A leaping catch, happy tears, and a win: How TJ Friedl saved the Reds

CINCINNATI (AP) - In what has been a frustrating first season with the Cincinnati Reds, manager Terry Francona was able to shed some happy tears Tuesday night courtesy of a game-saving catch.

TJ Friedl made a leaping grab in center field for the final out to rob pinch-hitter Jake Bauers of a tying home run in the Reds’ 4-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

"We couldn't tell if Friedl caught it. We were just kinda goin' on his body language," Francona said. "That was certainly a nice feeling. You may have seen a grown man cry."

The Reds appeared to lock up the win when Caleb Durbin hit a grounder to Elly De La Cruz, but the shortstop’s throw to first base was high and sailed into the camera well for an error, allowing Durbin to reach second base.

Bauers got ahead in the count 2-1 before he got the barrel on a fastball by Emilio Pagán. According to MLB’s Statcast, the ball had a 95% hit probability, but Friedl did a nice job of tracking it and timed his jump perfectly to help the Reds snap a three-game losing streak.

"I knew it was hit well off the bat. I think it was probably when I was coming close to the warning track that I thought, I could have a chance at this," Friedl said.

Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy brought in Bauers because of his experience in late-game situations. It almost resulted in the third pinch-hit homer of his career.

"It's hard to get it out of here in center when it gets later in the evening. It was such a line drive I knew it was going to be close," Murphy said after the Brewers had their eight-game winning streak snapped. "It was a great play by Friedl. You play to the last pitch and he made it."

It was the second time in three years Friedl made a homer-saving catch in center at Great American Ball Park. The previous time came against the club Francona managed for 11 seasons, when Friedl robbed Cleveland’s Ramón Laureano of a two-run shot during the third inning on Aug. 16, 2023.

Friedl and the other Reds outfielders worked on making plays at the wall before Monday’s series opener against Milwaukee. When he robbed Laureano, they practiced it before that game, too.

"Maybe we should work on it a lot," Friedl said.

Francona wasn’t the only one relieved. Pagán thought he made a great pitch to Bauers.

"I didn’t realize he hit it so well. I turned around and saw that TJ was making a sprint. The way this game works, you prepare and do the right things," Pagán said.

The win improved the Reds’ record to 30-32 with a chance to snap a string of 11 consecutive series losses to the Brewers. Cincinnati is nine games behind the first-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central and four back in the wild-card race.

Whether Friedl’s heroics can serve as a catalyst for a win streak remains to be seen.

"Your guess is as good as mine. We're just going to continue to go out every day and control what we can control and play our game. And then we'll see what ends up," Friedl said. "It's a long season, so we're going to continue to go out there and play the best baseball."