CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Reds’ new manager, Terry Francona, experienced a moment of joy amidst a challenging debut season, all thanks to an exhilarating catch that salvaged a game for the team.
TJ Friedl delivered a spectacular leap in the center field, grabbing the final out to steal a potential tying home run from Milwaukee Brewers’ pinch-hitter Jake Bauers. This stunning catch solidified the Reds’ 4-2 win over their division rivals.
Francona relieved and emotional, remarked, “We couldn’t tell if Friedl caught it right away. We just watched his body language. That was certainly a nice feeling, and it’s moments like these that make a grown man tear up.”
Initially, the Reds seemed to seal their victory with Caleb Durbin’s grounder directed at Elly De La Cruz. However, De La Cruz’s throw was errant, and it flew into the camera well, thus allowing Durbin to hustle to second base.
Facing a 2-1 count, Bauers connected with Emilio Pagán’s fastball, and as per MLB’s Statcast, had the ball leaving his bat with a 95% hit probability. But Friedl managed to judge it accurately and timed his jump to break the Reds’ three-game losing streak.
“I knew it was solid contact from the start. Realizing the potential as I neared the warning track, I felt I might just reach it,” Friedl said reminiscing about the play.
Milwaukee’s manager, Pat Murphy, deployed Bauers for his seasoned expertise in clutch situations, hoping for his third career pinch-hit homer, which was nearly realized.
“Late in the night, a center field homer is hard to achieve here; it was a fierce line drive and clearly a near miss,” Murphy noted post-game, following the Brewers’ eight-game winning stretch being halted. “A commendable catch by Friedl, you must always play until the very last pitch.”
Friedl’s game-saving catch marked the second time in recent history that he made a home-run robbing play at Great American Ball Park. His past triumph on August 16, 2023, was against the then Francona-led Cleveland team, catching a would-be homer from Ramón Laureano.
Friedl and his fellow outfielders practiced wall catches ahead of their match-ups with Milwaukee, a routine they adhered to before his memorable catch against Laureano as well.
“Maybe we should make it a regular part of our warm-ups,” Friedl humorously suggested.
Not only was Francona relieved, but Emilio Pagán, too, felt validated, “I believed it was a solid pitch to Bauers. When I turned and realized TJ was sprinting, it was a mix of hope and trust—knowing we prepare well for such moments,” Pagán said with relief.
With this victory, the Reds improved to a 30-32 record and poised themselves to potentially end an 11-series losing streak against the Brewers. They trail the NL Central leader, the Chicago Cubs, by nine games and are four games shy in the wild-card chase.
Whether Friedl’s remarkable play could ignite a series of wins is yet to unfold. “It’s hard to predict. Our focus remains on playing hard daily and controlling our play,” Friedl shared. “That’s the game plan as we march through a long season, constantly striving to deliver our best performance.”