Reds down Rangers in extras, 5–4

Even though it took an extra frame, the Reds were comeback winners on Thursday against the Texas Rangers by a score of 5–4. They’ve now won six of their last seven games as camp continues to wind down in Arizona. The game was the first time the Reds were back on the diamond after a scary injury to their star closer, Aroldis Chapman, who had surgery Thursday and will be able to return to baseball activities within a couple of weeks.

The Reds won it in the tenth after loading the bases against Texas reliever Rafael Perez. Joey Votto drew the walk that ended the game in the bottom of the frame.

Players that Louisville fans know well were major factors in the Cincinnati comeback, as Kristopher Negron’s seventh inning triple with the Reds down 4–2 plated Corky Miller and Jay Bruce to even the score. Both Negron and Miller figure to be heading to Louisville when the Reds break camp.

Another familiar name in the Derby City, Nick Christiani, continued his strong spring and was rewarded with the win. Christiani threw two scoreless innings, only allowing a hit with no walks. He struck out one. With injury concerns coming up in the Reds’ bullpen as the end of spring nears, Christiani could be a strong candidate to claim a roster spot in Cincinnati on opening day.

While Christiani was credited with the win, the Reds pitching staff as a whole was solid on the day. Jeff Francis, likely to start the year in Louisville, struggled a bit early. He allowed three runs in his four innings of work, but did strike out six and allowed only one walk. Bullpen stalwarts Manny Parra, Logan Ondrusek and J.J. Hoover all threw scoreless innings in relief. Manager Bryan Price was pleased with the effort of his staff.

“A lot of good things,” manager Bryan Price told MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon. “Nice to have the bullpen guys come in. I thought Francis threw the ball well with the exception of a couple of pitches. His slider got a lot better. The bullpen came in and did a real nice job. We know there are some opportunities in our bullpen right now. It was nice to see Christiani come in and throw two nice innings there.”

The Kansas City Royals are next on the schedule for the Reds on Friday. Brett Marshall (2–0, 1.00) will start for Cincinnati on the mound against Kansas City’s James Shields (2–0, 0.61). First pitch in Goodyear is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. ET.