Brady Singer Credits NL West Team In Reds' Shutout Loss

Brady Singer didn't have the outing he wanted during the Cincinnati Reds' Monday opener against the San Diego Padres, tying his season-high of 10 hits allowed while also surrendering four earned runs through 4.1 innings pitched as the team suffered a 5-0 loss.

Following the matchup, the 30-year-old right-hander credited San Diego's offense for their execution and gritty at-bats.

"They put a lot of hits together, I tried to stay in the zone, I didn't want to start trying to look for chase and start walking guys and let it kind of unfold," he said in a postgame press conference. "I was hoping one of those balls would find a double play or something like that, but like I said, I tried to stay in the zone and they just put good swings on it."

Manny Machado got to work in the first, doubling off an 83-mph slider but Singer held on, forcing an inning-ending groundout from Ty France.

The Reds generated a pair of runners that same inning when rookie Héctor Rodríguez singled and advanced to third off a double by Sal Stewart. They would continue creating traffic in the third, however, Padres starter Michael King retired Eugenio Suárez to limit the damage.

San Diego pounced on Singer in the fourth with a flurry of hits that plated four runs as Jackson Merrill struck first with a one-run single that drove in Machado. Xander Bogaerts joined in the frenzy with an RBI double, scoring Merrill and France.

Recent Triple-A callup Dustin Harris added to the lead with an RBI single and advanced to second off another hit from Luis Campusano.

Singer fought back, retiring Sung-mun Song and forcing Fernando Tatis Jr. to ground out into a double play.

Still, San Diego chased him out of the game during the fifth when they put more traffic on the corners. 

Cincinnati relievers Julian Garcia and Pierce Johnson kept the Padres at bay until the seventh when France scored Tatis Jr. with a one-run single to further spoil the Reds' night.

Dane Myers attempted a final effort in the ninth with a single, but it proved insufficient when Edwin Arroyo went down swinging and Rodríguez popped out to end the game.

With the loss, the Reds have been shut out for the 15th time this season since they came up short to the San Francisco Giants 5-0 last Monday. Additionally, it marks Singer's 13th defeat through 27 starts.

As Cincinnati remains set on trying to make the playoffs, time is running out for their lineup to figure out how to consistently string hits together, especially against quality pitchers like King. 

In the meantime, the team will look to even things up tonight as left-hander Nick Lodolo takes the mound against Randy Vásquez.

Singer should get an opportunity to bounce back during the Reds' upcoming series later in the week against the NL Central juggernaut Milwaukee Brewers.