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Press Clippings May 1, 2017 THIS DAY IN REDS HISTORY 1980-The Reds appear on local pay- for the first time, in a game broadcast by ON-TV, a subscription service based in Cincinnati MLB.COM Garrett hoping to rebound vs. Pirates By Glenn Sattell / Special to MLB.com | April 30th, 2017 + 1 COMMENT

The Reds host Pittsburgh on Monday to begin a four-game series at Great American Ball Park. Rookie Amir Garrett gets the start for Cincinnati, just the fifth of his Major League career. He turned in three stellar outings before being touched for 10 runs (nine earned) over 3 1/3 innings in his last start at Milwaukee.

For the Pirates, it's the first of three trips to Cincinnati this season, but they won't be return until a three-game series in August (25- 27) and September (14-16). gets the start Monday. The 26-year-old right-hander will be making his sixth start of the season, and 100th of his Major League career. He was Pittsburgh's starter.

Three things to know about this game

• Cole is still looking for his first win against the Reds (0-6, 5.44 ERA in eight starts) and his first win (0-3) at Great American Ball Park.

• Reds second baseman Scooter Gennett had much success against Cole while playing for the Brewers. He hit .471 lifetime (8-for- 17) against Cole and hopes to continue that success with Cincinnati.

• Garrett has already turned heads with his swing-and-miss stuff, but opposing batters are hitting the rookie hard when they do connect. Garrett is allowing an average exit velocity of 91.3 mph this season according to Statcast, tied with San Francisco's Matt Moore for the highest of any MLB starter who's induced at least 50 balls in play.

Glenn Sattell is a contributor to MLB.com based in Miami. This story was not subject to the approval of or its clubs.

Votto's clutch hit finishes Reds' comeback win By Jenifer Langosch and Nate Latsch / MLB.com | April 30th, 2017 + 422 COMMENTS

ST. LOUIS -- With his first career hit off reliever Trevor Rosenthal, followed the Reds' climb out of a four-run hole with a go-ahead RBI single as Cincinnati stunned the Cardinals with a 5-4 win that salvaged a split of the rain-shortened series at Busch .

After allowing a sixth-inning run, Cardinals starter Mike Leake exited in position to earn his first career win over the Reds. But that'll have to wait for another day. The Reds erased the Cardinals' 4-1 lead by scoring three runs with two out in the seventh. Then they finished the comeback against Rosenthal, who couldn't wiggle out of a bases-loaded, no-out mess unscathed.

"We make a big deal when we come back from a 4-0 deficit, and I think the same thing [has to be] said on the opposite side when you lose a 4-0 lead," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "Those hurt. This is one of those games that we're going to look at and realize we need to put away."

• Reds hope to build off gratifying win

The Reds opened the eighth with a single sandwiched between two walks, and Votto's sharp single up the middle brought in the go- ahead run. Votto had been 0-for-5 previously against the Cardinals' former closer. The Reds finished the game with a season-high 16 hits, 11 of which came over the final four innings.

"The guys battled back," Reds starter Bronson Arroyo said. "A win is a win is a win right , because we're having a hard time putting two and three together. So just to get one to get out of here is nice."

The bullpen blip cost the Cardinals what would have been their 10th victory in 12 games. They still finish April at .500 -- despite opening the year at 3-9 -- but wasted another quality start from Leake and a big day from Matt Carpenter, whose bases-clearing double chased Arroyo with no outs in the fifth.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Duvall does it all: Outfielder Adam Duvall tied a career high with four hits, including an RBI double that ignited the Reds' three-run seventh. The double was Duvall's third of the game and the first of three consecutive two-out, run-scoring hits that Cincinnati tallied to tie the game.

"I got to stay back on my off day yesterday and work on a couple things," Duvall said. "I was seeing the ball great today."

Clearing the bases: Carpenter continues to have remarkable success hitting with the bases loaded. His bases-clearing double Sunday bumped Carpenter's career average in such spots to .594 (19-for-32). He has tallied 58 RBIs in bases-loaded opportunities, including seven so far this homestand. Against Toronto last week, Carpenter connected for a walkoff grand slam.

"I've always been a guy who is patient at the plate," Carpenter said, when asked about his bases-loaded success. "In that situation, can't afford to walk you. I feel like with my approach, really honing in on a good pitch to hit, I get them more often in that spot because there's no place to put you. And that's my mindset. I try to put the pressure on the and then give my best at-bat in that situation."

It hurt the Cardinals, however, that they couldn't push Carpenter home in that fifth inning. He advanced to third with no outs but was thrown out trying to on a fielder's choice.

QUOTABLE

"I'm pretty happy with where I'm at and pretty happy with where the team is, too. I know we're playing .500, but I still think we have what it takes to put some wins together."

-- Leake, who finishes April with a 1.35 ERA and five quality starts

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS

Scott Schebler, who grew up a Cardinals fan, has hit safely in eight straight games against the Cardinals. He also has recorded an RBI in seven consecutive games against the Redbirds, becoming the first player to do so since Carlos Beltran (2008-2010).

UPON FURTHER REVIEW

Jose Peraza was credited with his seventh stolen base of the season with the help of a two-minute, 12-second replay review. After reaching on a bunt single, Peraza was called out trying to swipe second. But the Reds asked for the umpires to review the call, and it was overturned. Later in the inning, Peraza was thrown out trying to score while Arismendy Alcantara stole second.

WHAT'S NEXT

Reds: Rookie lefty Amir Garrett (2-2, 5.09) opens a four-game series in Cincinnati against the Pirates. First pitch is 7:10 p.m. ET. Garrett got roughed up in his last start, allowing 10 runs (nine earned) in 3 1/3 innings at Milwaukee.

Cardinals: The Cardinals will open a four-game home series against the Brewers on Monday, with first pitch scheduled for 7:15 p.m. CT. Michael Wacha, who made four quality starts in April, will start for St. Louis. He is 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA in three starts at Busch Stadium this year.

Watch every out-of-market regular-season game live on MLB.TV.

Jenifer Langosch has covered the Cardinals for MLB.com since 2012, and previously covered the Pirates from 2007-11. Read her blog, follow her on Twitter, like her Facebook page and listen to her podcast.

Nate Latsch is a contributor to MLB.com, based in St. Louis.

This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Schebler flourishing vs. boyhood favorite Cards By Nate Latsch / MLB.com | April 30th, 2017 + 7 COMMENTS

ST. LOUIS -- Reds right fielder Scott Schebler didn't have a lot of options for a favorite baseball team where he grew up. The popular choices were either the Chicago Cubs or St. Louis Cardinals.

Schebler chose Albert Pujols and the Cardinals.

"I grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa," Schebler said. "So your choices are either Cubs or [Cardinals], and I grew up a Pujols fan. I came up with the Dodgers, but always in the back of my mind, I grew up a Cardinals fan. I got to meet Albert in the Freeway Series when we played the Angels, and I thought that was a treat because he's an awesome guy. He's a great human being."

Schebler, acquired from the Dodgers in the three-team trade that sent Todd Frazier to the White Sox, has broken out of a slump with a surge that included five multi-hit games and five homers in his past six games, including a 3-for-5 performance Sunday with two doubles and two RBIs in the Reds' 5-4 win over the Cardinals.

Schebler's eight home runs for the season are tied with Joey Votto for the team lead and also tied for the sixth-most in franchise history in March and April. (Tony Perez's 10 in 1970 lead that impressive list.)

"I feel like Scott has a skill set that's unique," Reds manager said. "I think he can be an outstanding player. He's just got to continue to learn about the ebb and flow of emotions and try to stay on that so-called even keel, an even plane to where he can just go out there and play and not feel like he has to look over his shoulder and not feel like a rough game at the plate necessitates big changes, to just get a little more comfortable playing here."

Schebler has looked comfortable facing his former favorite team.

In 19 games against the Cardinals going into Sunday's series finale, Schebler is hitting .328 (19-for-58) with two doubles, five home runs, 13 RBIs, 12 runs scored, a .426 on-base percentage and a .621 slugging percentage.

In 12 games at Busch Stadium he has 10 hits, and four of them have left the park. He hit a in Friday's 7-5 loss and just missed a second with a long drive that was caught at the warning track in right-center field.

"It's a good ballpark," Schebler said. "When it gets hot here, it can fly. [Friday] night it really wasn't flying that great, but I just happened to get a pitch up in the zone and did some damage with it."

Nate Latsch is a contributor to MLB.com, based in St. Louis. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. CINCINNATI ENQUIRER Bryan Price's bullpen plan works again C. Trent Rosecrans , [email protected] Published 7:51 p.m. ET April 30, 2017 | Updated 2 hours ago

ST. LOUIS - At some point, there should be a way to quantify and reward the toughest outs of a game and reward those that get them.

Raisel Iglesias earned the save in Sunday’s 5-4 game, but helped keep the game within reach. The fifth inning wasn’t the final inning, but it was the most pivotal.

Started warming up early in the inning as starter Bronson Arroyo gave up a leadoff single to Cardinals starter Mike Leake and then battled through a 12-pitch at-bat by leadoff man Fowler that ended in a single.

Lorenzen was up before Fowler touched second base, but had to quickly get ready. Arroyo walked the next hitter, Aledmys Diaz, on five pitches and tried to stall to avoid pitching to Matt Carpenter. Reds pitching coach Mack Jenkins went to the mound once. Arroyo made a pickoff attempt at second, all the while stalling. But Matt Carpenter laced his second pitch over the head of Scott Schebler to clear the bases and extend the Cardinals’ lead to 4-0.

That’s when Price brought in Lorenzen, who has entered a game in the fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth and ninth inning this season. It doesn’t matter that it’s not a save situation, Lorenzen said, just that it’s a big situation.

“It's fine with me, especially when we win. I've said it before, whenever my name's called upon, I'm going to be ready to come in, it doesn't matter what inning,” Lorenzen said. “If you understand the game, then you understand that's a big situation there. It's fun to come in and pitch, it's a good time.”

Drew Storen and Wandy Peralta each pitched a scoreless inning and then Raisel Iglesias, who leads the team in saves, entered in the ninth for his second two-inning save of the season and fourth overall. Only once has he pitched just one inning for a save.

“It doesn't matter for me, I just go out there and try to make my pitches and try to help the team win,” Iglesias said. “That's the only thing I focus on.”

Castillo, Mahle impress Mesoraco

When was activated from a rehab assignment in Double-A Pensacola this week, he offered to bring Blue Wahoos’ right-hander with him.

Mesoraco caught two of the 22-year-old Mahle’s first four starts and watched his April 22 perfect game from the bench.

“Mahle was really impressive. Three out of the four starts, he was perfect through four or five,” Mesoraco said. “He's a really good- looking kid. It shouldn't be too long before we see him up here. His command of his fastball is certainly ready to pitch up here.”

And it wasn’t just Mahle that impressed Mesoraco, he also got a close look at right-hander , who was acquired in the deal that sent Dan Straily to the Marlins. Castillo is 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA in five starts.

“Castillo is almost equally impressive,” said Mesoraco, who caught two of Castillo’s starts for the Blue Wahoos. “(He has) really good plus stuff, obviously, but he throws so many strikes. He throws a lot, a lot of strikes with all three pitches.”

Price and general manager Dick Williams didn’t take Mesoraco up on his offer to bring up Mahle, but the Reds manager said he expected those two to find their way to Triple-A soon enough.

“We're getting some really good reports on the pitching in Pensacola,” Price said. “That'll help us when those kids are in Triple-A, they're that much closer, they're getting more experience at higher levels against more mature, experienced hitters in Triple-A. That's a new, higher education in of itself.”

Not only did Mesoraco get to give Price a first-hand scouting report, Price said the pitchers in Pensacola benefit from working with a big-league catcher.

“An experienced guy that may see approaches of hitters that a less experienced catcher may not pick up on, be able to talk about the importance of controlling the running game,” Price said. “I’m reading the reports now. Our coaches note that when a guy struggles to control the running game. Anybody that's been in the big leagues that's willing to go down and share their experiences in the big leagues is a benefit to the young minor-league player, no doubt about it. Devin's wired that way. I'm sure he was a very positive influence on that staff.”

Extra innings means extra innings for pitchers

The Blue Wahoos played a 15-inning game on Saturday and with the Reds’ recent bullpen issues, it caused Price to reconsider his stance on extra-innings rules. Major League Baseball will experiment with new extra-innings rules in the lowest level of the minors in the United States by placing runners on first and second starting in the 11th inning.

“Maybe that idea of not playing 15- and 17-inning extra-inning games starts to make some sense,” Price said. “Because in the big picture there's no way to support our team when we needed it. If our 40-man roster guys have been used in these 15-inning extra- inning games. I'm starting to come around on that one a little bit.”

The same rules were in effect in the World Baseball Classic so that pitchers weren’t overused.

Saturday, Pensacola starter Keury Mella went five innings so the other seven pitchers had to cover 10 innings. Included among those was right-hander Ariel Hernandez, who is on the team’s 40-man roster and was with the Reds just last week.

“It's one thing here if you have access to your best roster pitchers and we play 15 or 17, that's one thing. But if they're doing the same thing, that's where the issue comes,” Price said. “If you want to maintain the integrity of the game at the big-league level, but at the minor-league level to burn your resources to play 17 innings doesn't seem to make much sense.”

Joey Votto, Adam Duvall lead Reds past Cardinals C. Trent Rosecrans , [email protected] Published 7:37 p.m. ET April 30, 2017 | Updated 14 hours ago

ST. LOUIS - The Reds got a free off-day with Saturday’s rainout, but left fielder Adam Duvall spent his time at Busch Stadium.

The Reds left fielder was hitting just .114 in the team’s last eight games after Friday’s loss, so he stuck around to work on some things with Reds hitting coaches Don Long and Tony Jaramillo.

Duvall didn’t want to get into specifics, but he thinks he figured something out. If Sunday’s four-hit performance in the Reds’ 5-4 victory over the Cardinals is any indication, he may be right.

“I was seeing the ball great today,” said Duvall, who became the first Reds player since 2015 to hit three doubles in a game.

It also seemed to help that he facing Mike Leake, the player the Reds traded to get Duvall two years ago. Duvall got his first career hit — a home run — against Leake before the 2015 trade and is now 8 for 19 (.421) against him including three hits and two doubles on Sunday.

“I don't know exactly what it is,” Duvall said of facing Leake. “I stayed back and worked yesterday and got some things figured out. It just happened that I was facing him the next day. I had some success. The last time he kind of owned me, it kind of goes back and forth.”

The last time the two faced off was in early April went Duvall struck out in two of three hitless at-bats against him in a 2-0 Reds win. Leake was a tough-luck loser in that game, as Amir Garrett threw a gem in his big-league debut to beat the Cardinals that day and Leake earned the loss despite allowing just one run in eight innings.

Leake was in line for his first career victory against the Reds in his sixth start against his old team, but the bullpen couldn’t hold on to the 4-1 lead he handed over to the bullpen.

Leake stranded two runners in each of the first three innings, before cruising through the next two only to give up a leadoff double to Duvall in the sixth. Duval would score on a RBI single by Scott Schebler, who finished with three hits and two doubles of his own. Leake would strand two more runners that inning and hand it over to his bullpen.

“I feel like every time I face them they get a little more into it,” Leake told reporters afterward. “I don’t know if that’s how they feel, but today it seemed like they had a pretty good plan against me and they were making me work with pitches.”

Cardinals right-hander Matt Bowman gave up three runs on three hits in the seventh. Billy Hamilton led off the inning with a single and then Adam Duvall hit an RBI double. Eugenio Suarez followed with a single to right that scored Duvall. Suarez took second on the decision by Cardinals right fielder to throw home and then went to third on Yadier Molina’s throwing error. The Cardinals brought in left-hander Brett Cecil to face the white-hot Schebler, who doubled to tie the game.

Trevor Rosenthal walked Tucker Barnhart to start the eighth and then gave up a single to Devin Mesoraco, who was called upon to pinch hit. Billy Hamilton worked a walk to load the bases before Rosenthal struck out Zack Cozart.

That brought up Joey Votto, who was 0 for 5 with a walk and three in his career against the Cardinals’ former All-Star closer.

Votto fouled off the first pitch he saw from Rosenthal into the stands on the third-base side. He then watched two balls before fouling off another pitch. Then he fisted a 100-mph fastball up the middle to bring in the winning run.

“The typical dream doesn't involve Trevor Rosenthal,” Votto said afterward. “He's a tough guy to face, a match up against. He's throwing as hard as ever. I missed two of them and I happened to put the third one in play. He broke my bat on it, too.”

Reds recap: Cincinnati comes back to win against Cardinals' bullpen C. Trent Rosecrans , [email protected] Published 5:51 p.m. ET April 30, 2017 | Updated 14 hours ago

ST. LOUIS - The Reds avoided a winless road trip by scoring four runs against the Cardinals’ bullpen in a 5-4 victory Sunday at Busch Stadium.

Here are the main storylines from Sunday’s game:

• Joey Votto comes through: The Reds took a 5-4 lead in the top of the eighth when Votto singled up the middle off the Cardinals’ Trevor Rosenthal with the bases loaded.

Tucker Barnhart led off the inning with a walk. Reds manager Bryan Price replaced him on the bases with pinch-runner Arismendy Alcantara and used Devin Mesoraco to hit in the pitcher’s spot. Mesoraco, who played in his first game of the year Friday, singled to left. Rosenthal then loaded the bases, walking Billy Hamilton.

After Zack Cozart struck out looking, Votto hit a 2-2 100-mph fastball back up the middle to give the Reds the lead.

• Adam Duvall's triple doubles: Reds left fielder Duvall had four hits, including three doubles. Three of his hits, and two of the doubles, came off the player he was traded for in 2015, Cardinals starter Mike Leake. Duvall is now 8 for 19 (.421) against Leake in his career with two home runs and 8 RBIs.

• Leake winless vs. Reds: Leake still hasn’t beaten his old team. In his sixth career start against the Reds, Leake was in line for the win before the Cardinals’ bullpen gave up a three-run lead in the seventh inning.

Leake is 0-3 with a 4.95 ERA against the Reds since signing with the Cardinals before the 2016 season. Last year, he gave up 18 runs over four starts and 22 1/3 innings, but this year he’s allowed just two runs in 14 innings and still been unable to get the win.

Leake gave up a run in the sixth and then watched as Matt Bowman gave up three runs on three hits in the seventh. Hamilton led off the inning with a single, and then Duvall hit an RBI double. Eugenio Suarez followed with a single to right that scored Duvall. Suarez took second on the decision by the Cardinals' right fielder to throw home and then went to third on Yadier Molina’s throwing error. He scored on Scott Schebler’s double to tie the game.

• Dexter Fowler wears out Bronson Arroyo: After Leake singled to start the fifth, Arroyo got ahead of Cardinals leadoff man Fowler 0-2. But Fowler lived up to his name, fouling off seven pitches in the at-bat before singling on the 12th pitch. Arroyo, who has said he’s been getting tired around 80 pitches, went from 67 pitches to 79 with just the one batter.

Arroyo followed by walking Aledmys Diaz on five pitches. Pitching coach Mack Jenkins went out to visit Arroyo as Michael Lorenzen warmed up in the bullpen.

Arroyo, who normally works quickly, stalled as best he could, throwing to second, stepping off the mound and doing the best he could to give Lorenzen time. It was obvious Matt Carpenter would be his last batter — and more so when Carpenter hit a 1-1 sinker over the head of Schebler in right for a three-run double and a 4-0 Cardinals lead. WCPO - Votto, Duvall lead Reds over Cardinals 5-4 Associated Press 6:26 PM, Apr 30, 2017 6:27 PM, Apr 30, 2017

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Joey Votto hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning and Adam Duvall doubled three times and singled, helping the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4 on Sunday.

The Reds had lost eight of their previous nine games.

Wandy Peralta (1-0) picked up the win by tossing a scoreless seventh inning. Closer Raisel Iglesias threw two innings to record his fourth save in as many chances.

Trevor Rosenthal (0-1) gave up one run on two hits.

Duvall, Eugenio Suarez and Scott Schebler drove in runs in the three-run seventh to tie the game.

Devin Mesoraco singled sandwiched around walks to Tucker Barnhart and Billy Hamilton to load the bases against Rosenthal in the eighth. Votto followed with a single up the middle.

RAIN GO AWAY

The Cardinals have had three games postponed due to the rain so far, their most ever in the month of April. Saturday's contest with Cincinnati was called. No makeup date has been announced.

TWICE AS NICE

Duvall hit successive doubles in the third, sixth and seventh innings, doubling his doubles total for the season to six.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Reds: RHP Homer Bailey will throw a bullpen session on Tuesday. He began the season on the disabled list after undergoing surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow in February.

Cardinals: INF Jhonny Peralta remains on the 10-day disabled list with an adverse reaction to medication taken for a respiratory infection.

UP NEXT

Reds: LHP Amir Garrett (2-2, 5.09) will face Pittsburgh's RHP Gerrit Cole (1-3, 3.60) on Monday in the first of a four-game series. Garrett did not allow a run in the first two starts covering 12 innings.

Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (2-1, 2.55) will take on Milwaukee RHP Zach Davies (2-2, 6.57) in the first of a four-game set on Monday in St. Louis. Wacha is 4-0 in his career against Milwaukee. DAYTON DAILY NEWS Reds rally to top Cardinals, snap four-game losing streak Associated Press 10:18 p.m Sunday, April 30, 2017

Adam Duvall is not about to reveal his secret.

The slumping Cincinnati outfielder hit three doubles and a single Sunday, helping the Reds to a 5-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Duvall began the day in a 4-for-35 skid. He spent several hours working in the indoor batting cage after Saturday’s game was postponed by rain — and discovered a flaw.

“Let’s just say I corrected it,” Duvall said. “I can’t talk about it, or give details.”

“But, I was seeing the ball great today,” he said.

Duvall tied a career high with four hits and raised his batting average 33 points to .247.

“He had a huge day,” Cincinnati manager Bryan Price said. “There is always that feeling, even in the times when he’s struggling, that the next day he’s going to come in and bust out and do some damage. He just doesn’t concede to the struggles.”

Joey Votto hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning for the Reds, who had lost eight of their previous nine games.

Votto’s bases-loaded single came off Trevor Rosenthal (0-1). Votto had been 0 for 5 with three strikeouts against the hard-throwing reliever.

“We’ve just got to continue to chug along and get better,” Votto said. “Games like this are how you set a tone.”

Wandy Peralta (1-0) picked up the win by tossing a scoreless seventh inning. Closer Raisel Iglesias threw two innings to record his fourth save in as many chances. It was his second two-inning save of the season.

Duvall, Eugenio Suarez and Scott Schebler drove in runs in the three-run seventh to tie the game.

Devin Mesoraco singled sandwiched around walks to Tucker Barnhart and Billy Hamilton to load the bases against Rosenthal in the eighth. Votto followed with a two-strike single up the middle.

“We never stopping fighting,” Duvall said. “It was a satisfying win.”

St. Louis starter Mike Leake gave up one run on eight hits over seven innings. He is 0-3 against his former team in six career starts.

“They’ve always been a pesky team,” Leake said. “Every time I face them, it seems like they’re a little more into it.”

Reds right-hander Homer Bailey will throw a bullpen session on Tuesday. He began the season on the disabled list after undergoing surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow in February.

Left-hander Amir Garrett (2-2, 5.09) will face Pittsburgh’s RHP Gerrit Cole (1-3, 3.60) on Monday in the first of a four-game series. Garrett did not allow a run in the first two starts covering 12 innings. THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH The Front Row: Listening to the Reds with Grandma Rose Posted at 9:57 AM Updated at 9:57 AM By Todd Jones

She leaned over in her chair, tilted her head closer to the to hear Cincinnati Reds broadcaster Marty Brennaman.

How many days and nights has she listened to his voice?

The question occurred to me as my wife’s grandmother Rose strained to hear the old radio.

On Rose’s lap sat a book about Crosley Field, the old ballpark the Reds played in from 1912 to 1970. She turned the pages slowly, reading passages, not blazing through the photos of the field long since relegated to only dreams.

She was taking her sweet time.

Rose, 93 years young, traveled from her Edgewood, Ky. home to Columbus on Sunday with my wife’s parents, and we all sat on the little screened-in porch of my home listening to a ballgame.

Baseball is still our national pastime.

Football is king, basketball is hip, hockey is exciting, soccer is growing.

But baseball can still make you relax on a porch with family on a lazy Sunday afternoon, the way a Sunday afternoon was meant to be.

Time seemed to go slower on the year’s hottest day so far.

“This is wonderful,” Rose said.

Brennaman’s voice blared from the radio (sorry neighbors), the smell of grilling meat filled the air, and Rose slowly turned the pages of the book about Crosley Field.

She was in no hurry, as if savoring the words she saw in the book and heard from Marty.

Next to Rose sat my father-in-law Charlie, 82, thumbing through a book about the Big Red Machine, offering his own memories of Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench, and Tony Perez.

I showed Charlie a YouTube video of ninth-inning homer Bench hit in the 1972 National League Playoffs that tied the in a decisive game the Reds eventually won.

“I was so excited, I jumped up and bumped my head,” said Charlie, grinning about that October night 45 years ago.

I already knew that story. I just wanted to hear it again.

Brennaman wasn’t on that call of Bench’s dramatic homer, but he joined the Reds two years later and has been doing their games on the radio ever since. His voice is baseball for Cincinnati fans.

How many times has Grandma Rose listened to Marty?

That’s 44 seasons in the house, in the yard, in the car . . .

And, on Sunday, his familiar voice joined us on the back porch of my home, the ceiling fan barely spinning above.

Rose sat in her chair with her baseball book. She looked beautiful. Hair and makeup perfect. New shoes.

Oh, does she love her Reds. Treasures them like family. Well, not all of them. She tolerates Joey Votto. She misses Todd Frazier.

The Frazier trade hurt Rose because her heart is in the Reds, and that’s how baseball has survived since the 1800s.

Baseball becomes part of your life, a daily routine in spring and summer, the soundtrack provided by radio announcers like Marty Brennaman.

His voice and all of the Reds’ games will be extra special this season in a little home in Edgewood, Ky., about 10 miles from Cincinnati.

Four months ago, Rose lost her husband of 72 years. Edward, known by everyone as E.T., died in December at age 93.

His packet of cigars is still sitting next to his favorite chair in the house.

The wind chimes above Rose’s dining room table remind her of E.T. She talks to him through the chimes. She hosts a parade of visiting family. And she listens to the Reds and watches them religiously on TV, even night games from the West Coast.

On Sunday, Grandma Rose fell asleep for a couple of innings, a nice nap in a comfortable chair, surrounded by family, under a cooling fan, baseball on the radio.

When she woke up, she had an immediate question:

“What’s the score?”

The Reds had fought back and tied the St. Louis Cardinals. Cincinnati went on to win 5-4.

It was a good day. TRANSACTIONS 04/30/17 recalled RHP Nick Pivetta from Lehigh Valley IronPigs. activated RHP . designated RHP Neil Ramirez for assignment. Colorado Rockies designated SS Cristhian Adames for assignment. Colorado Rockies activated 1B Ian Desmond from the 10-day disabled list. Texas Rangers claimed SS Pete Kozma off waivers from . Pittsburgh Pirates optioned OF Danny Ortiz to Indianapolis Indians. Pittsburgh Pirates selected the contract of C John Bormann from Bradenton Marauders. Philadelphia Phillies optioned RHP Luis Garcia to Lehigh Valley IronPigs. San Francisco Giants selected the contract of RHP Bryan Morris from Sacramento River Cats. Oakland Athletics placed LHP Sean Manaea on the 10-day disabled list retroactive to April 27, 2017. Left shoulder strain. Oakland Athletics placed LHP Sean Manaea on the 10-day disabled list retroactive to April 27, 2017. Left shoulder strain. Toronto Blue Jays activated RHP Aaron Sanchez from the 10-day disabled list. Baltimore Orioles recalled RHP Logan Verrett from Norfolk Tides. Baltimore Orioles recalled LHP Richard Bleier from Norfolk Tides. Baltimore Orioles optioned LHP Jayson Aquino to Norfolk Tides. Baltimore Orioles optioned LHP Vidal Nuno to Norfolk Tides. Toronto Blue Jays optioned LHP Matt Dermody to Buffalo Bisons.