Bats wake up in Reds’ triumph
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Photo: AP[/caption]
The Cincinnati Reds notched their first win in six games yesterday afternoon when they visited the Los Angeles Dodgers in Glendale. Pitching and offense came together for one of the few times to date in the Reds’ exhibition schedule, as Cincinnati claimed the 8–2 victory.
“It’s nice to win. Bottom line is it’s still nice to win,” manager Bryan Price told the media after the game. “Even though the games don’t matter for the regular season, they do matter for morale.”
Todd Frazier set the Redlegs off on the right foot with a solo home run in the top of the first, and some sloppy play by the Dodgers would allow for the Reds to get out to an early lead. In the second, a wild pitch by Los Angeles starter Paul Maholm allowed Brayan Pena to score to extend the lead to 2–0.
Chris Heisey continued to swing a hot bat on Thursday, leading the Reds with a 2-for-3 day at the plate and three RBIs. It was Heisey who proved to be the catalyst for a big inning in the third, as the outfielder hit a three-run homer to left center field and pushed the Reds’ lead to 6–0.
Cincinnati starter Alfredo Simon recorded his first win of the spring season after throwing 4.1 innings and allowing only one run. He struck out three and didn’t walk a batter on the afternoon.
A trio of potential Louisville Bats aided in the Cincinnati offensive effort as well. Catching prospect Tucker Barnhart was 2-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored after taking over for Pena behind the dish. Infielders Neftali Soto and Kristopher Negron were both 1-for-2, with Soto scoring the final run of the afternoon to give the Reds their final 8–2 advantage.
On the mound, some future Bats were impressive as well in holding off any Dodgers comeback. Trevor Bell, Pedro Beato, Curtis Partch and Jose Diaz all threw scoreless frames to close out the ballgame. While many of those names are likely to start the season in Louisville, one or two may be called upon to shore up injury concerns in the Cincinnati bullpen.
The Reds march on in their spring preparation today when they return home to Goodyear for an evening date with the Texas Rangers. Cincinnati ace Johnny Cueto (0–1, 6.23) will take the mound to start against Robbie Ross (0–0, 3.86). Cueto will be followed by Manny Parra, Jeff Francis, Drew Hayes and Lee Hyde. First pitch is scheduled for 10:05 p.m. ET, and the game can be seen on Reds.com.
