RECAP: Break up the Reds, who look to sweep LA after 6-5 comeback win

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After losing seven in a row, the Reds have now won the first two games against the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in Dodger Stadium. Of course they have. 

The good guys jumped out to a lead on the game’s first pitch, fought back to tie once, fought back a second time from behind to take the lead and held on for dear life with three innings of pitching from relievers they picked up off the scrap heap.

With relievers, you never know.™

Offense

Jesse Winker continued his torrid pace at the plate. He greeted Dodger starter Walker Buehler’s first pitch by slamming it over the right-center field. It extended Winker’s hit streak to 12 games and marked the third in a row that he homered. The ball traveled 402 feet. Later in the game, Winker delivered a run scoring single off Buehler, lining a first-pitch curve into right field. It tied the score 3-3 at the time. Winker lined a 2-out double into the right field corner in the 9th.

The Reds cut the Dodgers 5-3 lead by a run in the 7th when Kyle Farmer smoked a single into deep left center that scored Tucker Barnhart who had doubled down the first base line to lead off the inning.

That was the second time Barnhart and Farmer were involved in Reds scored for the Reds. In the 5th, Barnhart was hit by a pitch on his back elbow. Farmer followed with a double off the right center wall, putting runners on 2nd and 3rd. David Bell had Tyler Stephenson pinch hit for Hoffman and the Reds catcher grounded to short, driving in Barnhart. An interesting note here — Stephenson was batting off Buehler and the two were both chosen in the first round of the 2015 draft. The Reds chose Stephenson #11 and the Dodgers took Buehler 14 picks later. Winker followed Stephenson’s RBI with his single to score Farmer.

Joey Votto, who had been 0-for-15, lined a two-out 2-2 pitch into the right field corner that drove in Winker and Castellanos in the 7th to give the Reds a 6-5 lead. “That’s a big-time hit,” said Jeff Brantley on the radio broadcast. Votto also helped with the glove, making two terrific plays — one on a line drive the second picking a throw in the dirt from 2B.

Pitching

Reds starter Jeff Hoffman nibbled around the strike zone most of his four innings of work. He walked five batters while striking out three. He dodged a threat in the first inning after walking two batters, but wasn’t as lucky in the fourth. After walking two batters, Hoffman gave up his only hit of the game, but it was a long one. Will Smith drove a Hoffman fastball 425 feet to center for a 3-run homer. At the time, it gave the Dodgers a 3-1 lead.

After working a shutout 5th inning, Jose De Leon gave up two runs in the 6th. He hit a batter and then a double down the third base line. De Leon struck out a batter and with two strikes on the Dodgers #8 hitter, Matt Beaty, he left a changeup over the plate that Beaty pulled on the ground past a pulled-in Reds infield. It wasn’t hit that well, but it drove in two runs to put L.A. ahead 5-3. Ryan Hendrix came in later in the 6th to get the third out.

Carson Fulmer, who has been cut by the Detroit Tigers, the Baltimore Orioles and twice by the Pittsburgh Pirates all in the past year, retired the side 1-2-3 in the 7th. Heath Hembree, who was cut by Cleveland last month, gave up a walk but also struck out two pitching a shutout 8th. Hembree struck out his former long-time teammate in Boston, Mookie Betts, who is making $22.9 million this year. Then Sean Doolittle, who went unsigned by his former team, the Washington Nationals, retired the Dodgers in order in the 9th to save the series win. 

Stats

Hardest-Hit Balls

• Mike Moustakas | 105.7 mph, ground out
• Nick Castellanos |105.5 mph, double
• Nick Castellanos |105.1, single
• Kyle Farmer |103.1, single

Unluckiest Out of the Day

• Nick Castellanos | .520 xBA | GIDP

Highest Velocities By Pitcher

• Jeff Hoffman | 96.3 mph
• Ryan Hendrix | 98.0 mph
• Jose De Leon | 94.8 mph
• Carson Fulmer | 95.4 mph
• Heath Hembree | 95.9 mph
• Sean Doolittle | 94.3 mph

Highest Pitch Spins

• Jeff Hoffman | 2998 rpm | Fastball
• Heath Hembree | 2907 rpm | Slider

Most Pitch Movement

• Jeff Hoffman | 60 inches vertical drop | Curve
• Jose De Leon | 19 inches horizontal | Changeup

Team Expected Batting Averages

• Reds | .256
• Dodgers | .235

What’s Next?

The Reds conclude the Dodgers series with an afternoon game tomorrow. First pitch is at 4:10 p.m. EST as Sonny Gray faces off against future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw.

Featured image: Larry Radloff (Icon Sportswire)

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