CINCINNATI – They were locked out twice on the just completed West Coast road trip, but the Reds’ assault came back to life in Great American Ball Park.
An outburst of 10 batters, seven-run in the third inning, featured another homerun by Joey Votto when Cincinnati Cleveland hit 10-3 in Friday’s opener of the Ohio Cup-series.
“It’s nice to be part of a line-up like this. I’m not sure I’ve been part of a line-up like this in my career, ”said Votto. ‘I’m not sure… until now. It is very early. I don’t want to lead the way. “
This is what the home edge feels like for the Reds:
• They are 6-1 in seven home games, including six consecutive home wins.
• The Reds have scored 67 points in those seven games, an average of 9.57 points per game.
• The home run differential is +38, compared to -12 on the 2-4 road trip.
• In total, the Reds lead the Major Leagues with 85 runs and are second with a .827 OPS.
“Yes, we were clearly unhappy with our road trip, especially the way it ended,” said Votto. “It feels good to be back. It’s good to play well for the fans of the Reds in Cincinnati. But we often think about being a dangerous team everywhere. Of course we want to win at home as often as possible, but we have our eyes on bigger and better things. “
Against Logan Allen, the Reds were retired in order in each of the first two innings and trailed 1-0. The bottom of the third inning began when Kyle Farmer scored a ball through the legs of third baseman José Ramírez on an error and Tyler Stephenson was hit by a pitch. A wild pitch to Jeff Hoffman moved both runners before Hoffman hit a game-like RBI-single into midfield.
With that door ajar, the Reds stormed through, as Hoffman’s single was the first of five consecutive hits. Against reliever Phil Maton, Eugenio Suárez pulled a two-run double to the left. On a 2-1 Maton pitch, Votto lifted it the other way for a two-run homer into left midfield – his third long ball in his last four games – to make it a 7-1 game.
Going into the night, Votto had hit 14 balls with runout speeds of 100 mph or more, according to Statcast. On Friday, his homer was hit at 103.6 mph and his sixth inning ride to leftfield was 104.3 mph – and just missed being another homer. It went for a double.
“As I said a few days ago, I have to put the ball in the air more,” said Votto. “Hitting the ball hard is fun, but putting the ball in the air is better. Yes, two good swings today. We have to keep the collective going. Lots of good swings throughout the line-up. “
Add-on Reds-runs came in the fifth on Stephenson’s two-run single and in the sixth when Nick Castellanos sent an one-out solo homer to right-midfield.
‘I don’t think it’s necessarily home. I know it seemed that way until now, ”said Reds manager David Bell. “We’re trying to put together a violation that is equally effective at home and on the road. I think the way we have some of these innings could have that kind of innings on every baseball field. “
After working early, Hoffman gave up one earned run and seven hits during six innings with three walks and four strikeouts. Amed Rosario hit a solo-homer in the second inning. As Hoffman loaded the bases after two walks and a single in the third inning, the Reds’ bullpen went active. But Hoffman escaped without giving up another point and enjoyed a quality start.
“I think after I got my hit … it took them a while to come out for the first time, so that was like, we smoked blood, and we have guys who when they smell blood, they go get it, Hoffman said. “That was a huge inning for us and getting me that pillow, and it was like from then on all I had to do was attack the zone, force contact and get out of here with the win.”