Cavanaugh's Single, Devers' Blast Bury Cincinnati Early

Drew Cavanaugh went a perfect 3-for-3 with 2 RBI, and San Francisco never looked back in a 3-1 win over Cincinnati on August 26. The game was effectively decided in the first inning, when a single swing of win probability told the whole story.

The story of the night was how fast this one got away from Cincinnati. In the first inning, Cavanaugh singled to center, scoring both Devers and Gilbert to put San Francisco up 2-0 — and that single play swung SF's win probability from 72% to 84%, a 12-point jump that Cincinnati never recovered from. Brady Singer was on the mound for the Reds and he ran into trouble early, ultimately finishing with 6 hits and 3 earned runs allowed over 5.2 innings, walking 2 and striking out 5. It was a workmanlike outing that kept Cincinnati in the game on paper, but the damage was already done.

San Francisco twisted the knife in the fifth. Devers, who had already scored twice, launched a solo home run 400 feet to right center to push the lead to 3-0. That made Devers the engine of the SF offense on the night — 1-for-3 with a homer, 1 RBI, and 2 runs scored. On the pitching side, Anthony Molina was sharp in his 4.1 innings, allowing just 1 hit and 0 earned runs. Adrian Houser and Trent Harris each followed with scoreless outings — Houser going 1.2 innings with 2 strikeouts, Harris adding a clean inning with 2 more punchouts. Cincinnati managed just 1 hit through the first eight innings against that trio, which looks like a collective effort that deserves more attention than it'll get given the final margin.

Cincinnati's lone bright spot came in the ninth, when Sal Stewart hit a solo shot 355 feet to right to get the Reds on the board at 3-1. It was a consolation homer — Stewart finished 1-for-4 with the RBI — and it did nothing to change the outcome. Elly De La Cruz and JJ Bleday each went 1-for-4 without scoring, which appears to capture Cincinnati's night in miniature: present but toothless. Cavanaugh's perfect 3-for-3 line is the number that jumps off the page, and it's hard to argue he wasn't the difference-maker. San Francisco got exactly what it needed from its offense early, handed the ball to a bullpen that was locked in, and cruised to a two-run win.