The Cincinnati Reds lost a close one against the Miami Marlins Wednesday afternoon.
Marlins sluggers Josh Bel and Bryan De La Cruz hit clutch home runs in the latter part of the game to propel Miami to a 5-4 win over Cincinnati, With the win, Miami put itself a half-game up on the Reds and the Chicago Cubs for the final National League Wild Card spot.
The loss appeared to frustrate Reds starter Graham Ashcraft more than anybody.
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Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Graham Ashcraft, #51, throws against the Miami Marlins during the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)
He threw seven solid innings, striking out seven and only allowed one run on three hits. He lowered his ERA to 4.95 on the season and was in line for his seventh win of the season if the bullpen had not blown it.
Toward the end the sixth inning, Ashcraft got pretty animated when he struck out Marlins star Jazz Chisholm Jr. He appeared to tell Chisholm to “sit the f— down, b—-.” He was asked about the interaction in his postgame press conference.
“He pissed me off, and he’s lucky that’s what he got,” Ashcraft said. “Leave it at that.”
Graham Ashcraft, #51 of the Cincinnati Reds, pitches in the first inning against the Miami Marlins at Great American Ball Park on Aug. 9, 2023 in Cincinnati. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
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It was not exactly clear what upset Ashcraft. One guess was Chisholm’s home run celebration during Monday night’s game. He did a Euro step before touching home plate and slapped Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson on the rear before going back to the dugout.
Stephenson did not appear too pleased with Chisholm but no fireworks erupted from the love tap.
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Jazz Chisholm Jr., #2 of the Miami Marlins, hits a single in the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on Aug. 9, 2023 in Cincinnati. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Miami and Cincinnati do not play again this season, but there will definitely be a slugfest for the wild-card slot down the stretch. The Philadelphia Phillies only have a 3.5-game lead on the Marlins for the first spot while the San Francisco Giants are one game behind Philly and 2.5 up on the Marlins.
