gone awry thanks to Cal Raleigh’s grand slam.
However, the Reds didn’t get much help afterward. Mariners outfielder Victor Robles hit a grounder to short, and second baseman Edwin Arroyo tried to make a play. However, he found umpire Bill Miller in his way, and the ball squeaked into the outfield while also getting past shortstop Elly De La Cruz.
Relief pitcher Caleb Ferguson was not happy, shouting obscenities at the umpire and ripping him for his appearance.
“F—ing fata–! Out of the way motherf—er,” Ferguson, who had just allowed the Raleigh grand slam, appeared to yell at Miller.
THREE OF THE WORST-RATED UMPIRES IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL HAVE ONE THING IN COMMON
Seattle then had runners on the corners, but the Reds stopped the bleeding.
Reds manager Terry Francona ordered Ferguson to intentionally walk Dominic Canzone to load the bases and face Raleigh, but the decision totally backfired.
The slumping catcher, who finished in second place in last year’s AL Most Valuable Player voting with his 60-homer season, is hitting just .163 this season, but he pounced on the first pitch and turned on a hanging breaking ball, sending it 408 feet into the left-field bleachers to break the game open. It was just his 10th home run of the season.
“I know what Raleigh’s hitting and, he still worries me,” the veteran skipper said with a laugh. “But, I thought that was our best chance to have them not score. We could play the infield double-play depth. And, the worst possible outcome happened.”
Seattle jumped into the AL West lead with the victory, which also brought them to 51-50 on the season. They are trying to find similar success after reaching Game 7 of last year’s American League Championship Series.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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