WEEKEND RECAP | Reds return to winning ways
[caption id=”attachment_4912" align=”alignnone” width=”544"]
(Photo credit: reds.com)[/caption]
Reds vs. Rangers
The Cincinnati Reds recorded their sixth win of the spring and second win in a row with a 2–1 victory against the Texas Rangers in front of a record crowd of 8,015 at Goodyear Ballpark on Friday evening.
Johnny Cueto made his fourth start of the spring and earned his first win. He pitched five innings and gave up one run on five hits to go along with five strikeouts.
Roster hopeful Tanner Scheppers pitched four innings for the Brewers and gave up two runs on three hits with two walks, five strikeouts and two wild pitches.
The Reds got on the scoreboard with a two-out rally in the second inning. Zack Cozart laced a single to right field and Devin Mesoraco followed with a walk. A wild pitched allowed both runners to advance and later score on a Chris Nelson two RBI single. It was the Reds only two runs of the game, but proved to be all they needed to hold on for the win.
The Rangers cut the deficit in half in the fourth inning. Elvis Andrus attempted to go first-to-third on an Alex Rios single to center field but was thrown out by Billy Hamilton. However, the throw to third allowed Rios to advance to second. An errant throw by Nelson over second base allowed Rios to advance to third and later score on a Michael Choice RBI double.
Cincinnati relievers Jeff Francis and Manny Parra combined to throw four innings of one hit baseball.
Opposite those two, Rangers pitcher Robbie Ross, who is also fighting for a spot in the rotation, pitched four innings of scoreless baseball while allowing five hits.
The Reds honored Shin-Soo Choo with the team’s 2013 Most Valuable Player award prior to the game. Choo played last season in the Reds organization but signed a seven-year, $130 million contract with the Rangers this offseason.
Reds @ Brewers
The Cincinnati bats exploded for 18 hits and four home runs in a 16–4 victory against the Milwaukee Brewers at Maryvale Baseball Park on Saturday.
Homer Bailey was scheduled to take the mound for the Reds but was scratched from the start with a groin strain. Offseason acquisition Brett Marshall started in Bailey’s place and earned his second win of the spring while allowing one run on two hits to go along with four strikeouts and a walk in three innings. Marshall also helped his own cause with two RBI.
Reds outfielder Chris Heisey continued to stay white hot with a 2-for-3 performance including a home run, double and two RBI. Heisey now has five home runs, 10 extra-base hits and 11 RBI this spring.
Fellow Reds Neftali Soto, Roger Bernadina and Chris Nelson also hit home runs on Saturday. Soto went 4-for-4 on the day with three RBI. Bernadina, Todd Frazier and Kristopher Negron each recorded two hits.
Brewers’ starter Tyler Thornburg, who is battling for a spot in the rotation, struggled through 2 2/3 innings while giving up seven runs (four earned) on seven hits.
Francisco Rodriguez made his first appearance of the spring after sitting out two weeks with visa issues and a foot injury — ironically, Rodriguez stepped on a cactus early last week. He pitched one inning and gave up a solo home run to Soto in the fifth.
Ryan Braun and Aramis Ramirez led the Brewers with two hits each. Mark Reynolds drove in two runs off Cincinnati closer Aroldis Chapman in the fourth inning.
The win was the Reds third in a row and improved the club’s Cactus League record to 7–12.
Reds vs. Athletics
The Reds stayed hot and the winning continued with a 7–6 victory against the Oakland Athletics at Goodyear Ballpark on Sunday.
Cincinnati broke a 5–5 tie in the seventh inning after Billy Hamilton laid down a bunt single. Hamilton proceeded to steal second and third base — his eighth and ninth stolen bases of the spring season — and scored on a Brandon Phillips two-run home run — his second of the spring.
Chien-Ming Wang pitched a scoreless sixth and seventh innings and earned the win for the Reds.
Oakland was first to get on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning off Reds starter Tony Cingrani. Derek Norris hit a two run double after Joey Votto and Devin Mesoraco collided in foul territory and allowed a pop-up to hit the grass.
Cingrani threw four innings and allowed five runs (three earned) on three hits, three walks and four strikeouts.
Votto got redemption in the bottom half of the first inning with his first home run of the spring. The Reds pushed two more runs across in the second inning after Mesoraco and Hamilton each hit RBI singles. Another two runs scored in the fourth inning and Atheltics’ starter and Opening Day hopeful Sonny Gray was chased after a Skip Schumaker RBI single.
Gray pitched three-plus innings and allowed five runs (three earned) on six hits, two walks and four strikeouts.
Cincinnati will take its four-game winning streak into Monday’s matchup against the Cleveland Indians at 4:05 p.m. ET at Goodyear Ballpark. Mike Leake (0–0, 3.60) will make his third start of the spring and take on Cleveland’s Corey Kluber (0–0, 3.00).
With it being St. Patrick’s Day, the Reds Twitter handle had a little fun in announcing today’s starting lineup:
1. O’Bernadina — CF
2. O’Phillips — 2B
3. O’Votto — 1B
4. O’Bruce — RF
5. O’Ludwick — LF
6. O’Frazier — 3B
7. O’Cozart — SS
8. O’Mesoraco — C
9. O’Heisey — DH
Cincinnati reliever Jonathan Broxton is scheduled to make his first appearance of the spring after undergoing offseason surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his right forearm. The game will air on MLB Network and can also be found on 700 WLW Cincinnati.
