Finnegan gave up four earned runs in the first inning Sunday in an 8-5 loss to the Miami Marlins at Great American Ball Park. He left with one out in the fourth inning, having allowed five earned runs on four hits.
Finnegan has not pitched past the fifth inning in any of his starts, and this was the second time he didn’t get past the fourth. The Reds have lost every time he has taken the mound.
“Certainly, we can’t be down 4-0 or 5-0 routinely and having to get guys up early in the game and wearing them out down in the bullpen before they even get in the game,” Riggleman said. “Nobody’s more aware of that than Brandon. He knows this has not been satisfactory. He’ll get his next start. He’ll get these four days to figure something up out and hopefully give us a good ballgame in Los Angeles.”
The Reds fell to 8-26 by losing two of three games to the Marlins. They’re tied with the 1931 and 1934 Reds for the franchise’s worst record through 34 games.
Reds starters, who rank second to last in baseball with a 5.50 ERA, are the biggest reason the team has struggled, and Finnegan owns the worst ERA in that group.
The short start Sunday forced the Reds to use six different relievers. They added a fresh arm from Triple-A Louisville on Monday, replacing Kevin Shackleford with Jackson Stephens.
“It affects a lot of things,” Riggleman said. “It affects how many bench players you can carry. We had a really fresh bullpen going into the game yesterday, but we ended up using a bunch of it. Trying to stay in the game and win the game, you hate to use that much of it in a losing cause.”
TUESDAY’S GAME
Mets at Braves, 7:10 p.m., FS Ohio, 700, 1410
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