ST. LOUIS – The pitch was a fastball, and it came out at just 85 mph. Cincinnati Reds left-hander Brandon Finnegan grimaced as he threw it. Catcher Devin Mesoraco immediately popped out of his stance and headed to the mound, where he was met by an athletic trainer and manager Bryan Price.
Finnegan’s comeback start was over, just more than three innings after it began. The Reds trailed by two at the time, with no outs in the bottom of the fourth. A beleaguered bullpen, once again asked to pick up slack that could stretch the width of the Mississippi River, couldn’t hold things together.