CINCINNATI -- The morning of Terry Francona's first Opening Day as Reds manager did not get off to a great start. It began in the dentist's chair.
"I woke up at about 2 a.m. One of my veneers, I think, got chewed out," Francona said Thursday morning. "I didn¡¯t want to go through Opening Day looking like Jethro Bodine from the Clampetts. So I got it fixed.¡±
The game itself provided the kind of outcome that could have Francona grinding more teeth in the wee hours. A 6-4 Reds loss to the Giants came after Ian Gibaut blew the save by giving up four runs in the top of the ninth inning.
Gibaut struggled with his command after striking out first batter Willy Adames. He issued a one-out walk followed by a single, but got Heliot Ramos to look at strike three for the second out. Patrick Bailey kept the inning going with a game-tying RBI single into right field.
Next, Wilmer Flores hit a 1-2 breaking ball for a three-run gut punch of a home run that put the game away for San Francisco before the sold-out crowd of 43,876 fans at Great American Ball Park.
¡°Just seems like it went right down the middle," Gibaut said. "I need to execute it better and that¡¯s that, really.¡±
Regular closer Alexis D¨ªaz struggled in camp before he was placed on the injured list with a left hamstring strain on the final day. Francona did not name a replacement for the ninth inning and planned on mixing and matching until someone could grow into the role even though three former closers are part of the bullpen in Taylor Rogers, Scott Barlow and Emilio Pag¨¢n.
Gibaut, who joined the Reds in 2022, was limited to two big league appearances last season because of a right forearm injury. Brought back as a non-roster invite in the offseason, the right-hander stood out during his team-high 11 appearances at Spring Training and was the last reliever to make the team. He became an unconventional choice for closing.
¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m ever going to go check and see who¡¯s surprised," Francona said. "I do what I think is right, answer questions and be confident enough to move on and not run to see how I¡¯m being perceived. I¡¯ll never do that. I¡¯ll always do what I think is right.¡±
Over five innings and 84 pitches, Reds starter Hunter Greene gave up two earned runs and three hits with one walk and eight strikeouts. Greene came out of the gate strong and struck out five of his first six batters while retiring his first seven in a row, while Jeimer Candelario picked up two early hits and three RBIs for a 3-0 Reds lead through three innings.
Greene said he went to Gibaut's locker after the game to console the veteran reliever.
¡°It¡¯s a big sting. It hurts. Everybody is frustrated," Greene said of the loss. "We thought the outcome would be a lot different, especially going into that last inning. Ian is a dawg, that¡¯s what I told him. I know people might not want to hear that, but people [in here] believe that because he is.
"The last couple years he¡¯s been with us, he¡¯s been in very tight situations, and he¡¯s made it look easy getting out of them. This game is difficult. He wasn¡¯t able to do that today. He¡¯s one of our best pitchers.¡±
With two outs in the fourth, Greene had an 11-pitch duel with Ramos that ended with an opposite-field two-run homer to right field. It made for a 28-pitch inning and also changed the trajectory of how Francona would navigate his bullpen.
After a scoreless fifth inning from Greene, Francona went with Barlow in the sixth, followed by Pag¨¢n in the seventh and Tony Santillan in the eighth. The Giants went nine-up, nine-down in those three innings.
"We used Pag¨¢n early, that was probably our other thought [to close]," Francona said. "We would have probably flip-flopped those two. The long at-bat against Hunter probably cost him the sixth inning. I thought our bullpen, up to that point [the ninth], really, really did a good job.¡±
After D¨ªaz went on the IL, Gibaut told bullpen coach Matt Tracy he wanted a shot to close.
¡°That¡¯s why you play the game. You want to be the guy that gets the last guy out," Gibaut said. "It¡¯s kind of what I¡¯ve done my whole life. Kind of what I¡¯ve been used to. Obviously we¡¯ll look for a different outcome next time.¡±