Terry Francona likes the Reds' 'fight' in win over the Twins

A lot of Reds’ game stories in April and May were listing all of the negative plays and errors that cost the team the game. There would be comments about needing to be better and perspective from the clubhouse on how the Reds keep beating themselves.

But since a win over the Cubs on May 30, the Reds have been grinding through their mistakes and finding ways to come back. That was the story of TJ Friedl’s walk-off robbed homer vs. the Brewers, the sweep over the Diamondbacks, the series victory in Detroit and now Tuesday’s 6-5 win over the Twins.

“We feel as a team that we’re getting close to where we should have been at the very start,” Andrew Abbott said. “We’re starting to play better. At-bats are getting longer and more aggressive. We’re scoring early on these teams. The pitching has stepped up.”

The Reds took a 4-1 lead into the sixth inning, and Abbott got to two outs. Terry Francona was planning out the rest of the game and had Abbott earmarked to go back in for the seventh. But then, Christian Encarnacion-Strand slow-played an errant throw to first that kept the inning alive. Then, a fly ball off the bat of Harrison Bader tipped off Jake Fraley’s glove and turned into a home run as the Twins took a 5-4 lead.

“I didn’t think that it had a chance (to be gone),” Fraley said. “I switched my hips on it because he sliced it. As I got to the wall, it was carrying more. I actually had to jump and go over to get it. It was in the glove and out. It happens.”

For a lot of this Reds’ season, that would have been it.

But the Reds have been a much better comeback team lately. Fraley continues to credit the energy coming from the top step of the dugout as a difference in the team’s late-game success in June.

“All of us have been saying it,” Fraley said. “It’s contagious when everyone is up on the top step.”

Fraley went back up to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the sixth and got the rally started with a single. He said, “I can’t do anything about that play. It wasn’t even in my head. The play was over.”

Then, McLain did something that no right-handed hitter had done all season. Right-handed batters were 0-for-33 against Twins reliever Brock Stewart until McLain singled in the sixth inning. McLain picked up his single in a two-strike count.

That brought All-Star candidate TJ Friedl to the plate. He drove in Fraley and McLain as the Reds took the lead.

All of the Reds’ six runs on Tuesday were with two outs and two strikes.

“We made some mistakes, but we did some really good things,” Francona said. “They’re in a good place where they’re fighting. It’s not always going to be perfect, but they’re fighting. I like that a lot.”