By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Final: Reds 2, Phillies 0 ❖ Attendance: 19,944
CINCINNATI — The Philadelphia Phillies (1-1) were not able to carry over their success from Opening Day, as they were shut out 2-0 Wednesday evening against southpaw Brandon Finnegan and the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park.
A rain delay pushed back Phillies starter RHP Jerad Eickhoff's season debut by 50 minutes. His quality start was not enough, as the Phillies' offense managed just four hits, with only one leaving the infield.
RHP Clay Buchholz will take the mound Thursday afternoon in the series' rubber match. He will face RHP Rookie Davis, who will make his big league debut.
WP: Brandon Finnegan (1-0, 0.00 ERA) ❖ LP: Jerad Eickhoff (0-1, 2.70 ERA) ❖ SV: Raisel Iglesias (1)
Game Summary:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| PHI | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| CIN | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | X | 2 | 5 | 0 |
After allowing a walk and single to left fielder Howie Kendrick and third baseman Maikel Franco respectively in the first, Finnegan went on to retire his last 19 Phillies batters faced.
Eickhoff held the Reds offense at bay until surrendering a one-out double to catcher Tucker Barnhart in the third. Other than walking center fielder Billy Hamilton two batters later, Eickhoff would retire 9 of the next 10 Reds batters.
The game's first run — and just fourth hit combined between both clubs — came via a leadoff seventh inning home run by opposing first baseman Joey Votto. Left fielder Adam Duvall followed with a double to deep left and scored three batters later thanks to a RBI single to right by shortstop Zack Cozart. Phillies right fielder Aaron Altherr bobbled the ball and was not able to throw home on the play.
Eickhoff was pulled with two outs recorded in the 7th. He threw 80 pitches, 49 for strikes and allowed two runs on five hits and a walk. Southpaw Joely Rodriguez recorded the final out in the frame thanks to a diving stop by Franco.
Facing right-handed reliever Michael Lorenzen, Altherr became just the third Phillies baserunner to reach via a leadoff infield single to third to start the eighth inning. Catcher Cameron Rupp followed with another infield single to short, his first base knock of the season. The scoring threat would go for naught, however, as the next three batters went down in order.
Right-handed reliever Pat Neshek threw a 1-2-3 scoreless eighth inning for the Phillies on 14 pitches with two strikeouts. Neshek helped Team USA this spring in capturing its first World Baseball Classic championship.
Reds RHP Raisel Iglesias allowed an infield single in the ninth to center fielder Odubel Herrera. Herrera was nearly caught stealing for the game's final out but a replay review overturned the call. Iglesias went on to strike out first baseman Tommy Joseph to seal the Reds' first victory of the season.
Starting Pitchers:
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerad Eickhoff | 6.2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 2.70 |
| Brandon Finnegan | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0.00 |
At the Plate:
Phillies
- Odubel Herrera: 1-4, .286 AVG
- Maikel Franco: 1-4, .250 AVG
- Aaron Altherr: 1-3, .333 AVG
Reds
- Joey Votto: 1-3, R, HR, RBI, .143 AVG
- Adam Duvall: 1-3, R, 2B, .429 AVG
- Zack Cozart: 2-3, RBI, .429 AVG
Bullpen:
Phillies
- Joely Rodriguez (7th): 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA
- Pat Neshek (8th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA
Reds
- Michael Lorenzen (8th): 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 0ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA
- Raisel Iglesias (9th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA
What's Next:
- Thursday, April 6, 2017: at Cincinnati Reds, 12:35 p.m.
- Great American Ball Park
- RHP Clay Buchholz (2016: 8-10 4.78 ERA) vs. RHP Rookie Davis (MLB debut)
- TV: CSN; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
