The Reds overcame a three-run deficit to tie the Diamondbacks on Thursday afternoon.
Here are our postgame takeaways:
Mixed Results for Graham Ashcraft
Ashcraft started the game with a 1-2-3 first inning, retiring the Diamondbacks' top three hitters on two groundouts and a strikeout.
In the second, the defense didn't help him. Matt McLain and Ashcraft himself both had errors in the inning. The 27-year-old would give up a run on one hit and two walks in the inning. He struck out three in his two innings of work.
A Quiet Day for the Reds' Regulars on Offense
It was a quiet day offensively for the Reds' regulars. TJ Friedl, Matt McLain, Elly De La Cruz, Austin Hays, Jake Fraley, Jeimer Candelario, and Spencer Steer combined for just three hits on the day. Candelario's double was the only extra-base hit out of those three hits.
The Rally Reds
Trailing 3-0 in the eighth, the Reds rallied back, starting with a triple off the bat of Will Banfield. After a Cooper Bowman walk, Cam Collier grounded out to bring the Reds' deficit to just two. Edwin Arroyo, Hector Rodriguez, and Blake Dunn hit back-to-back-to-back singles to get Cincinnati back within one before Tyler Callihan hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game up at three.
In the ninth, Banfield and Bowman both reached base, but Collier struck out and Arroyo popped out to shortstop to end the game in a tie.
News and Notes
Up Next
The Reds face the Oakland Athletics at 3:05 ET at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Arizona, on Friday.
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The Milwaukee Brewers' trade with the Boston Red Sox early in the season flew under the radar. The Brewers acquired former top prospect Quinn Priester from the Red Sox, sending outfield prospect Yophery Rodriguez to Boston on April 7. Pitching prospect John Holobetz was sent to the Red Sox on May 5 to complete the trade. Priester had been expected to be a top-of-the-rotation arm, lauded for his athleticism and plus fastball and curve. However, he struggled during his time in the majors in 2023 and 2024, posting a combined 6.23 ERA and a 1.555 WHiP over 99.2 innings, striking out 69 batters with 41 walks while serving up 19 home runs. Despite a solid outing in his only appearance for the Red Sox, Priester remained in Triple-A as nothing more than pitching depth. That changed with his arrival in Milwaukee. He has exceeded expectations, either as a traditional starter or following an opener. Priester has posted a 3.15 ERA and a 1.190 WHiP over his 114.1 innings for the Brewers, striking out 93 batters with 38 walks. Opponents have mustered a meager .228/.294/.382 batting line in 471 plate appearances with just 13 homers. The Brewers' 64-48 record entering Tuesday is the best in the majors despite a nondescript rotation. While Freddy Peralta is a top-of-the-rotation arm in his own right, staff ace Brandon Woodruff missed all of 2024 and most of the first half of 2025. Pitchers such as Chad Patrick, Tobias Myers and Jose Quintana are back-of-the-rotation arms at this point. The Brewers needed someone to step up with Priester being the unlikely hero. Pitchers Paul Skenes and Zack Wheeler are the prohibitive favorites to win the National League Cy Young Award. BetMGM does not have Priester listed as one of the 10 most likely candidates to take home the hardware. However, Priester's performance, coupled with the Brewers' success this season, is worthy of attention. If he can continue to perform at this level, Priester deserves at least some consideration on the ballot.
As the Green Bay Packers deal with their own crowded wide receiver room, multiple former Packers pass-catchers are also embroiled in position battles across the league. Notably, two veterans that turned in many successful seasons in Green Bay now find themselves battling to make rosters and have been labeled as big names that could become surprise cuts when rosters are trimmed down. New York Jets May Soon Be Done With Former Green Bay Packers Receiver Allen Lazard Former Packers receiver Allen Lazard was always a favorite of Aaron Rodgers during their time together in Green Bay. When Rodgers left the franchise, Lazard ended up following the quarterback to the New York Jets. While the Rodgers era for Gang Green has gone up in flames, Lazard remains on the roster – for now. Lazard entered camp as the presumed second receiver behind Garrett Wilson, but so far, fellow veteran Josh Reynolds has seemingly beaten out Lazard for the second spot. A former Detroit Lion, Reynolds has reportedly been building a good rapport with new signal-caller Justin Fields, leaving Lazard potentially relegated to slot duties. Although the Jets have receiver depth problems, some experts don’t believe that Lazard will survive cuts. The Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt has stated that he does not expect Lazard to be on the 53-man roster. Some names behind Lazard on the current depth chart include veteran Tyler Johnson and rookie Arian Smith, both of whom have had flashes of ability in camp so far. Several of the younger players also offer one thing that Lazard notably doesn’t – the ability to play on special teams. If Lazard is cut by the team, it would mean the team would have moved on from another former Packer after dumping both Rodgers and Davante Adams this summer. Can Former Green Bay Packers Receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling Stick in Seattle? Marquez Valdes-Scantling was a member of the Green Bay Packers from 2018 to 2021, playing out his rookie contract with the team while being a big part of the offense. He had over 2,000 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns for the green and gold before leaving for Kansas City in free agency. In 2025, Valdes-Scantling was with the New Orleans Saints until he signed a one-year deal with the Seattle Seahawks worth around $4 million. Despite the 29-year-old being a proven veteran and solid deep threat, Valdes-Scantling currently finds himself near the edge of the Seahawks roster. Rookie receiver Tory Horton has already surpassed Valdes-Scantling on the depth chart and has been the fourth receiver in the team’s first-team rotation so far. Valdes-Scantling has been relegated to the second unit in training camp practices as of early August. Respected NFL writer Brady Henderson has said that Valdes-Scantling has “barely made any” plays throughout camp so far, whereas Horton has continued to catch eyes and has been nicknamed “Jerry Rice Jr.” by teammate Tariq Woolen. Like Lazard, Valdes-Scantling does not offer much on special teams either, and although the Seahawks would love to have a deep threat to compliment Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp, if Valdes-Scantling does not show up in camp, the team could move on from the former Green Bay Packer with little financial consequence.
One of the scariest wrecks in racing this year occurred a little more than a week ago, when Stewart Friesen was involved in a horrific crash. Friesen suffered a broken pelvis and a fractured right leg. It was the kind of crash that gets everyone in the sport’s attention. It could have been much, much worse. “This is just an absolutely horrifying wreck right here,” Kevin Harvick said on the Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast. “You see him just hit the end of that wall and then hit by cars and fires. Just glad that he’s not in worse condition than he is. It was a tough couple weeks for dirt racing with everything that happened at Eldora with the sprint cars. And then you have Friesen’s wreck right here. So glad everybody’s still here.” Stewart Friesen is now recovering. His wife has posted multiple updates, and he’s since been transferred to a hospital in New York. He’ll have to undergo multiple surgeries. In the meantime, folks like Harvick are using the wreck as a reminder of the importance of the work NASCAR does in ensuring driver safety. Harvick spotlighted it on his podcast. “These series don’t have the investigations and things, and that’s one thing NASCAR does a really good job at, is making sure they understand each wreck,” Harvick said. “Making sure that they look at all the equipment. They hold the people accountable to wear their equipment right, to get their headrests right. That doesn’t happen in the short track world. Some of the stuff you see is pretty scary.” Stewart Friesen’s wreck may well be the warning call to some of the smaller series to take safety a little more seriously. No one wants to have blood on their hands. But it goes beyond just the racing organizations themselves policing things. Team owners and crew chiefs also need to keep their guys on point. “And that’s one thing I stress to all of our young guys and just people in general that just get a little lax about it from the safety side,” Harvick said. “You’re not preparing for every time you get in. You’re preparing for that moment like we just saw with Stewart Friesen. “So it’s super important that all that stuff is right and you evolve with the safety aspect of it. That’s the difference between weekly racing and Cup, Xfinity, Truck racing … that NASCAR holds you accountable. Not so much the case on stuff like this.”
Aaron Judge didn’t ease into his return. After missing over two weeks with a strain in his right elbow, the Yankees’ captain was activated Tuesday and inserted as the designated hitter. But his presence wasn’t enough to stop the bleeding or the finger-pointing. As the Yankees dropped their fifth straight game, falling 2-0 to the Rangers, the calls for a change in leadership were growing louder. Yankees fans were howling for Aaron Boone’s job and wanted Brian Cashman to be sent packing with him. But, Judge made it clear who bears the blame. “About us in this room, we’ve got to step up, look ourselves in the mirror and do our job,” he said. That was the message from a captain who went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in his first game back. Judge didn’t shift the focus to his own timing at the plate or the limitations of his injury. He kept the spotlight squarely on the team’s performance and their accountability. New York has now lost 19 of its last 27 games and watched a once-secure playoff position slip into a Wild Card race that’s tightening by the day. The loss dropped them behind Boston and just a half-game ahead of Texas for the final AL Wild Card spot. Mistakes continue to mount. On Tuesday, it was another bullpen collapse, another critical misplay in the field, and another night where the offense failed to deliver in key spots. For Judge, the diagnosis was simple. Do your job. With the standings getting tighter, Judge’s words carry weight. The Yankees have time to turn this around, but not if they keep looking elsewhere for answers or excuses. The answers, as Judge reminded everyone Tuesday night, have to come from within.
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