PEORIA, Ariz. — Left-hander Travis Wood of Bryant recorded his third hold as he continued to compete for the fifth starter spot for the Cincinnati Reds on Friday.
Wood, a second-round draft pick for the Reds in 2005, worked four innings on Friday against the Seattle Mariners in relief of Mike Leake, another candidate along with Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman for the fifth starter spot. In four innings, Leake allowed one run on three hits with a walk and a strikeout. Wood allowed one run on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts.[more]
Wood, the son of Jay and Dena Wood, was in position to get a win with the Reds up 5-2 going into the bottom of the ninth but Kip Wells, the third Reds pitcher, surrendered a grand slam to Ken Griffey Jr., to give the Mariners a walk-off 6-5 win.
Coming in to start the bottom of the fifth, Wood got into trouble by issuing both of his walks around a single by Chone Figgins as the Mariners loaded the bases with two out. But he worked out of the jam by getting Griffey to ground out to first to end the inning.
Thirty-six of Wood's 53 pitches in the game were strikes.
The lone run he surrendered came in the sixth, cutting into Cincy's 4-1 lead. Eric Byrnes and Franklin Gutierrez both lined singles to left. Wood induced a grounder to first off the bat of Ryan Garko and the Reds turned a doubleplay. Byrnes advanced to third then scored when Josh Bard grounded a single through the left side.
The inning continued when Jack Wilson reached on an error but Wood got Ichiro Suzuki to bounce to Chris Burke at second for the third out. It was the second time Wood retired Suzuki.
In the seventh, Wood retired the side in order, striking out Chone Figgins and Griffey around a flyout off the bat of Jose Lopez.
He finished his stint in the eighth by retiring Byrnes and Matt Tuiasosopo on flyballs to right. Garko doubled but Bard bounced out to Burke to retire the side.
Richard McKeown
It’s only a matter of time. Clearly Travis has earned a spot on the rotation. Great to see!