Fastball

Cincinnati Reds Continue Swoon as Rookie Ends Up on Wrong End of Baseball History

It was another rough day for the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, and it was a historically rough day for rookie Lyon Richardson.

Brady Farkas

Cincinnati Reds Continue Swoon as Rookie Ends Up on Wrong End of Baseball History
Cincinnati Reds Continue Swoon as Rookie Ends Up on Wrong End of Baseball History /
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The Cincinnati Reds lost to the Washington Nationals on Sunday, continuing their recent swoon. The Reds have now lost six straight games and have gone from first place in the National League Central to 1.5 games back. They are now in a tie for second with the surging Chicago Cubs.

The Reds and Cubs are also tied for the last spot in the National League wild card picture.

The Reds have been thin on pitching recently because of injury and poor performance and Sunday it was rookie Lyon Richardson's turn to make his major league debut.

The 23-year-old, who was a second-round pick in the 2018 draft, lasted three innings, giving up four earned runs on four hits. He also became a footnote in some dubious baseball history.

Per @OptaSTATS on Twitter:

Over the last 50 seasons, Lyon Richardson of the Reds is the only pitcher to allow a home run on each of the first two pitches of his MLB career.

The first home run came off the bat of CJ Abrams while the second was hit by outfielder Lane Thomas. For Abrams, it was his 11th homer. Thomas now has 19.

The Reds are back in action on Monday for the start of a key series with the Miami Marlins. Miami currently trails the Reds and Cubs by 0.5 games in the NL wild card picture.

First pitch on Monday is slated for 6:40 p.m. ET as Brandon Williamson (CIN) pitches against Marlins rookie Eury Perez, who is being recalled for the playoff push.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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