Brady Singer posts quality start in loss to Nats

Singer just missed a fourth consecutive start of exactly six runs and three runs allowed. He left in line for the win today after the Reds busted out for five runs in the bottom of the sixth, but it didn’t quite hold up. Maybe he’ll do a little better while starting in San Francisco next week.

It’s the third straight outing in which he’s recorded the bare minimum quality start. Singer departed with a one-run lead that was blown during a four-run eighth. He’s gone four straight outings without a victory, and things don’t figure to get much better from here. He’ll face the Cardinals next week.

He did so for the Reds, which is kind of a stunner. Singer, a free agent at season’s end, seemed about as likely as any pitcher to get moved before the deadline, but the Reds didn’t want to just give him away, say like the Giants did with Tyler Mahle, and thus kept him after failing to get any quality offers. Singer still has a 4.67 ERA for the year, but he’s at 2.87 in 11 starts since the beginning of June. He’ll likely face the Nationals on Sunday.

Singer stumbled in this game partially due to his own struggles and also because of two costly misplays by Elly De La Cruz. First, he booted a ball to start the fifth inning. Then, he tried a glove flip to start a double play immediately after, but it was a bit off target and developed too slowly. From there, Singer imploded. He walked three of the next five batters and gave up a run-scoring single between them. He struggled to find the zone all night with just a 39% zone rate and 58% strike rate as he simply could not place his sinker where he wanted to. That’s a tough end to July after Singer put up a 2.77 ERA with 23 strikeouts and seven walks through 26 innings up to this point this month. His next start will be determined by whether or not he is dealt before Monday’s trade deadline.

Singer was originally supposed to start on Tuesday, so when it was announced that he would not be starting, there was speculation that he was involved in a potential trade. While that may still come to fruition, it appears that he’s just being given an extra day of rest.

The Reds scored three times in the top of the seventh to give Singer a 5-3 lead and get him a second straight win after he lost eight of his previous nine decisions. The rebound here should give him some trade value leading up to the deadline. With his 4.53 ERA, he’s not a guy a team would be excited to have starting playoff games, but he can eat innings and help a good offensive team make it to October.

The 29-year-old right-hander racked up six strikeouts on the night and didn’t allow a base on balls. The Rockies scratched out a run against him in the fifth inning, then Willi Castro tagged him for a solo blast in the seventh. That was the full extent of the damage done against him. Singer piled up 17 swings and misses on 96 offerings in the game — 11 on his slider — while posting a strong CSW of 31 percent. He’ll try to keep the good times rolling as he carries a 4.56 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and an 82/31 K/BB ratio (96 2/3 innings) into Wednesday’s showdown against the Mariners in Seattle.

The Reds were shut out with Singer on the mound for the second straight time. This is probably Singer’s second-best start of the season. The best came three weeks ago when he shut out the Brewers for seven innings in a no-decision. He’s certainly been a below average starter with his 4.72 ERA, but he still deserves better than a 3-9 record at this point. He’ll probably pitch in Coors in his first start after the break.

Singer ran into some trouble early in the first inning, allowing three of the first five batters he faced to reach base, with Gunnar Henderson coming around to score on a throwing error by Tyler Stephenson as Henderson was trying to steal third. It would be the only run Singer would allow in the inning, but after pitching a scoreless second inning, Singer fell victim to a two-run homer by Samuel Basallo, who pushed the Orioles’ lead to 3-0 in the third. Singer would settle in after the blast by Basallo, but the damage had been done and the Reds offense mustered only four hits against Trevor Rogers and the O’s bullpen. His next start is scheduled for Thursday at home against the Phillies.

Singer tossed a scoreless first inning, then was hit for four runs in the second, including a three-run homer by Tyler Callihan. Ryan O’Hearn then took Singer deep for a solo homer in the fifth. That would be it for Singer, ending his day at 98 pitches with six strikeouts. The 29-year-old right-hander will take a 5.12 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, and a 65/25 K/BB ratio across 77 1/3 innings into a start against the Orioles in Cincinnati on Saturday.