KSReds: Cincinnati Reds Sweep, Joey Votto Greatness Continues
Joey Votto just keeps on swinging the bat like a future Hall of Famer. Votto homered both Thursday and Friday night and went 1-2 with a pair of walks on Sunday as the Cincinnati Reds earned a four game series sweep over the Miami Marlins.
The Reds are now 12 games over .500 at 69-57. Pending the outcome of the Padres vs. Phillies game, Cincinnati will at worst be in a tie for the second wild card spot at the end of the day.
Monday will be a nice day off for the ball club before an absolutely massive three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers. After traveling to Milwaukee, the Reds go down to Miami for three more games against the Marlins over the weekend.
Joey Votto Home Run Leads to Reds Victory
Joseph Daniel Votto. At this point, it is hard to even put into words what the 37-year-old is doing in the second half of the season. On Thursday night in Cincinnati, Votto connected on a 428-foot three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning to put the Reds on top 3-1. It was his 27th long ball of the season and brought his RBI total to 79.
The runs provided by Votto proved to be all the Reds would need thanks to another outstanding performance on the mound by Luis Castillo. The right-hander allowed just one run over the course of seven innings while striking out seven. Castillo has a 2.73 earned run average since the beginning of June and has earned five of his seven wins in that span. He has pitched like an ace over the last two and a half months.
After Votto’s three-run home run in the fourth, Kyle Farmer added one with an RBI double driving in Tyler Stephenson to cap off the four-run inning. Future Rookie of the Year Jonathan India and Nick Castellanos each drove in runs in the seventh to tack on some insurance.
Back-to-back perfect innings of relief from Michael Lorenzen and Tony Santillan closed the game out for the Reds for a series-opening 6-1 victory.
Sonny Gray Shines, Joey Votto Homers Again
We are at that point of the playoff race where scoreboard watching is getting really fun. The Cincinnati Reds keep on winning and the San Diego Padres keep on losing. When everyone went to bed late Friday night the National League Wild Card standings featured a tie between the clubs, marking the first time since April 21st that the Reds were in that position.
In this one, the Reds offense got started early when a Nick Castellanos double followed a Tyler Naquin triple in the bottom of the first inning. Kyle Farmer would then drive in Castellanos via a sacrifice fly to build a 2-0 lead.
Things really got rolling in the fifth inning when a couple of Reds lefties went deep to ballon the lead up to 5-0. First, it was Naquin who followed up his first-inning triple with a solo home run. Then, Joey Votto left the yard for the second straight night for a two-run shot. M-V-P chants filled Great American Ball Park after his 28th home run of the season.
The Marlins would eventually find their way on the scoreboard, but it wouldn’t be with Sonny Gray on the mound. Gray put together his best start of the season throwing seven shutout innings while allowing just one hit. He struck out five batters and earned his fifth win of the season.
Lucas Sims struggled in relief in the eighth inning allowing a walk and two hits, the second of which was a three-run home run to make the game a little more interesting at 5-3. The long ball came off the bat of Jazz Chisholm Jr.
The comeback attempt was short-lived though as Mychael Givens shut things down in the ninth inning. The tying run would come to the plate, but Givens struck out two to earn his fourth save in a Reds uniform.
Castellanos Drives in 4, Reds Win
Nick Castellanos was the man of the night on Saturday at Great American Ball Park. The National League All-Star starter drove in four runs including a first-inning home run to start the evening off right.
Along with Castellanos, Tyler Naquin was a perfect 3-3 at the plate and scored three times. Tyler Stephenson contributed a big pinch-hit, two-RBI double in the bottom of the sixth inning as well. Stephenson’s hit put the Reds up 5-2 at the time.
On the mound, it wasn’t Wade Miley’s sharpest performance by any means. The veteran left-hander only made it 4 2/3 innings allowing two runs on five hits and an uncharacteristic three walks. Luis Cessa and Tony Santillan were excellent in relief helping bridge the gap to the back of the bullpen.
The Marlins got to Mychael Givens a little in the eighth inning. Givens walked two guys and allowed a hit before being bounced from the game after just one out. The two runs he allowed were his first runs given up since joining the Reds.
Michael Lorenzen came in to earn a five-out save as the Reds won 7-4 to set up the opportunity to sweep the series on Sunday afternoon.
SWEEP!
Get the brooms out! The Cincinnati Reds finished off a four-game sweep of the Marlins on Sunday afternoon in a 3-1 pitcher’s duel.
Yet again, Vladimir Gutierrez was excellent on the mound. The rookie allowed just one run on three hits in seven innings. He also struck out a career-high eight batters. Gutierrez is now 9-4 on the season with a 3.68 earned run average.
While Vladimir Gutierrez dominated the opposing hitters, it was Tyler Naquin shining at the plate for the Reds. Naquin went deep in the bottom of the first to take a 1-0 lead, and then homered in the bottom of the eighth for a nice insurance run. The two-home run performance brought him to 18 long balls on the season.
In relief, Lucas Sims bounced back with a perfect eighth inning before turning the ball over to Michael Lorenzen in the ninth. Lorenzen walked one but earned his third save of the year to secure the Reds 3-1 victory.
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